Monday, August 14, 2023

Memorial of Saint Maximilian Kolbe, martyr

(Deuteronomy 10:12-22; Matthew 17:22-27)

St. Maximilian Kolbe was a Franciscan friar working in Poland until he was arrested by the Gestapo.  Committed to Auschwitz, Kolbe saw an opportunity to show his love for God when another prisoner was being sent to death for a crime that he did not commit.  Because the man had a family, Kolbe offered himself as a substitute.  Pope St. John Paul II considered this act a genuine witness to the faith and canonized Maximillian Kolbe as a martyr.  In today’s first reading Moses exhorts the people to likewise give witness to their love of God.  He does not ask them to die for God but to live for him.

The Israelites are about to enter the Promised Land.  They have every reason to hope that they and their children will have all the resources they will need to live in prosperity.  But Moses, conveying the will of God, wants more than that for them. Because he wants them to fulfill their destiny of modeling God’s justice, he exhorts them to remember God’s graciousness.  He is especially concerned that they treat other peoples fairly by reminding them, “…you were once aliens yourselves in the land of Egypt.”

Because immigration has become a reality throughout the world, we should underscore these words of Moses.  Different customs, food, and language make sojourning in a foreign land difficult.  Immigrants need understanding and compassion.  Such treatment shows solidarity not just across social boundaries but across generational ones as well.

Monday, August 14, 2017

Memorial of Saint Maximilian Kolbe, martyr

(Deuteronomy 10:12-22; Matthew 17:22-27)

St. Maximilian Kolbe was a Franciscan friar working in Poland until he was arrested by the Gestapo.  Committed to Auschwitz, Kolbe saw an opportunity to show his love for God when another prisoner was being sent to death for a crime that he did not commit.  Because the man had a family, Kolbe offered himself as a substitute.  Pope St. John Paul II considered this act a genuine witness to the faith and canonized Maximillian Kolbe as a martyr.  In today’s first reading Moses exhorts the people to likewise give witness to their love of God.  But he does not ask them to die for God but to live for him.

The Israelites are about to enter the Promised Land.  They have every reason to hope that they and their children will have all the resources they will need to live in prosperity.  But Moses, conveying the will of God, wants more than that for them.  He wants them to fulfill their destiny of being a model of God’s justice.  So he exhorts them to remember God’s graciousness to them and to their ancestors.  He is especially concerned that they treat other peoples fairly for, he says, “…you were once aliens yourselves in the land of Egypt.”

As mass immigration has become a reality in all parts of the world, we should highlight these words of Moses.  It is difficult to sojourn in different lands with different customs and a different language.  Immigrants need understanding, fairness and even compassion.  Such treatment would show our solidarity not just across national boundaries but among generations.

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Memorial of Saint Maximilian Kolbe, priest and martyr

(Ezekiel 2:8-3:4; Matthew 18:1-5.10.12-14)

Today the Church recalls a martyrdom whose valor parallels those of ancient times. Arrested by the Gestapo during World War II, Franciscan friar Maximilian Kolbe was sent to Auschwitz. Three months later, a fellow prisoner escaped and, according to the prison’s outrageous rule, ten innocent men were selected to be executed for the crime. Knowing one of the selected to be a young father, Fr. Kolbe offered himself as a replacement. The death sentence was executed with an injection of carbolic acid.

In today’s gospel Jesus speaks of the necessity of becoming like a child if one is to enter the Kingdom of heaven. Certainly liberality regarding personal sacrifice characterizes children. Much more than adults, children at least speak of their willingness to give all they have for the well-being of others. Maximilian Kolbe’s demonstration of this willingness well into middle age assures him of a place among the saints.

Today’s society presents interesting opportunities to demonstrate such heroism as Maximilian Kolbe’s. We may ask ourselves whether we should donate a kidney to a person whose life is in danger for lack of a functioning one. Although there is no obligation to do so, such a sacrifice certainly qualifies as another example of fulfilling Jesus’ call to become like little children.