J
JReducation
Guest
The feast of St. Maximilian Kolbe will soon be upon us, August 14. With all the talk of a healthcare reform bill and abortion that is going around these threads, I was wondering how many Catholics know that Maximilian Kolbe is the patron saint of Respect Life along with Our Lady of Guadalupe.
Maximilian gave his life to save the life of an innocent Jewish man who was about to be sent to the gas chamber because an inmate had escaped from their holding cell. Which by the way, it was later discovered that the inmate had not escaped. He was found dead in an outhouse. We’re not sure of the cause of death. But that’s not the case. The issue is that an innocent life was going to be taken. There was no good reason for this heinous crime, other than the fact that it satisfied the Nazi regime to have another excuse to kill more Jews.
Upon hearing the man’s cries for mercy, Brother Max stepped out of the line and approached the guards. He offered to take the man’s place. The man cried for his family and children. Brother Max heard the cries and could not contain himself. As he stepped up to the guard he said, “Take me. I’m a Catholic priest. I have no family and children waiting for me.” And so Brother Max was taken to the place of execution and starved. After the attempts to starve him failed, they killed him with a lethal injection and burned his body along with that of other prisoners. Not only did Brother Max give his life, there were no traces of his body left to be buried.
Today, we argue and complain about abortion, euthanasia, embryonic stem cell research on live embryos. But are we willing to step up to the plate as Brother Maximilian did? There are abortion mills all over our nation. There are Catholics who are there every day quietly praying their rosary, as St. Max did in his death chamber.
When we speak and write about our political leaders who are pro abortion we often write with hatred and anger. We often disparage their good names and reputations, especially those who claim to be Catholic. But while he was in prison in the concentration camp, Brother Max would gather the men in his bunker and pray the rosary with them. Guess who he prayed for? He prayed for their captors. Brother Max did not pray to be liberated, he prayed for their conversion. He knew that if they were converted, liberation would follow.
Inmates who survived the concentration camp at Auschwitz said that Brother Max would go to them, one at a time, to preach to them not to hate the Nazis. He would tell them that God loved all his sons and daughters, even the Nazis. He invited Jews and Christians to pray with him for the Nazis. It was also interesting that Brother Max, who was totally devoted to the Virgin Mary, would put on a yarmulke on Saturdays and lead the Jewish inmates in the Sabbath prayers. He had actually memorized the prayers in Yiddish and would pray them with the Jews. On Sundays, he would lead the Christians in prayer. To no one’s surprise, many Jews would return the kindness of this holy and humble Franciscan Brother by joining them in prayer on Sunday morning. He was unable to celebrate the mass too often, because he lacked bread and wine to do so. But he would remind the Christians that they were the body of Christ.
Today, we the Franciscan Brothers of Life, prepare ourselves to celebrate the feast day of Maximilian Kolbe. And like Maximilian Kolbe, we give up our lives to preach the Gospel of Life to those who abort their children and to those who perform abortions. The Gospel of Life is for everyone. God loves every man and woman whom he has created, no matter how sinful. We hope, that by serving those who destroy live, by bringing to them the Gospel, with gentleness and with sincerity, not only will they be moved to a conversion of heart, but Catholics as well will be moved to be more forgiving and less virulent in their dealings with those who take life.
But we have also learned another thing from our brother. We have learned that evil must make restitution. Like Maximilian, we dedicate our lives to live in absolute poverty, absolute obedience and fidelity to the Gospel, to the Church and to our Holy Father Francis, in reparation for the destruction of innocent life, including the life of St. Maximilian himself.
Won’t you join us in our effort to restore salvation to a world that has lost its mind?
Fraternally,
Br. JR, OSF
Maximilian gave his life to save the life of an innocent Jewish man who was about to be sent to the gas chamber because an inmate had escaped from their holding cell. Which by the way, it was later discovered that the inmate had not escaped. He was found dead in an outhouse. We’re not sure of the cause of death. But that’s not the case. The issue is that an innocent life was going to be taken. There was no good reason for this heinous crime, other than the fact that it satisfied the Nazi regime to have another excuse to kill more Jews.
Upon hearing the man’s cries for mercy, Brother Max stepped out of the line and approached the guards. He offered to take the man’s place. The man cried for his family and children. Brother Max heard the cries and could not contain himself. As he stepped up to the guard he said, “Take me. I’m a Catholic priest. I have no family and children waiting for me.” And so Brother Max was taken to the place of execution and starved. After the attempts to starve him failed, they killed him with a lethal injection and burned his body along with that of other prisoners. Not only did Brother Max give his life, there were no traces of his body left to be buried.
Today, we argue and complain about abortion, euthanasia, embryonic stem cell research on live embryos. But are we willing to step up to the plate as Brother Maximilian did? There are abortion mills all over our nation. There are Catholics who are there every day quietly praying their rosary, as St. Max did in his death chamber.
When we speak and write about our political leaders who are pro abortion we often write with hatred and anger. We often disparage their good names and reputations, especially those who claim to be Catholic. But while he was in prison in the concentration camp, Brother Max would gather the men in his bunker and pray the rosary with them. Guess who he prayed for? He prayed for their captors. Brother Max did not pray to be liberated, he prayed for their conversion. He knew that if they were converted, liberation would follow.
Inmates who survived the concentration camp at Auschwitz said that Brother Max would go to them, one at a time, to preach to them not to hate the Nazis. He would tell them that God loved all his sons and daughters, even the Nazis. He invited Jews and Christians to pray with him for the Nazis. It was also interesting that Brother Max, who was totally devoted to the Virgin Mary, would put on a yarmulke on Saturdays and lead the Jewish inmates in the Sabbath prayers. He had actually memorized the prayers in Yiddish and would pray them with the Jews. On Sundays, he would lead the Christians in prayer. To no one’s surprise, many Jews would return the kindness of this holy and humble Franciscan Brother by joining them in prayer on Sunday morning. He was unable to celebrate the mass too often, because he lacked bread and wine to do so. But he would remind the Christians that they were the body of Christ.
Today, we the Franciscan Brothers of Life, prepare ourselves to celebrate the feast day of Maximilian Kolbe. And like Maximilian Kolbe, we give up our lives to preach the Gospel of Life to those who abort their children and to those who perform abortions. The Gospel of Life is for everyone. God loves every man and woman whom he has created, no matter how sinful. We hope, that by serving those who destroy live, by bringing to them the Gospel, with gentleness and with sincerity, not only will they be moved to a conversion of heart, but Catholics as well will be moved to be more forgiving and less virulent in their dealings with those who take life.
But we have also learned another thing from our brother. We have learned that evil must make restitution. Like Maximilian, we dedicate our lives to live in absolute poverty, absolute obedience and fidelity to the Gospel, to the Church and to our Holy Father Francis, in reparation for the destruction of innocent life, including the life of St. Maximilian himself.
Won’t you join us in our effort to restore salvation to a world that has lost its mind?
Fraternally,
Br. JR, OSF
] was at the Mass, but I didn’t see him myself. The priest who led our pilgrimage group, a Conventual Franciscan like St. Max, did meet him after the Mass. He told us about the meeting as we made our way home.