Heroic Act of Love

Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends. (John 15:13)

Raymond Kolbe was born in Poland in 1894. He joined the Franciscan Order in 1907 and took the name that we know him by: Maximilian. Maximilian loved his vocation very much, and he especially loved the Blessed Mother. He added the name “Mary” when he pronounced solemn vows in 1914. Father Maximilian Mary was convinced that the world of the twentieth century needed their Heavenly Mother to guide and protect them. He used the printing press to make Mary more widely known. He and his fellow Franciscans published two monthly newsletters that soon went to readers around the world.

The Mother of God blessed Father Maximilian’s work. He built a large center in Poland. This center was called “City of the Immaculate.” By 1938, 800 Franciscans lived there and labored to make the love of Mary known. Father Kolbe also started another City of the Immaculate in Nagasaki, Japan. Still another was begun in India. In 1939, the Nazis invaded the Polish City of the Immaculate. They stopped the wonderful work going on there. In 1941, the Nazis arrested Father Kolbe. They sentenced him to hard manual labor at Auschwitz.

He was at Auschwitz three months when a prisoner successfully escaped. The Nazis made the rest of the prisoners pay for the escape. They chose ten prisoners at random to die in the starvation bunker. All the prisoners stood at attention, while ten men were pulled out of line. One chosen prisoner, a married man with a family, begged and pleaded to be spared for the sake of his children. Father Kolbe, who had not been picked, listened and felt deeply moved to help that suffering prisoner. He stepped forward and asked the commander if he could take the man’s place. The commander accepted his offer.

Father Kolbe and the other prisoners were marched into the starvation bunker. They remained alive without food or water for several days. One by one, as they died, Father Kolbe helped and comforted them. He was the last to die. An injection of carbolic acid hastened his death on August 14, 1941. Pope John Paul II proclaimed him a saint and a martyr in 1982. (iMissal, Saint a Day) As was said by a witness: “His life serves as eulogy to the millions who perished in World War II. He did not leave his legacy as an ode to the past - rather as a beacon of hope to the future ...” St. Maximilian Kolbe was a hero who gave up his life that someone else might live. He was such a special person because he was a great friend of the Blessed Mother. We can be friends of Mary, too, if we honor her and pray to her.

Imitating St. Maximilian Kolbe let us preform random acts of sacrifice as demonstration of your love for God and our neighbor today.

O Blessed Mother Mary, You were the source of comfort and strength for Father Kolbe in time of trials, intercede for us all. Hail Mary full of grace…

Peace in Christ,
Father Vincent-Vuong Nguyen

P.S. Tomorrow AUGUST 15 is the FEAST OF THE ASSUMPTION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY. It is a Holy Day of Obligation. This means that in addition to Sunday, as Catholics, we are required to attend Mass on this day. At St. Clare, Houston, we will have 3 opportunities for the faithful to satisfy their obligation to attend

Masses: (1) Wednesday, August 14 - Vigil Mass @ 7:00 pm , (2) Thursday, August 15 - 8:30 am and (3) 6:30 pm
See y'all then!