APPETIZER: By her complete adherence to the Father's will, to his Son's redemptive work, and to every prompting of the Holy Spirit, the Virgin Mary is the Church's model of faith and charity. In a wholly singular way she cooperated by her obedience, faith, hope, and burning charity in the Savior's work of restoring supernatural life to souls. For this reason she is a mother to us in the order of grace. This motherhood of Mary in the order of grace continues uninterruptedly from the consent which she loyally gave at the Annunciation and which she sustained without wavering beneath the cross, until the eternal fulfillment of all the elect. Taken up to heaven she did not lay aside this saving office but by her manifold intercession continues to bring us the gifts of eternal salvation. Therefore the Blessed Virgin is invoked in the Church under the titles of Advocate, Helper, Benefactress, and Mediatrix. Mary's function as mother in no way obscures or diminishes this unique mediation of Christ, but rather shows its power. It flows forth from the superabundance of the merits of Christ, rests on his mediation, depends entirely on it, and draws all its power from it. (CCC #967-970)
MAIN COURSE: Every saint has had a deep devotion to the Blessed Mother because this has been a part of Christian spirituality from the beginning. But some stand out among others as special teachers of what true or authentic devotion to Mary means, what it "looks like" in every day flesh and bone living. St. Maximilian Kolbe is one of these saints. There are so many outstanding events in his life that one could focus on, but none of them would have become what they were without his foundational relationship with Jesus that was nourished by his outstanding devotion to Mary.
St. Maximilian Kolbe was born in Poland in 1894. When he was about ten years old, the Immaculate Virgin Mary appeared to him and offered him two symbolic crowns: the white crown of chastity and the red crown of martyrdom. He chose them both. Maximilian entered the Conventual Franciscan Order at the age of sixteen. He was sent to the Franciscan's International College in Rome for his philosophical and theological studies leading up to ordination as a priest.
On October 16, 1917, while still a student in Rome, Maximilian founded the Militia Immaculatae (MI) movement. Its purpose was to bring about the Lordship of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in every human heart by encouraging each and every person to make a total gift of themselves to Jesus through Mary. He was ordained a priest in 1918 and returned to Poland in 1919, where he immediately began spreading the MI Catholic Evangelization and in January of 1922, began publishing the monthly magazine, Knight of the Immaculata.
In 1927 Fr. Maximilian founded a monastery near Warsaw call Niepokalanow, which means the “City of Mary Immaculate.” Kolbe’s holiness, zeal and spirituality were so attractive that this monastery became the largest Franciscan monastery in the world with over 650 members in just twelve years. Fr. Kolbe and the friars utilized the most modern printing equipment, radio media and administrative techniques available, enabling the Knight magazine to reach an incredible monthly circulation of one million and a daily newspaper to reach 230,000. He became one of the most well known and influential priests in all of Poland, something that would eventually set him apart as a "marked man" when the Nazi invaded Poland. But I am running ahead of the story...
In 1930, Father Maximilian took four brothers to Japan and founded another City of Mary Immaculate in Nagasaki. Future plans called for a City in every nation with the Knight magazine published in every language. All forms of communication media, including radio, movies and even television, were to be used without limit for the work of evangelization, of bring all people to Jesus through Mary. He returned to Poland in 1936, for treatment of advanced tuberculosis, and soon thereafter, the Nazis overran the country in 1939, they eventually imprisoned Fr. Kolbe in the Auschwitz death camp.
In August of 1941, a prisoner escaped from Auschwitz and in retaliation, 10 of his fellow inmates were selected for death by starvation. When one of the condemned men fell to his knees crying for his wife and children, Fr. Kolbe stepped forward and volunteered to take the man's place. The offer was accepted. St. Maximilian saw this as a double opportunity: to offer his life for another and to accompany the other 9 men to their deaths and provide them with the consolation of Christ and their Faith. When I was a student at USF, I had the opportunity to meet this man for whom St. Maximilian died and to hear the story from his own lips.
Fr. Maximilian Kolbe was among the last the die in the starvation bunker two weeks later on August 14, the vigil of Mary’s Assumption into Heaven. Pope St. Paul VI beatified Maximilian in 1971 and in 1982, Pope St. John Paul II canonized him as a “martyr of charity,” calling him “patron of our difficult century.”
The MI Movement which he founded still exists today and can be found all around the world, teaching others to grow in their relationship with Jesus by the help of Mary's example and prayers. This is what made St. Maximilian the man, hero, martyr and saint that he came to be. This spirituality of "To Jesus through Mary" is sometimes misunderstood as putting the focus on Our Lady instead of on her Son. But this is not true. It is a spirituality that applies St. Paul's Biblical advice where he said: "The attitude you should have is the one that Christ Jesus had..." (Phil 2:5) So, we must ask ourselves "What attitude did Jesus have towards Mary his mother?"
I think that is quite easy to answer! As God Jesus chose the woman who was to become his mother. He prepared her for this relationship by means of her Immaculate Conception which made her full of grace and properly fit to form and teach him in his humanity. He obeyed, loved and honored her as a devout Jewish son and pointed to her as an example of Christian discipleship. At the end of his life Jesus gave Mary as mother to all his disciples, who were represented by the apostle St. John as he stood with the Blessed Virgin at the foot of the Cross. St. John himself tells us about this beautiful and touching scene in his Gospel: "Standing close to Jesus' cross were his mother, his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Cleopas, and Mary Magdalene. Jesus saw his mother and the disciple he loved standing there; so he said to his mother, “He is your son.”Then he said to the disciple, “She is your mother.” From that time the disciple took her to live in his home." (John 19:25-27)
So the devotion that we call "to Jesus through Mary" simply means that we follow Jesus' example and intentionally welcome Mary as mother, teacher and helper in our lives. It means that we follow St. John's example and take Mary into our homes, which means, into our lives, into our hearts. This spirituality has been the fuel for many saints, such as Mother Teresa of Calcutta, Dorothy Day, and Pope John Paul II. It is what gave them the grace to do the awesome things they have done for God and the world. It is what enabled St. Maximilian Kolbe to become so much like Jesus that he offered his life on behalf of another.
St. Maximilian's feast day is August 14. How fitting it is that this spiritual on of our Blessed Mother should have made the gift of his life out of love for another on the Vigil of Mary's Assumption!
DOGGIE-BAG: A little something for spiritual snacking during the day...
Quotes to ponder from St. Maximilian Kolbe...
“Let us give ourselves to Mary Immaculate. Let her prepare us to receive Jesus in Holy Communion. This is the manner most perfect and pleasing to the Lord Jesus and brings great fruit to us. Because she knows how to unite ourselves totally with the heart of the Lord Jesus... We do not limit ourselves in love. We want to love the Lord Jesus with her heart, or rather that she would love the Lord with our heart.”
St. Maximilian's Prayer of Consecration to Jesus through Mary
O Immaculata, Queen of Heaven and earth, refuge of sinners and our most loving Mother, God has willed to entrust the entire order of mercy to you.
I, (name), a repentant sinner, cast myself at your feet, humbly imploring you to take me with all that I am and have, wholly to yourself as your possession and property. Please make of me, of all my powers of soul and body, of my whole life, death and eternity, whatever most pleases you.
If it pleases you, use all that I am and have without reserve, wholly to accomplish what was said of you: “She will crush your head,” and “You alone have destroyed all heresies in the whole world. ”
Let me be a fit instrument in your immaculate and merciful hands for introducing and increasing your glory to the maximum in all the many strayed and indifferent souls, and thus help extend as far as possible the blessed kingdom of the most Sacred Heart of Jesus.
For wherever you enter you obtain the grace of conversion and growth in holiness, since it is through your hands that all graces come to us from the most Sacred Heart of Jesus.
V. Allow me to praise you, O sacred Virgin
R. Give me strength against your enemies
No comments:
Post a Comment