Maximilian Kolbe

St Maximilian Kolbe (1894 - 1941) We celebrated Mass today as memorial of St. Maximilian Kolbe, priest and martyr. He was born in Poland and was a Franciscan of the Capuchin Order. He is named among Martyrs of the Church. He died in the evil forces of Nazism. His life immediately makes us aware of the millions of Jews who died in the Shoah (the genocide of approximately six million). The Vigil Reading concludes sensitively and embracing all those so ‘martyred’ and all those who are faithful. “Maximilian Kolbe’s martyrdom is the least important thing about him. We are none of us likely to find ourselves in a position to emulate his sacrifice, and speculation as to the heroic way in which we would have behaved in his place is a pernicious waste of time. What is important is that he acted the way he did because of who he was – or, rather, because of who he had become. It is because of who he had become that we revere him as a saint: he would have been a saint (though perhaps not canonised) even if he had not been martyred. And that process of becoming is something we can all emulate. We can all become people for whom doing the right thing is obvious, natural, and easy. It requires no heroism, no special gifts: just perseverance, and prayer”. (From www.universal.com).