Project BLACK MAMBA

'Tis the Memorial of Saint Maximilian Kolbe, Priest & Martyr, O.F.M. Conv. (1894-1941), martyred in the reign of the Führer Adolf Hitler: Martyr-link ūnus, Martyr-link duo, & Wikipedia-link.

Commentary: Wayback Machine. Quoth the Holy Redeemer bulletin:

Saint Maxilimian Maria Kolbe, O.F.M. Conv., was a Polish Conventual Franciscan friar, who volunteered to die in place of a stranger in the German death camp of Auschwitz.

Quoth the Holy Family bulletin:

St. Maximilian Kolbe entered the minor seminary of the Conventual Franciscans in Lviv (then Poland, now Ukraine), neat his birthplace, & at sixteen became a novice later earning doctorate in philosophy & theology. He dreamed of & then founded Knight of the Immaculata, a religious magazine under Mary's protection to preach the Good News to all nations. For the work of publication he established a "City of the Immaculata"—Niepokalanow. In 1939, Nazi forces overran Poland & arrested St. Maximilian & his friars, but they were released only to be arrested again in 1941.

"Courage, my sons. Don't you see that we are leaving on a mission? They pay our fare in the bargain. What a piece of good luck! The thing to do now is to pray well in order to win over as many souls as possible. Let us, then, tell the Blessed Virgin that we are content, & that she can do with us anything she wishes." —Maximilian Mary Kolbe, when first arrested

Saint quote of the week: "That night, I asked the Mother of God what was to become of me, a Child of Faith. Then she came to me holding two crowns, one white, the other red. She asked me if I was willing to accept either of these crowns. The white one meant that I should persevere in purity, & the red that I should become a martyr. I said that I would accept them both." —St. Maximilian Kolbe

St. Maximilian died at the Auschwitz camp in Poland during World War II. When one prisoner escaped, the commander decided to retaliate by killing ten other prisoners through starvation. St. Maximilian volunteered to take the place of a married man.

Quoth the daily reflection by Bishop Robert Barron (Word on Fire):

Friends, today we celebrate the memorial of Maximilian Kolbe, the great saint of Auschwitz. A prisoner from Fr. Kolbe's barracks escaped, and in retaliation, the Nazi guards picked out ten other prisoners at random for execution. When one of those chosen broke down in tears, protesting that he was the father of a family, Kolbe stepped forward and said "I am a Catholic priest; take me and spare this man."

Priests are called "father," because they are life-givers in the spiritual order. Spiritual fathers protect their children; they teach them; they are there for them. At the limit, they even give their lives for them, and that's what we see in today's great saint.

Jesus gathered around himself a band of apostles whom he shaped according to his own mind and heart and whom he subsequently sent on mission. Priests, down through the centuries—from Augustine and Aquinas, to Francis Xavier and John Henry Newman, to John Paul II and your own pastor—are the descendants of those first friends and apprentices of the Lord. They have been needed in every age, and they are needed today, for the Kingdom of Heaven must be proclaimed, the poor must be served, God must be worshipped, and the sacraments must be administered.

'Tis also the festival of Saint Eusebius of Rome, Priest & Martyr (died circa 357), martyred in the reign of the emperor Constantius II: Martyr-link & Wikipedia-link.

'Tis also the festival of Blessed Aimone Taparelli, Priest, O.P. (circa 1395-1495): Blessed-link & Wikipedia-link.

Scripture of the Day
Mass Readings—Feria
The Book of Deuteronomy, chapter ten, verses twelve thru twenty-two;
Psalm One Hundred Forty-seven, verses twelve & thirteen, fourteen & fifteen, & nineteen & twenty;
The Gospel according to Matthew, chapter seventeen, verses twenty-two thru twenty-seven.

Mass Readings—Memorial of St. Maximilian Kolbe
The Book of Wisdom, chapter three, verses one thru nine;
or, the First Letter of John, chapter three, verses fourteen thru eighteen;
Psalm One Hundred Sixteen, verse fifteen;
The Gospel according to John, chapter fifteen, verses twelve thru sixteen.

Mass Readings—Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary: Vigil
The First Book of Chronicles, chapter fifteen, verses three, four, fifteen, & sixteen; & chapter sixteen, verses one & two;
Psalm One Hundred Thirty-two, verses six & seveb, nine & ten, & thirteen & fourteen;
The First Letter to the Corinthians, chapter fifteen, verses fifty-four(b) thru fifty-seven;
The Gospel according to Luke, chapter eleven, verses twenty-seven & twenty-eight.