We hear from psalm 113 today, a psalm of praise - the glory of the Lord is higher than the skies. We praise God in the midst of our joys and accomplishments. We are called to praise the Lord in the midst of our struggles and our sufferings; perhaps that is a bit more difficult.
Maximilian Kolbe is the saint we celebrate today. I first became interested with him in the context of my prison ministry, since he is the patron saint of prisoners. He was born in 1894 and became a priest in the order of the Conventual Franciscans in his native country of Poland. In the early 20th century as a newly ordained priest, Kolbe saw indifference as the greatest sin afflicting the people of his day. He founded the Militia of the Immaculata, whose aim was to fight evil with the witness of the good life, prayer, work, and suffering. He also founded a Franciscan monastery and publishing house in Poland and a monastery in Japan. In Poland, not afraid to speak against the occupying Nazi forces, Kolbe was arrested and sent to the Auschwitz concentration camp where he would eventually die, having taken the place of a man with a family who was going to be put to death. Kolbe was canonized a saint in 1982 by Pope John Paul II, who was from his native country of Poland. In addition to being the patron saint of prisoners, he is also the patron saint of those struggling with addictions. We unite our prayers with the prayers of St Kolbe today.
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