Memorial of Saint Maximilian Mary Kolbe, P.M., (14th August, 2020)

Homily (Reflection) for the Memorial of Saint Maximilian Mary Kolbe, P.M., (14th August, 2020) on the Gospel and the Memorial Ezek 16:1-15.60.63 or Ezek 16:59-63; Is 12:2-6. (R. v.1); Matt 19:3-12. Saint Maximilian Mary Kolbe was born on 8th January, 1894 in Poland as Raymund Kolbe. He was a Conventual Franciscan friar and very active in promoting the Immaculate Virgin Mary. Maximilian earned doctorate in philosophy and theology at the age of 21 and 28 respectively. He organized the Army of the Immaculate One (Militia Immaculata) aimed at the conversion of sinners through the intercession of Mary. Maximilian was ordained a catholic priest in 1918 and continued his work of promoting Mary throughout Poland. Over the next several years, Kolbe founded a monthly periodical titled Knight of the Immaculate and also operated a religious publishing press. He also founded monasteries in both Japan and India. In 1936, his poor health forced him to return to Poland. He was among the brothers who remained in the monastery at the break of World War II. He opened a temporary hospital to aid those in need. He was sent to prison but released three months later. Kolbe refused to sign a document that would recognize him as a German citizen with his German ancestry and continued to work in his monastery, providing shelter for refugees – including hiding 2,000 Jews from German persecution. On 17th February, 1941, the monastery was shut down; Kolbe was arrested by the German Gestapo and taken to the Pawiak prison and three months after was transferred to Auschwitz. Toward the end of his second month in Auschwitz, 10 men were chosen to face death by starvation to warn against escapes. Kolbe was not chosen but volunteered to take the place of a man with a family. After two weeks of dehydration and starvation, he was given a lethal injection of carbolic acid. He died on 14th August, 1941 and his remains were cremated on 15th August. Kolbe was beatified as a “Confessor of the Faith” on 17th October, 1971 by Pope Paul VI and canonized by Pope Saint John Paul II on 10th October, 1982 as a martyr of charity. He is the patron saint of drug addicts, prisoners, families, and the pro-life movement. Topic: ...two shall become one. Some Pharisees asked Jesus in today’s gospel to test Him, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any cause?” He replied in part, Have you not read that the one who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh? (cf. Gen 1:27. 2:24) Many families have collapsed and many more are at the verge of collapsing because many have deviated from God’s original plan. A man and a woman leave every other person behind and become one. Unfortunately, many enter into marriage with many baggages - parents, siblings, friends, and so on. Husband and wife cannot decide without the influence of at least one of them. Some perpetrate this evil under the disguise that the couple are minors (children). However, it is wrong to refer to anybody who has completed the eighteenth year of age as a minor (child) both in the Church and in most countries of the world, cf. Can 97 § 1. And marriage is for adults, cf. 1055 § 1; 1057 § 1; 1071 § 6. Why do some people especially parents wrongly classify adults as minors? Another word for husband and wife is couple (two). A couple who wants their marriage to succeed must avoid a third person. Parents, siblings, and so on, do not interfere in other people’s marriages if you mean well for them. The only person each couple must involve in their marriage is God, the author of marriage. Bible Reading: Eph 5:21-33. Thought for today: Marriage is for adult male and female. Let us pray: May God save our marriages from collapse and mend the collapsed ones – Amen. Saint Maximilian Mary Kolbe – Pray for us. You are free to share this reflection with others if you consider it worthy. For more homilies (reflections): Visit our website: www.thepulpitonline.com Like us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/thepulpitonline Follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/thepulpitonline Join our WhatsApp Group via: +234 810 298 6313 Send us Email: thepulpitonline@gmail.com To Contact and/or to support this ministry: Tel: +234 813 305 0302 Email: thepulpitonline@gmail.com May God bless you all+