St. Maximilian Kolbe

Great Role Model

In this time of not so subtle religious persecution (HHS mandate) and disgraced sports heroes, the saints are excellent role models for inspiration and instruction. One of my favorite saints is Maximilian Kolbe. His feast day was just the other day, August 14th.

Auschwitz

Eyewitness

The following is the deposition of an eyewitness, the painter Miescislaw Koscielniak, as recorded in the tribunal of saints: "The Servant of God died voluntarily in place of a companion in captivity, Francis Gajowniczek, father of a family. It was at the beginning of the month of August 1941. Because of the escape of a prisoner, the Lagerfuhrer Fritsch ordered, as a reprisal, the death of ten men."

"Our barrack was surrounded by guards with automatic rifles and dogs. The Lagerfuhrer Fritsch himself chose the victims. I was in the third row, and I could see very well what happened. At one point, Fritsch pointed out the prisoner Francis Gajowniczek, who, terrified by death, begged to be spared."

"Then out of the ranks came a prisoner whom I recognized as Father Kolbe. The Servant of God approached Fritsch and in a calm voice declared in German that he wished to die in place of Francis Gajowniczek. Fritsch, irritated by the gesture of the Servant of God, put his hand on his revolver and demanded: 'Have you gone mad?' Father Kolbe clearly repeated his request saying that his life was less useful than that of the other man, meaning Gajowniczek, who was a father of a family. After a short silence, Fritsch asked the Servant of God: 'What is your profession?' Father Maximilian replied: 'I am a Catholic priest.' After another silence, Fritsch gave his consent and sent the Servant of God, with the group of prisoners destined to die, while Francis Gajowniczek returned to his rank." (Forget Not Love: the Passion of Maximilian Kolbe by Andre Frossard, Ignatius Press, San Francisco, 1991, p. 195.)

Life Lived for Jesus

Raymond Kolbe was born Jan. 7, 1894, in Poland. He had a keen mind with a talent for math and physics. He joined the Franciscans in 1910 and took the religious name, Maximilian. His superiors sent him to Rome where by the age of 21 he had earned a doctorate in philosophy. Soon he would also earn a doctorate in theology. He was ordained a priest in 1918.

He puts his talents to good use. He and his companions worked tirelessly publishing religious instruction pamphlets to spread the glory of God. "Growth was rapid. By 1938, there were seven hundred sixty-two friars, most of whom were specialists in some phase of printing. By 1939, the circulation of The Knight had grown to nearly a million readers, and several other periodical publications had been added." (Modern Saints: Their Lives and Faces, book one, by Ann Ball, Tan Books and Publishers, Rockford, Illinois, 1983, p. 355.)

"World War II broke out, and almost immediately after the German occupation, this Catholic publishing apostolate became the target of bitter and increasing reprisals." Fr. Kolbe was arrested by the Gestapo. "On May 28, 1941, Fr. Kolbe and 320 other prisoners were transferred to Auschwitz."

"The priests were singled out for exceptionally cruel treatment, and at one point Father Kolbe was severely beaten and left for dead under a pile of brush. His companions carried him back to camp where he gradually recovered."

"Because Father Kolbe publicly acknowledged that he was a Catholic priest, many extra sufferings were heaped upon him, including beatings, attacks by dogs, the dirtiest and heaviest work, and the carrying of corpses." (Modern Saints, p. 356.)

Prisoner #16670

Several times Kolbe, prisoner #16670, ended up in the infirmary due to beatings or illness brought on by the cruel treatment. Fellow prisoners in the infirmary who survived Auschwitz have told stories about Kolbe risking his life, crawling across the floor at night to minister to the dying prisoners, praying with them and hearing their confessions. "He pleaded with his fellow prisoners to forgive their persecutors and to overcome evil with good." (Modern Saints, p. 357.)

"That is a Man"

"From time to time, there were escapes. Some succeeded; some did not. One fugitive was found hidden, naked, in a pile of cadavers. At Auschwitz that was one way to go unnoticed." (Forget Not Love, p. 192.)

At roll call one very sultry day late July or early August, 1941 one of the prisoners was missing. He was part of a group doing farm labor outside the camp. According to the rules of the camp, if the prisoner was not found, 10 would die in reprisal.

That night the prisoners of the escapee's cell block were not given their usual meager ration of food. It was thrown into the gutter and the order given to return to their barracks. That night they hoped and prayed.

The next day the man was still missing. The 600 prisoners of the escapee's cell block were made to stand in the broiling sun all day in rows of 60. They could not sit, talk or under pain of death get out of line. Those who collapsed were simply piled in a heap to the side. At evening roll call, Fritsch announced that the fugitive had not been found, and 10 must die by starvation in the bunker of barrack 11. "Then he passed among the rows to choose his victims. He sometimes said: 'Open your mouth. Show your teeth.' And: 'Out of line!' The adjutant Palitsch noted the numbers. Thus the little group of the condemned was formed." (Forget Not Love, p. 194.)

"The condemned men, who had to undress in front of the barrack, entered their final resting place naked. It was a place three meters square, empty except for a slop pail... As the jailer closed the door, he jovially quoted them a line of a poem from his country: 'You will dry out like tulips', he said."

"Hunger is terrible; thirst is even worse. Dehydration attacks the brain cells first and unleashes silent storms of nightmares and hallucinations. "

"However, according to a former prisoner assigned to the bunker as an interpreter and undertaker who had, before dying in 1947, testified before a notary, Father Kolbe had no delirium and never complained as he grew weaker. He did his best to comfort his companions. When they went to take out the corpses, he was most often found standing or kneeling, praying or singing a canticle, repeated by the chorus around him. The witness, passing in the corridor, said he thought he was in church."

"The jailers themselves were astonished. 'That is a man', they said." (Forget Not Love, p. 198.)

"At the end of two weeks, only four of the 10 were left alive. The cell was needed for more victims, and the camp executioner came in and injected a lethal dose of carbolic acid into the left arm of each of the four. With a prayer on his lips, the last prisoner, Father Kolbe, raised his arm for the executioner. It was Aug. 14, the eve of the feast of the Assumption of Our Lady into Heaven. The next day, Father Kolbe's remains were cremated." (Modern Saints, p. 358.)

Many Lessons

We can learn a lot from history and the lives of holy men and women who have lived and loved, suffered and died for their Christian faith. Fr. Kolbe's life and martyrdom shows the importance of a free press and an educated populace. Religious freedom and religious education are obviously very important. (It is interesting to note how sometimes the enemies of the church understand this better than we do.)

As we start another school year and the various churches in McCook area also start up their religious education programs, please support them and do not allow other activities to interfere. The other activities are valuable. However, Maximilian Kolbe's life shows us, a life lived with, in, and for Jesus is in the end, the only thing that matters.

So as we get busy with all the activities that come with the start of a new school year, as good as some of those activities are, do not let the good get in the way of the best.