Today, 14 August, is the Vigil of the Assumption (purple). It is also the Feast of St. Maximilian Kolbe (red), a Franciscan priest put to death at Auschwitz.
St. Maximilian Kolbe, has a special relevance for Catholic media.
Today, dear readers, say a prayer to him, asking his intercession with God for the conversion of catholics who use the media to confuse the faithful and to distort the teachings of the Church. Pray especially for the conversion of the staff of the National Schismatic Reporter (aka Fishwrap), RU-486 (aka The Tablet), Jesuit-run Amerika, as well as several individuals who prate with tweets that distort the Faith or some aspect of the faith or morals.
Remember the prayer to St. Joseph for the Conversion of the National catholic Reporter which I posted HERE.
These “catholic” outlets must be converted or, like the priests of Baal, they must fail and fail spectacularly.
Also, please ask St. Maximilian to intercede, asking God to keep those who are dedicated to making Christ and His Church known and loved in their fullness faithful, charitable and courageous.
My 1st Class relic of St. Maximillian Kolbe
St. Maximillian was beatified by Paul IV in 1971 as a confessor (he lived a life of heroic virtue) and canonized by John Paul II in 1982 as a martyr (killed because of the Faith).
The two categories are not exclusive. As a matter of fact, in the moment of martyrdom, the virtues are perfected in a person.
However, the use of two categories does raise a question. Which was it? Heroic virtue? Martyrdom? In fact, he probably wasn’t killed by the Nazis because of the Faith, or his priesthood: he offered to take the place of another prisoner. His choice led to his death. He offered his life, though it may not have been martyrdom, in the strict sense.
(His choice led to his death. I’m reminded of the situation in Chicago with Cupich and the Institute. He forced them into a corner where they had to sign something that they couldn’t possible sign without betraying their identity and the people they serve. Then when he took away their ability to say Mass publicly his spox said “It was their choice!” Right.. just like it was St. Thomas More’s choice… St. John Fisher’s choice…. I digress.)
There is, in the paths to beatification, both the way of heroic virtue and martyrdom, but also now, since fairly recent, what is called oblatio vitae.
I am not one for innovations, but this seems good to me.
The criteria for oblatio vitae include:
a) the free and willing offering of life and heroic acceptance propter caritatem of certain death and in a brief time limit;
b) the exercise, at least in an ordinary degree, of the Christian virtues before the offering of life and, thereafter, until death.
Again, this path describes a person who has during life, been living a virtuous life, but in at least an ordinary rather than extraordinary and heroic way. Out of true charity (properly understood as sacrificial love of God and neighbor exemplifying Christ’s own sacrificial love) he performs some act which results in death in a short period of time and because of the act performed.
Hence, St. Maximilian, living of life of virtue (he was beatified under that rubric), by his offering (not necessary because the Nazi’s chose him because he was a Catholic priest) died as a result.
Hence, Ven. Vince Capodanno, who lived a virtuous life, was killed when trying to help a wounded Marine. The enemy didn’t shoot him because he was a priest, he was just another target.
Hence, St. Gianna Beretta Molla, who lived a virtuous life. She died offering her life for the life of her unborn child. She made a choice in favor of the life of another that resulted in her death.
Of great importance in this new path is the necessity that it be shown that the person lived a virtuous life before the act of charity that lead to death, and that the act that resulted in death was performed from true charity properly understood.
After that, just as in the cases of martyrdom and of the life of heroic virtue, there must also be a reputation of sanctity and a miracle for beatification, etc., as in the other two paths.
I have a detailed post about this HERE.
Finally, I remind you hams out there that St. Maximilian, was also a ham.
SP3RN!
In 1930, Franciscan Father Maksymilian Maria Kolbe left Poland for Japan, China and India where he organized monasteries. When in Japan, Father Kolbe got acquainted with a network of small broadcasting radio stations. To supplement a large number of religious periodicals that he was publishing in Poland and abroad at that time, he decided to start a radio station as a new medium. In 1930, he applied for a radio broadcasting license in Poland. However, only the Polish Radio Warsaw (1925) and a military radio station held exclusive radio licenses at that time. Radio receivers were allowed to be owned by permission early in 1924.
[…]
More HERE.
Also, Zednet exists on the Yaesu System Fusion (Wires-X) “room” 28598, which is cross-linked to Brandmeister (BM) DMR worldwide talkgroup 31429, which essentially gives world-wide multi-mode access to a common ham radio network. It is “dormant” now. I’d like to fire it up again. However, it doesn’t all depend on me. Someone else makes the connections between the different modes. Echolink is working, I think. I’ll turn on my radio for that today and monitor as best as I can.
Thanks for remembering St. Max. He is an important man for our sad times, especially as the normal modes of communication are being co-opted by the forces of evil.
A great colorized photo of St. Max.
UPDATE:
Franciszek Gajowniczek, the young man that St. Maximilian Kolbe offered to die in his place got to live. He got united with his wife & 2 children, & lived until the age of 94. He spent his whole life bearing witness to Kolbe & was present at both his beatification & canonization pic.twitter.com/MOwQyUhV6o
— Sachin Jose (@Sachinettiyil) August 14, 2024
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Great idea to ask his intercession about confusion in Catholic media.
My confirmation Saint. I was profoundly moved as a child when I read of his heroic sacrifice. When I see him, I see Jesus Christ.
We have watched movies and read about St. Max. Recently saw everything he did in Japan. Schools newspapers etc.
Rock and roll trivia on how the Faith never leaves you. Yoko Ono went to Catholic school in Japan. Ballard of John and Yoko. “Saving all your money for a rainy day, giving all your clothes to charity.” “Last night, the wife said poor boy when your dead, you don’t take nothing with you but your Soul.
I hope and pray that John had that time after being shot to say an act of contrition.
The biography of St. Maximilian “A Man for Others” was a notable milepost on my road into the Church. Hard to believe that was a quarter century ago! I warmly recommend this book.
I feel very close to St. Maximilian.
““Never be afraid of loving the Blessed Virgin too much. You can never love her more than Jesus did.” -St. Maximilian Kolbe
Thanks for this rundown on oblatio vitae, and on St. Max.
Maybe this is just me, but I love the fact that from the 20th century, we now have photos of saints, so we know what they actually looked like, not just stylized renditions of them from artists’ imaginations.
Yes, oblatio vitae is a better term to characterize Saunt Maximilian Kolbe and other saints who were killed for what they did, not necessarily for who they were. Saint Maximilian was going to be a martyr anyway as he almost certainly would have not survived Auschwitz with his poor health. But his accomplishment was not actually the saving of one man’s mortal life, but getting the 9 men condemned with him saved, as he was the last man conscious in the starvation bunker having absolved the other men of their sins.
When I was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2018, I placed a holy card of St Kolbe on my bathroom mirror. The image has his prison shirt draped over his Franciscan robes and he is holding some of his writing. Growing up I shuddered at his stern face, and I often turned over his card if I saw it. Now I needed his grit and determination, his self giving and sacrifice, his love of Mary Immaculate, to help me offer the treatments and crosses for salvation souls and the intentions of the Blessed Mother. Many times when it got tough I would look at his card, think of what he did and ask him to pray for me to be strong. I have always been weak, but when I saw that face and remembered what he did, I pushed through.
In 2019, I was blessed to be a malade (a sick person in need of Our Lady’s intercession) with the Order of Malta for the pilgrimage to Lourdes. In Lourdes, a malade rides in a cart pulled by a Knight of Malta and followed by a Dame of Malta. Malades are carried in carts to the Grotto, prayer services and Masses in various churches.
One Mass is held in an underground Church. Hundreds (thousands?) of Knights, Dames, volunteers, malades, priests, religious, companions, all attended this Mass. The floor of the church is bigger than a football field. The rafters look like the ribs of an upside down canoe. There is a balcony or mezzanine going all around the circumference. From the ceiling hang majestic banners of the saints, like giant holy cards all around you. The Holy Sacrifice is front of you, you are surrounded by faithful Catholics, and the Saints are shoulder to shoulder behind you.
To get to this underground church, we had to go down concrete ramps, further and further down. The malades and companions are very curious about this underground church – what does it look like? We heard it was big. All the while, I am riding in my cart, a little lower than everyone else. From my seat, all I can see backs and shoulders and heads as the crowd is filing in. The ramp becomes a tunnel. We keep going a little quieter in anticipation. The tunnel opens up, I see lights many stories up, excited voices sound different in the big space. I still only see backs and shoulders, I want to jump out of the cart and look around. But this why we ride in the cart, to be still and know God is God, let God be in control.
As soon as I surrendered my impatience
to God, the crowd parted and I looked up. I gasped. Honestly. Directly in front of me, the very first banner hanging high was St Maximilian Kolbe. I was brought directly in front of St Maximilian Kolbe. There were other entrances, the cart could have turned left or right, but no. I brought right there. My holy card is now fifty feet tall. Looking down at me. Pure joy. It was seconds, but time stopped.
It was the exact picture as I had back home, the jacket, the robe, the books. Now his eyes were softer and his mouth had a slight grin. It was like he said “ I heard you. You got this”.
St Maximilian Kolbe, Ora pro nobis!
Help us be strong like you. Help us be ready to be a red martyr or a white martyr, or both!
Oblatio vitae? Is this not what most parents do when they live devoted to their spouses and children? And so many in a very Christian way?
Not related to Kolbe: Probably they don’t canonize so many normal average heroic parents, because they are just normal. To canonize a Bishop, that takes many miracles.