Saint Maximilian Kolbe , livre ebook

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104 pages

English

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The famous martyr of Auschwitz (1941) who took the place of a condemned man. Before WW II, he worked mightily to conquer the world for Christ through Mary, desiring to save all souls in the world till the End of Time! His accomplishments are incredible! Proof positive the Faith produces heroes and martyrs even in our own day!

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Christianity

Catholic Church

Christian theology

Philosophie et théologie

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Publié par	TAN Books
Date de parution	01 janvier 1951
Nombre de lectures	1
EAN13	9781618904836
Langue	English
Poids de l'ouvrage	1 Mo

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0250€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

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St. Maximilian Kolbe Friar Minor Conventual 1894-1941

Nihil Obstat: Vincent M. Mayer, O.F.M. Conv. Censor Librorum Syracuse, New York April 20, 1951 Imprimi Potest: Francis Edic, O.F.M. Conv. Minister Provincial Syracuse, New York April 22, 1951 Imprimatur: Walter Foery Bishop of Syracuse April 24, 1951
Originally published in 1952 by Conventual Franciscan Publications, St. Anthony-on-Hudson, Rensselaer, New York. Retypeset and republished in 1998 by TAN Books, an Imprint of Saint Benedict Press, LLC.
Cover illustration used courtesy of Franciscan Marytown Press, Libertyville, Illinois. Grateful acknowledgment to Franciscan Marytown for use of several of the pictures in the text, and to Ave Maria Institute, publisher of I Knew Blessed Maximilian Kolbe , by J. Mlodozeniec, for picture on page 105.
ISBN: 978-0-89555-619-6
Library of Congress Catalog Card No.: 98-60480
Printed and bound in the United States of America.
TAN Books Charlotte, North Carolina 2012
Modern times are dominated by Satan and will be more so in the future. The conflict with Hell cannot be engaged by men, even the most clever. The Immaculata alone has from God the promise of victory over Satan.
-St. Maximilian Kolbe
The author of this book declares in everything herein contained his filial submission to the decrees of Pope Urban VIII and to the norms of the Holy Roman Catholic Church, of which he is a devoted subject. He does not allege or exact any other faith than human, based upon the authority of the individual witness summoned.
CONTENTS
Introduction
1. The Kolbe Family
2. The Two Crowns
3. Minor Seminary and Novitiate
4. Studies in Rome
5. The Militia of Mary Immaculate
6. Trust in God and Our Lady
7. The Editor of the Knight of the Immaculata
8. Editor and Review Move to Grodno
9. Niepokalanow: The City of the Immaculata
10. Japan
11. The Orphanage
12. India
13. Return to Niepokalanow
14. The First Arrest
15. Second Arrest
16. Auschwitz
17. The Death House
18. Epilogue
A Collection of Classic Artwork
Brief Life of Christ
Introductory
The Setting
Birth of Jesus
Childhood at Nazareth
John The Bapist
Jesus Begins His Ministry
Journey To Galilee
The Kingdom and the Apostles
Manifestations of Divine Power
Speaking in Parables
Increasing Popularity
Death of John the Baptist
Miracles of the Loaves
The Bread of Life
Peter the Rock
Training of the Twelve
Visit to Jerusalem
Clash with the Pharisees
Judean Ministry
The Supreme Declaration
Raising of Lazarus
Last Missionary Days
Banquet at Bethany
Palm Sunday
Second Cleansing of the Temple
Day of Questions
Judas the Betrayer
The Last Supper
Arrest and Trial
Death on Calvary
Risen and Living Still
St. Maximilian Maria Kolbe founded the Knights of the Immaculata to conquer all souls for Christ through Mary Immaculate. This photo shows him as a young priest in 1919.
INTRODUCTION
A NOTHER name can be inscribed on the list of great Apostles of Our Lady. Side by side with such illustrious devotees of the Blessed Mother as St. Bernard, Duns Scotus, St. Louis Grignion De Montfort and Ven. William Chaminade stands also St. Maximilian Kolbe, a Friar Minor Conventual. His distinct contribution to the spread of Mary s glory is characterized in a title which he gave to one of his publications: The Knight of the Immaculata . In this title is marvelously epitomized his life s work, as well as his ideal.
In his actual accomplishments, he spread the glory of Mary Immaculate with a chivalry worthy of the most ardent of medieval knights. He had one fixed idea : to show all men in all places how to love the Immaculata without limit. To realize this ideal, no sacrifice was too difficult: hard work, sleepless nights, misunderstanding, persecution, and even death itself.
In one of his writings, St. Maximilian has left us a biographical note in which he says: I was still a young boy when I promised myself to take the field for the Blessed Virgin, without knowing then how I would do this or what arms I would use. This took place when he was thirteen or fourteen years old. When he died in 1941 on the vigil of the Assumption in a concentration camp at Oswiecim-Auschwitz-he could look back over his life with satisfaction and realize that he had fulfilled this promise as faithfully as possible. His death itself was martyrdom, not in the usual sense of the word, but a martyrdom of charity. Following the example of Christ, he gave his life for his neighbor: Greater love than this no man hath, that a man lay down his life for his friends. ( John 15:13).
In his lifetime of forty-seven years, St. Maximilian Kolbe founded two cities which he dedicated to the Lady of his love, the Immaculata. Following his contagious example, hundreds of young men dedicated their lives to Mary s Divine Son in poverty, chastity and obedience. He spread the glory of the Immaculata not only among souls consecrated to God, but also in the hearts of millions of the laity by establishing his Militia of Mary Immaculate. He wrote about her in his numerous newspapers and reviews. He preached about her in Europe and Asia. Above all, he ardently gave only what he himself felt. He was the Knight of the Immaculata.
Here is his story, the story of a meek and insignificant figure amid the giants of our generation, the story of a chronic victim of tuberculosis, the story of a pair of empty hands holding limitless ambitions, of a short lifetime marked by incredible deeds and climaxed with an heroic death in the foulest of all Nazi concentration camps.
Chapter 1
THE KOLBE FAMILY
J ANUARY 8, 1894, was the birthday of Raymond Kolbe, the future Franciscan who would be known to the world as St. Maximilian Kolbe. There were four other boys in the Kolbe family, two of whom died at an early age. The other two were Francis, older than Raymond, and Joseph, the youngest in the family, who as Father Alphonse became the constant companion and co-worker of Father Maximilian.
At the time of Raymond s birth, the family was living at Zdunska Wola, a small village near Lodz, Poland. Shortly after this Julius Kolbe, the father, a weaver by trade, moved with his family to Pabianice in search of better living conditions. However, the weaving business prospered no better there, so the Kolbes opened a delicatessen store, which for the most part was run by Mrs. Kolbe and her boys.
Both Mr. and Mrs. Kolbe were solidly religious people. In fact, Mrs. Kolbe, born Maria Dombrowska, as a young girl several years before her marriage had intended to become a nun. As it was, after their sons were well on their own, both mother and father made a pilgrimage to the famous Polish shrine at Czestochowa and there by mutual agreement made a vow of chastity at the foot of the Immaculata s statue. It was, however, only after the First World War that Mrs. Kolbe could see her way clear to become part of a religious congregation of sisters. Until her death in March, 1946, she could still be seen begging for her community along the streets and in the offices and workshops of Krakow. Mr. Kolbe went to live with the Franciscan Order of Friars Minor Conventual, probably becoming a secular oblate. But he left for the First World War, and it seems that he was mistakenly executed as a traitor in 1917 or 1918.
Chapter 2
THE TWO CROWNS
R AYMOND S boyhood days were not much different from those of any normal Polish youth. He was a lively boy, quick-witted and just a trifle headstrong. But his mother at one time pointed out that, of all her sons, Raymond was the most obedient, humble and submissive to her and his father. When Mr. Kolbe went off to work, she said, it was Raymond who became her little handyman, helping with the cooking, the cleaning and the many chores of the house. This son of hers, she related, distinguished himself from his two brothers even in the way he accepted punishment for some minor offense. Of his own accord he would bring the whip and bend over the chair unhesitatingly; then, after he had been chastised, he would thank his parents and would return the whip to its place.
Evidently the lad often tried the patience of his mother with his boyish pranks. On one occasion, he so grated on her nerves that she shouted in a fit of excitement: I do not know what will become of you!
After this incident there was a noticeable change in Raymond s whole behavior. He seemed very different and even mysterious at times. Mother Kolbe began to wonder at this sudden transformation. She also noticed that very frequently thereafter he would slip off to the room in which the Kolbes had set up an altar of Our Lady, and there he would pray for long periods. Often she observed that when he returned from that room his eyes were red from tears.
His mother was intrigued by this. She restrained her inquisitiveness for some time, until finally she had to put the question to him squarely: See here, Raymond, what is wrong with you? Why do you cry like a little girl? The boy lowered his head and definitely indicated that he did not wish to answer this question. Mrs. Kolbe was not the mother to be put off so easily. She pressed the issue:
My child, wisely she went on, you must tell your mother everything; do not be disobedient.
The boy earnestly avowed that he did not intend to be disobedient. In tears and almost trembling, he went on to tell his mother: Mama, when you said to me: Raymond, I do not know what will become of you, it upset me very much, and so I went to ask the Blessed Virgin just what I would become. Later, at church, I asked her once again. Then she appeared to me, holding two crowns, a white one and a red one. Tenderly she looked at me and asked me which one I would choose; the white signified that I would always be pure, and the red that I would die a martyr. Then I answered the Blessed Virgin: I choose both! She smiled and disappeared.

Above: Mrs. Kolbe-a simple, devout woman