St. Maximillian Kolbe, a Franciscan priest, died 69 years ago this day in a starvation bunker at Auschwitz. His is a remarkable story of courage and love.
Because he was a Catholic priest confronting evil, the Nazis arrested him and sent him to the concentration camp. In July 1941, a man from Kolbe's barracks vanished, prompting the deputy camp commander to pick 10 men from the same barracks to be starved to death in order to deter further escape attempts. One of the selected men, Franciszek Gajowniczek, cried out, "My wife, my children!" It was then that Kolbe volunteered to take his place. No greater love....
After three weeks, all the men in the starvation bunker had died except for Father Kolbe. Finally losing patience with the process, the guards gave him a lethal shot of carbolic acid to finish the job....as if death could silence such a life. Roughly 40 years later, at the canonization ceremony for St. Maximillian, Gajowniczek (the man Kolbe had volunteered to die for) was present and spoke.
Maximillian Kolbe is an obvious example of what we would call a martyr. But as I sat in church this morning, I began reflecting on what he'd say if he was preaching the homily. My serious hunch is that he'd focus on what the word martyr means..."witness."
What does your life witness to? What does it say about your beliefs and values? How much time do you spend reflecting on your actions, your choices, your relationships, and where you're headed in life? And to what end? What's the point? Intentionality is crucial in the practice of virtue....like a compass is to a ship on the open sea.
Kolbe certainly knew what his purpose was, and he lived with a razor sharp focus. "Only love creates..." And if he were here today, I believe he'd challenge each of us to be creative in this way; to get outside ourselves and serve. To love in action. And as a Franciscan, he'd also tell us to do it in simple and small ways. Choose to do 1,000 things 1% better...
This is the way of transformation. This is where true and lasting joy will be found, where action meets purpose....and where peace and salvation wait.
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About Me
- Ross Porter
- Dr. Ross Porter received his B.A. from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and his Master of Divinity (Theology) and Ph.D. (Clinical Psychology) degrees from Fuller Theological Seminary, where he first became interested in the integration of psychology and spirituality. He is a teacher, author, counselor, and consultant, specializing in integrative psychology, virtue ethics and family systems. He has taught at the high school, college, and graduate school levels. Ross is also the Founder and Executive Director of Stillpoint Family Resources, a non-profit organization that offers counseling services to individuals, couples, and families in crisis, with nine different office locations throughout Ventura, Los Angeles and Orange Counties (specific office locations can be found at www.stillpointfamilyresources.org). In 2009, Dr. Porter was named an “Outstanding Angeleno” by the Los Angeles Daily News. Ross and his wife Jennifer have been married for 21 years, and have four beautiful children. John Michael, their son who has Down Syndrome is their first born.
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