St. Maximilian Kolbe: Fearless Devotion

    When we has twelve, St. Maximilian Kolbe had a vision of Mary: “That night I asked the Mother of God what was to become of me. Then she came to me holding two crowns, one white, the other red. She asked me if I was willing to accept either of these crowns. The white one meant that I should persevere in purity, and the red that I should become a martyr. I said that I would accept them both." This incredible early experience really shows the kind of man Kolbe was. While most would hesitate to accept either or reluctantly accept one, Kolbe embraces both of them. Even from this early age, we see that Kolbe lives for God rather than himself. He lives to glorify and worship Him, willingly sacrificing his own desires and even his very life for the greater glory of God. Because he loves God so much, he trusts him completely and is unafraid of worldly threats. Though long mission trips, bad health, and imprisonment, Kolbe’s faith only grows because to him any worldly obstacles are merely opportunities for him to show his love and represent Christ on earth. Despite living in a world with Nazis, oppression, and world wars, Kolbe claimed that “The most deadly poison of our time is indifference. And this happens, although the praise of God should know no limits.” He recognized that earthly struggles were challenging and painful, but they were not the end. Rather than focus on our pain and daily inconveniences, we should “strive, therefore, to praise Him to the greatest extent of our powers” because at the end of the day, that’s the only thing that matters. At the end of the day we’ll be judged on how much we loved and trusted God and every single one of our actions should mirror that. I think that this focus on God’s greater glory is the reason that he was able to do so much good because is removed all of Kolbe’s fears and doubts.