Today we celebrate a favorite saint in our home. We celebrate with Joy and sorrow. The Joy that comes from the Saints in heaven, and the sorrow of the lives lost in the past 100 years by religious. St.Maximilian holds a very dear place in my heart, because my dad first told me about him.
My father is not a religious man, but he heard the story of St. Maximilian at the time of his canonization and was touched. You see, my father is Polish. When he was growing up, Polish jokes ran rampant, Poles were not looked upon kindly, even in very Polish Chicago. When he heard about St. Maximilian, he said, "People just do not know how we suffered." He was almost in tears telling me the story of Maximilian's death. I've never forgotten that. So many Polish people died in WWII, not just Jews, but all Poles, and many, many were Priests and Sisters.
St. Maximilian is also the patron Saint of those with addictions. Both my husband's family and mine have a history of addiction. It is something I worry about with my children, especially one child who has a very difficult time with self-control. We ask St. Maximilian often to help this child, who just happens to share his name. We visit his shrine annually for our Marian Pilgrimage.
So today, think of the words of our Lord, "There is no greater love, than to lay down you life for a friend" and remember St. Maximilian Kolbe
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