Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 08-14-18, M, St. Maximilian Kolbe, Priest and Martyr

USCCB.org/RNAB ^ | 08-14-18 | Revised New American Bible

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August 14, 2018

Memorial of Saint Maximilian Kolbe, Priest and Martyr

Reading 1 Ez 2:8—3:4

The Lord GOD said to me:
As for you, son of man, obey me when I speak to you:
be not rebellious like this house of rebellion,
but open your mouth and eat what I shall give you.

It was then I saw a hand stretched out to me,
in which was a written scroll which he unrolled before me.
It was covered with writing front and back,
and written on it was:
Lamentation and wailing and woe!

He said to me: Son of man, eat what is before you;
eat this scroll, then go, speak to the house of Israel.
So I opened my mouth and he gave me the scroll to eat.
Son of man, he then said to me,
feed your belly and fill your stomach
with this scroll I am giving you.
I ate it, and it was as sweet as honey in my mouth.
He said: Son of man, go now to the house of Israel,
and speak my words to them.

Responsorial Psalm PS 119:14, 24, 72, 103, 111, 131

R. (103a) How sweet to my taste is your promise!
In the way of your decrees I rejoice,
as much as in all riches.
R. How sweet to my taste is your promise!
Yes, your decrees are my delight;
they are my counselors.
R. How sweet to my taste is your promise!
The law of your mouth is to me more precious
than thousands of gold and silver pieces.
R. How sweet to my taste is your promise!
How sweet to my palate are your promises,
sweeter than honey to my mouth!
R. How sweet to my taste is your promise!
Your decrees are my inheritance forever;
the joy of my heart they are.
R. How sweet to my taste is your promise!
I gasp with open mouth,
in my yearning for your commands.
R. How sweet to my taste is your promise!

Alleluia Mt 11:29ab

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,
for I am meek and humble of heart.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel Mt 18:1-5, 10, 12-14

The disciples approached Jesus and said,
“Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven?”
He called a child over, placed it in their midst, and said,
“Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children,
you will not enter the Kingdom of heaven.
Whoever becomes humble like this child
is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven.
And whoever receives one child such as this in my name receives me.

“See that you do not despise one of these little ones,
for I say to you that their angels in heaven
always look upon the face of my heavenly Father.
What is your opinion?
If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray,
will he not leave the ninety-nine in the hills
and go in search of the stray?
And if he finds it, amen, I say to you, he rejoices more over it
than over the ninety-nine that did not stray.
In just the same way, it is not the will of your heavenly Father
that one of these little ones be lost.”

[Salvation]

'He only asks of you abandonment and perfect submission. Nothing displeases Him so much as your uneasiness and despondency. What do you fear? Is He not powerful enough to support you? Why, then, are you so reserved with Him? Let Him act!'

St. Margaret Mary Alacoque

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The Angelus

The Angel of the Lord declared to Mary:  And she conceived of the Holy Spirit.  Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.  Behold the handmaid of the Lord: Be it done unto me according to Thy word.  Hail Mary . . .  And the Word was made Flesh: And dwelt among us.  Hail Mary . . .  Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.  Let us pray:  Pour forth, we beseech Thee, O Lord, Thy grace into our hearts; that we, to whom the incarnation of Christ, Thy Son, was made known by the message of an angel, may by His Passion and Cross be brought to the glory of His Resurrection, through the same Christ Our Lord. Amen.  "Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you" (Lk 1:28)   "Blessed are you among women,  and blessed is the fruit of your womb" (Lk 1:42).

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http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/religion/3679319/posts?page=3

Saint of the Day — Saint Maximillian Kolbe

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Saint Maxmilian Kolbe: The Immaculata's Perfect Knight [Catholic Caucus]
Maximilian Kolbe's Story Shows us Why Sainthood is Still Meaningful
St. Maximillan Kolbe ~ pray for us, on this your feast day August 14th ~
The Priest Who Knew St. Maximilian Kolbe
[CATHOLIC/ORTHODOX CAUCUS] No Greater Love (Meditation on St Maximilian Kolbe)
St. Maximilian Kolbe, priest and martyr, (1894-1941) [Catholic Caucus]

Maximillian Kolbe, Apostle of Mary [Catholic Caucus]
Saint Maximilian Kolbe's 'Secret' Weapon (Catholic Caucus)
[Father Maximillian Mary] Kolbe, Saint of Auschwitz
The Crusade of Mary Immaculate - St. Maximilian Kolbe (Catholic Caucus)
Poland: Auschwitz martyr Kolbe remembered
The Man Who Stepped Out of Line (St. Maximilian Kolbe and Christian Masculinity)
St. Maximilian Kolbe VOLUNTEERED To Be Starved To Death; Terri Schiavo Did NOT
St Maximilian Kolbe-Priest, Martyr, Saint
August 14 - Memorial, St. Maximilian Mary Kolbe
Blessed[Saint]Maximilian Kolbe-Priest Hero Of A Death

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Information: St. Maximilian Mary Kolbe

Feast Day: August 14

Born: 7 January 1894 at Zdunska Wola, Poland

Died: August 14, 1941, Auschwitz concentration camp, Poland

Canonized: 10 October 1982, Rome, Italy by Pope John Paul II

Major Shrine: Basilica of the Immaculate Mediatrix of Grace, Niepokalanów, Poland

Patron of: 20th century, Pro-Life Movement, drug addiction, drug addicts, families, amateur radio

[Salvation]

Holy Spirit Interactive Kids: A Saint a Day

St. Maximilian Kolbe

Feast Day: August 14
Born: 1894 :: Died: 1941

Raymond Kolbe was born in Poland. When he was just a teenager, he joined the Franciscan order and took the name Maximilian. Maximilian loved his work and enjoyed studying to become a priest, and he especially loved the Blessed Mother.

Before he became a priest, he started the Militia of Mary Immaculate or the Immaculata Movement devoted to Our Lady.

Then when he took his vows to become a priest he added "Mary" to his name. Father Maximilian Mary knew that the world which was so full of sin, needed their Heavenly Mother to guide and protect them.

He started a magazine called "The Knight of the Immaculata" so that more people would know about Mother Mary. He and his Franciscan priests published two monthly newsletters that were sent to people around the world.

The Mother of God blessed Father Maximilian's work. He built a large center in Poland. This center was called "City of the Immaculate."

In about fifteen years, a large community of eight hundred Franciscans lived there and worked hard to make the love of Mary known. Father Kolbe also started another City of the Immaculate in Nagasaki, Japan and yet another one in India.

In 1938, the Nazis invaded the Polish City of the Immaculate. They stopped the wonderful work going on there. In 1941, the Nazis arrested Father Kolbe. They sentenced him to hard manual labor at Auschwitz.

Three months after he arrived at Auschwitz a prisoner managed to escape. The Nazis became very angry and decided to punish the rest of the prisoners.

They decided to choose ten prisoners and put them in a bunker without food or water so that they would starve to death. All the prisoners stood straight, while ten men were pulled out of line.

One prisoner they chose was a married man with a family. He begged and pleaded to be spared for the sake of his children. Father Kolbe, who was listening, felt deeply moved and decided to help that suffering prisoner. He stepped forward and asked the commander if he could take the man's place. The commander agreed.

Father Kolbe and the other prisoners were sent into the bunker and they remained alive without food or water for many days. One by one, as they died, Father Kolbe helped and comforted them. He was the last to die on August 14, 1941.

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CATHOLIC ALMANAC

Tuesday, August 14

Liturgical Color: Red

Today the Church honors St.
Maximilian Kolbe, priest and martyr.
He was interred in a Nazi prison camp
during World War II. While there, he
offered his life in place of another
prisoner who had a family. He was
martyred in 1941.

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Catholic Culture

Ordinary Time: August 14th

Memorial of St. Maximilian Mary Kolbe, priest and martyr

MASS READINGS

August 14, 2018 (Readings on USCCB website)

COLLECT PRAYER

O God, who filled the Priest and Martyr Saint Maximilian Kolbe with a burning love for the Immaculate Virgin Mary and with zeal for souls and love of neighbor, graciously grant, through his intercession, that striving for your glory by eagerly serving others, we may be conformed, even until death, to your Son. Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

show

Recipes (1)

• Kielbasa Stew

show

Activities (2)

• Inform Yourselves as Parents
• What is a Nameday?

show

Prayers (2)

• The Immaculate Heart
• Novena Prayer to St. Maximilian Kolbe

show

Library (4)

• Maximillian Kolbe, Apostle of Mary | Fr. John A. Hardon S.J.
• St Edith Stein and St Maximilian Mary Kolbe | Pope Benedict XVI
• St. Maximilian Kolbe and the Immaculate Conception | Dwight P. Campbell
• The Man Who Stepped Out of Line | Rev. Thomas J. Euteneuer

» Enjoy our Liturgical Seasons series of e-books!

Old Calendar: Vigil of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary; St. Eusebius, confessor

Maximilian Mary Kolbe was born in Poland. He consecrated himself to the Lord in the Franciscan Order. Filled with love for the Virgin, he founded the Militia of the Immaculate Mary and, with his preaching and writing, undertook an intense apostolic mission in Europe and Asia. Imprisoned in Auschwitz during the Second World War, he offered himself in exchange for the father of a large family who was to be executed. He was given a lethal injection when he failed to die fast enough from starvation in the concentration camp. John Paul II proclaimed him the Patron of Our Suffering Century.

According to the 1962 Missal of St. John XXIII the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, the feast of St. Eusebius is celebrated today. In the Ordinary Form his feast is celebrated on August 2.

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St. Maximillian Kolbe
St. Maximilian, born Raymond Kolbe in Poland, Jan. 8, 1894. In 1910, he entered the Conventual Franciscan Order. He was sent to study in Rome where he was ordained a priest in 1918.

Father Maximilian returned to Poland in 1919 and began spreading his Militia of the Immaculata movement of Marian consecration (whose members are also called MIs), which he founded on October 16, 1917. In 1927, he established an evangelization center near Warsaw called Niepokalanow, the "City of the Immaculata." By 1939, the City had expanded from eighteen friars to an incredible 650, making it the largest Catholic religious house in the world.

To better "win the world for the Immaculata," the friars utilized the most modern printing and administrative techniques. This enabled them to publish countless catechetical and devotional tracts, a daily newspaper with a circulation of 230,000 and a monthly magazine with a circulation of over one million. Maximilian started a shortwave radio station and planned to build a motion picture studio--he was a true "apostle of the mass media." He established a City of the Immaculata in Nagasaki, Japan, in 1930, and envisioned missionary centers worldwide.

Maximilian was a ground-breaking theologian. His insights into the Immaculate Conception anticipated the Marian theology of the Second Vatican Council and further developed the Church's understanding of Mary as "Mediatrix" of all the graces of the Trinity, and as "Advocate" for God's people.

In 1941, the Nazis imprisoned Father Maximilian in the Auschwitz death camp. There he offered his life for another prisoner and was condemned to slow death in a starvation bunker. On August 14, 1941, his impatient captors ended his life with a fatal injection. Pope John Paul II canonized Maximilian as a "martyr of charity" in 1982. St. Maximilian Kolbe is considered a patron of journalists, families, prisoners, the pro-life movement and the chemically addicted.

Militia of the Immaculata

Patron: Drug addiction; drug addicts; families; imprisoned people; journalists; political prisoners; prisoners; pro-life movement.

Things to Do:

• From the Catholic Culture library, read The Holy Spirit and Mary, an explanation of St. Maximillian's Marian theology and Maximillian Kolbe, Apostle of Mary by Fr. John Hardon.

• Offer a Mass, say a rosary for those who suffer in the world today from man's inhumanity. Pray for an end to abortion, our nation's own holocaust. Read about Auschwitz and ponder the modern gas chambers in every state of our Union and resolve to do all that you can to end the killing.

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The Word Among Us

Meditation: Matthew 18:1-5, 10, 12-14

Saint Maximilian Kolbe, Priest and Martyr (Memorial)

Unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 18:3)

There’s a photo that has gone viral in recent months that shows a young girl with Down syndrome contentedly holding the hand of Pope Francis while he speaks to a group of people. She was a Special Olympics athlete who had just presented a gift to the Pope and she wanted to stay next to the Holy Father and enjoy his company. Even her parents’ urging couldn’t convince her.

If there’s one thing true about young children, it’s that they have their own unique way of entering into a situation. They love to engage in whatever is going on around them, even if they’re not the center of attention. They operate in the “now” and don’t usually concern themselves with the past or future.

As adults, we so often focus on “doing” rather than just “being.” “Doing” refers to the way our minds work. As we set goals and try to meet them, we start to look at each present moment as the means to an end that we want to achieve in the future. We measure our worth or value by whether we have achieved all we set out to do. We feel good if we consider ourselves successful, and we feel bad when we face a setback.

If we become too preoccupied with “doing,” we end up missing out on the grace of just “being” in the present moment. What’s more, when “doing” becomes our primary focus, we risk thinking that our value comes from what we do rather than who we are.

Think about children: they receive the love of their parents because they are their children! Yes, parents appreciate what their children do, but their love is based on who they are. When love is based on “doing” alone, a child can grow up less secure and with more emotional needs.

That’s not how God treats us. Just as the pope treasured that little girl for who she is, our heavenly Father treasures us for who we are. He loves us simply because we are his children. Whether we are rich or poor, talented or challenged, healthy or ill—it doesn’t matter. He just loves us. He loves you.

“Father, help me to receive your love, not for what I do, but for who I am!”

Ezekiel 2:8–3:4
Psalm 119:14, 24, 72, 103, 111, 131

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Daily Gospel Commentary

Saint Clement of Alexandria (150- c.215)
theologian
Pedagogue, I, 53-56 ; SC 70

"It is not the will of your heavenly Father that one of these little ones be lost"

Scripture calls all of us “children” and, when we begin to follow Christ, we receive the name of “little children” (Mt 18:3; Jn 21:5)... So who is our instructor and tutor, the tutor that we have when we are small? He is called Jesus. He calls himself “shepherd” by name, referring to himself as “the good shepherd” (Jn 10:11). He makes a comparison between shepherds guiding their sheep and himself, the tutor who guides small children, the shepherd full of concern for the lambs which, in their simplicity, he compares with the sheep. “They will all be one flock,” he says, “because there will be one shepherd” (Jn 10:16). Therefore our tutor is, of course, the Word of God because he leads us to salvation. As he clearly declared through the mouth of the prophet Hosea: “I am your teacher” (5:2 LXX).

As for his instruction, that is the religious formation by which he teaches us how to serve God, forming us in the knowledge of the truth and leading us straight to heaven... Pilots guide their ships with the intention of bringing their passengers safely to harbor; in the same way our tutor, in the care he bears towards us, points God's children towards the way of life leading to salvation... Thus he who leads us is our holy God, Jesus, God's Word, all humanity's guide. God himself leads us in his love for us... The Holy Spirit said of him during the Exodus: “He found him in the wilderness, a wasteland of howling desert. He shielded him and cared for him, guarding him as the apple of his eye. As an eagle incites its nestlings forth by hovering over its brood, so he spread his wings to receive him and bore him up on his pinions. The Lord alone was his leader” (Dt 32:10-12).

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Marriage = One Man and One Woman Until Death Do Us Part

Daily Marriage Tip for August 14, 2018:

“Not everyone is going to be a friend, but no one needs to be an enemy.” (Susan Vogt) How do you, your spouse, and your children deal with people you don’t like? Avoid them? Pray for them? Try to understand them? Gossip about them? Confront them? Fight? Talk about it.

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Regnum Christi

August 14, 2018 – No Cheap Souls

Memorial of Saint Maximilian Kolbe, Priest and Martyr

Father Steven Reilly, LC

 

 

Matthew 18:1-5 10, 12-14

 

At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven?” He called a child, whom he put among them, and said, “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the Kingdom of heaven. Whoever becomes humble like this child is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven. Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me. See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven always look upon the face of my heavenly Father. What is your opinion? If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine in the hills and go in search of the stray? And if he finds it, amen, I say to you, he rejoices more over it than over the ninety-nine that did not stray. In just the same way, it is not the will of your heavenly Father that one of these little ones be lost.”

 

Introductory Prayer: Lord God, I believe you are present here with me as I begin this moment of prayer. I hope in you. I know that you will always take care of me. I want this time with you to be a sign of my love for you. I seek only to please you, without desiring any spiritual consolation for myself.

 

Petition: Heart of Christ, make my heart more like yours!

 

1. Angelic Occupations: Raphael’s famous painting of Mary known as the “Sistine Virgin” has a remarkable detail that immediately catches the observer’s eye; Beneath the Blessed Virgin, two little cherubs are in a unique pose. They look a little bored with all the attention that Pope St. Sixtus and St. Barbara are paying to the Madonna and Child: They look as if they can’t wait to go out and play once all the fuss is over. Obviously, Raphael’s sense of humor doesn’t do the angelic nature justice. Supremely intelligent, spiritual creatures, angels “always look upon the face the heavenly Father.” Their task? To watch over and protect us. Doesn’t that show us how much God loves each one of us individually? Doesn’t that tell us of the value of a single soul?

 

2. The Shepherd’s Commitment: The Lord lifts a veil from the invisible world of the angels so that we better understand how much God loves us; now he give us the precious image of the shepherd going in pursuit of the lost sheep. The shepherd braves raw exposure to the elements and danger from wild animals in his relentless effort to find the one sheep who has wandered off. Christ is committed to keeping the flock together. Are we as committed to bringing back the lost sheep?

 

3. No One Left Behind: Americans love the rugged individualist, the one who lifts himself up by dint of his own focus and effort. There’s virtue there, to be sure, but Catholics need a broader vision. Besides lost sheep, there are weak, marginalized and sick ones. If we have the heart of Christ, no one can be left behind. Every time we reach out in sacrificial love, we are making Christ present in the world. We are called to be his ambassadors!

 

Conversation with Christ: Lord Jesus, your love gives us hope. You have given us angels to watch over us, and you yourself are constantly bringing back the lost sheep. Give us hearts like your own, hearts filled with Christian charity!

 

Resolution: I will reach out to someone who is sick or has drifted away from the Church.

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Homily of the Day

August 14, 2018

“I assure you that unless you change and become like little children, you cannot enter the kingdom of heaven.” How we wish that we could be children again with no cares in the world! But, what Jesus meant by being child-like is someone who is not proud and worldly, someone who is accepting of other people, someone who loves unconditionally.

That was what we are when we were born. Unfortunately, as we age, we become so jaded with life that we forget the reason for our creation. Living a Christ-like life is like being a child again, the key to the kingdom of heaven.

Let our prayer be: “Lord, help me to be child-like and Christ-like in my way of life.”

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One Bread, One Body

One Bread, One Body

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All Issues > Volume 34, Issue 5

<< Tuesday, August 14, 2018 >>

St. Maximilian Mary Kolbe

Ezekiel 2:8�3:4
View Readings

Psalm 119:14, 24, 72, 103, 111, 131

Matthew 18:1-5, 10, 12-14
Similar Reflections

EAT HIS WORDS

"Eat this scroll, then go, speak to the house of Israel." �Ezekiel 3:1

Rebellion against the Lord entails not only doing evil but also refusing to totally consume and be consumed by His callings (Ez 2:8). We must eat the scroll of God's plan for our lives. We must internalize it, digest it, and make it part of ourselves. As we consume God's callings, we are consumed by God (see Heb 12:29). When we internalize God's plan, God lives in us and we in Him (see Jn 17:23). We lose our lives (Lk 9:24), and it is no longer we who live but Christ Who lives within us (Gal 2:20). Then, paradoxically, as we lose our lives, we find our lives in Christ (Lk 9:24).

Therefore, eat the scroll. Be a Christian in the fullest sense of the word. Seek first the Lord's kingdom (Mt 6:33); share your faith; suffer for Jesus; grow in holiness; let zeal for God's house consume you (Jn 2:17). Throw yourself into your marriage; love your spouse with abandon; have as many children as the Lord will give you; make these children disciples of the Lord. Live your life as a single person with an undivided heart (1 Cor 7:33-35); be the light to the world (Mt 5:14); build Christian communities. Be the best priest, sister, brother, or deacon you can be. Eat the scroll.

Prayer: Father, give me the grace to give You my "all" always.

Promise: "It is no part of your heavenly Father's plan that a single one of these little ones shall ever come to grief." —Mt 18:14

Praise: Suffering a near-fatal illness only deepened St. Maximilian's efforts in spreading God's truth and defending the faith.

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