Homily for the Memorial of St. Maximilian Kolbe

Today marks the 83rd anniversary of the death of Franciscan Friar Maximilian Kolbe in Auschwitz. He volunteered to take the place of a man with a family who was condemned to starve to death. After two weeks of prayer with no food, Maximilian was the last one alive. The guards then injected him with carbolic acid. The following day, his body was cremated.

St. Maximilian Kolbe exemplified self-sacrifice, dying for others as Jesus did. He also lived a life of service, hiding over 2,000 Jewish people during the early years of the Holocaust and rejecting special treatment from the Nazis due to his German descent.

Let us pray for the strength to make sacrifices for others and the courage to uphold our Christian values.