The Franciscan Marian priest, St. Maximilian Kolbe, was martyred at Auschwitz on August 14, 1941. One year prior to his death, he wrote an essay on the Blessed Virgin Mary; but due to his arrest by agents of the Nazi government, imprisonment, and subsequent death, the essay was never completed. From the accounts of those who knew him, Fr. Kolbe was a very effective communicator; and though he possessed advanced degrees in both philosophy and theology, he had the ability to put the Truths of the Catholic Faith into everyday language. He was known to make converts on trains, and wherever he went, including in the dark acres of Auschwitz, where he lived his final days. So, today, we take a moment to listen to him via this, his last essay, as he speaks to us about Our Lady:
Who is she? She is nothing in herself, like all other creatures, but thanks to God’s work she is the most perfect among creatures. The most perfect semblance of the Divine Being in a purely human creature. She derives, therefore, from the Father through the Son and the Spirit, as the Creator who from nothing, in the image of Himself, in the image of the Most Holy Trinity, calls finite beings into existence, out of love for His own finite likenesses, which they reproduce. Beings endowed with free will and reason know and acknowledge their provenance and are aware of having received from God all they are, all they can do, and all they possess at every instant. They reciprocate with love, both for what they
have received, and for the fact that He, as infinite perfection, is worthy of infinite love. Consequently, as limited beings, unable to render unto Him infinite love, at least they overcome the constraints and efforts of such love.
The Immaculata never had any stain of sin, which means that her love was always full, without flaws. She loved God with all her being, and love united her with God in this perfect fashion from the first instant of her life, such that on the day of the Annunciation, the Angel could address
her saying: “Full of grace, the Lord is with thee” [Lk 1:28].
She is therefore a creature of God, the property of God, the semblance of God, the image of God, the daughter of God, in the most perfect way possible for a mere human being. She is God’s instrument. In full awareness, she lets herself be guided by God. She conforms to His will. She desires only what He wants; operates in accordance with His will and in the most perfect way possible, without the slightest blemish
without any deviation of her will from His. [She is God’s instrument] in the perfect use of her faculties and privileges she was granted, in order to carry out always and in all things, solely and exclusively God’s Will,
out of love toward God One and Triune. Such love toward God reaches such heights that it produces divine fruits of love. Her union of love with God reaches such point that she becomes the Mother of God. The Father entrusts her own Son to her, the Son descends into her womb, while the Holy Spirit, from the body of her, shapes the most holy body of Jesus. Jesus Christ, Man-God, the true God, the second Person of the Most Holy Trinity, is the true Son of her. She is His true Mother. Keeping the fourth commandment, He honors His Mother: He is her devotee. A son never ceases to be the son of his mother, and so Jesus will be eternally the Son of her, and she will be forever the Mother of Him. He will forever be her devotee. Jesus venerated her from eternity and He shall venerate her for eternity. No one will draw near to Him, will be like Him, will be saved, will be made holy, unless he venerates her: no one, neither angel, nor
man, nor other being. She is the Queen of the Universe, Queen of Heaven and earth. In Heaven they all recognize her as their Queen. Hell detests her and trembles before her, while here on earth, how many souls do not yet know her, or know her too little…. At all times, in different locations
around the globe are born souls, who, all ablaze with love of her, have kindled such love around them. They came together in order to win hearts over to her more effectively and have consecrated their entire
lives to her. One of… these associations is the Militia of the Immaculata.
Hail Mary!
May you have a good day,
SCF
Image: Our Lady with her Child, Christ Jesus, source
Information on the Militia Immaculata, here
