Today is the eighth of nine days in our novena cycle. In case you missed it, here are the prior day’s prayers and saint bios.
Day 1: St. Augustine
Day 2: St. Monica
Day 3: St. Joan of Arc
Day4: Francis of Assisi
Day5: St. Jude
Day 6: The Holy Innocents
Day 7: Saints Sergius and Bacchus
Day 7: Saint Maximilian Kolbe's Sacrificial Love
Our novena continues with prayers of intercession from the St. Maximilian Kolbe
Maximilian Kolbe was Polish Franciscan friar in World War II, who offered to die in place of a stranger in the Auschwitz Nazi concentration camp. Born on January 8, 1894, in Poland. His life before the war was given to his religious work, among which was the founding of the monastery of Niepokalanów: it was to be a huge printing house through which he was to expand faith and knowledge.
Saint Maximilian Kolbe is the patron of people who are in a hard struggle with addictions. This title has been presented to him for his compassion and spiritual help to everyone needing it. His very life, filled with the commitment and deep faith that he engaged in with his service to others, strikes a resounding echo of those who struggle with addictions. The story of Kolbe, particularly his act of self-sacrifice, is an embodiment of hope, a possibility of redemption. He is viewed as an intercessor for all those who call for recovery, spiritual renewal, and strength in this battle for freedom from the chains of addiction.
In 1971, Kolbe was beatified by the Roman Catholic Church as a martyr and held to be a man who gave of himself to the last.
"No one in the world can change Truth. What we can do and should do is to seek truth and to serve it when we have found it." – Saint Maximilian Kolbe
Prayer:
Holy Saint Maximilian Kolbe, pray for us. Your life was dedicated to the good of your neighbor. We only ask for the strength to put our little interests aside whenever it becomes necessary, just as you were ready to give your life to save another prisoner in the concentration camp in Auschwitz.
God of charity, through the intercession of St. Maximilian Kolbe, impels us to love others. Most especially, in recovery, fill our minds with the awe-inspiring motive to discover the truth and to serve it with compassion and selflessness.
May we find purpose and fulfillment in acts of service to others. With humility, we look to You for these graces. Amen
Charge for Continuous Action:
Consider the life of Saint Maximilian Kolbe, who gave love to others considering their life equal to his own. How might you love and serve your neighbor and their thriving?
Glory to the Creator,
Redeemer, and Sustainer,
As it was in the beginning,
Is now, and ever shall be,
World without end. Amen.