This comes a little late in the day, but on 10 October in 1982 John Paul II canonized St. Maximilian Kolbe.
Paul VI had beatified him as a confessor, but JP2 canonized him as a martyr. St. Maximilian’s case is a good example of the “third way” between the heroic life of virtue and martyrdom: oblatio vitae… offering of life. I’ve written about this HERE. This involves the offering of one’s own life having live a life of virtue in at least an ordinary way. For example, St. Max, a virtuous guy, offered his life for another in a Nazi death camp. His offering, down the line, resulted in his death. St. Gianna decided not to abort her child, which eventually resulted in her death.
Three things.
First, St. Maximilian is the patron saint of HAM RADIO OPERATORS!
Second, I have a 1st class relic of St. Maximillian. These are rare.
Third, I saw a great colorized photo of the saint today.
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Black and white photos have their own charm, but I am really enjoying the colorized photos. They bring that subject to life. At the end of the rosary, when you can kind of “free-style” the saints you invoke, St. Maximillian Kolbe is always one that springs to my mind, I don’t know why.
Thank you for sharing all the great material you share Fr. Z. The blog is so good in so many ways.
We owe you a great debt, really. God bless you.
St. Maximillian is very high on my list of “Saints I’d most like to have dinner and a conversation with.”
A true hero of the faith
I remember as a small boy — four or so — back in the early fifties asking my mom and dad if life was in color when they were young! I still remember the expressions that crossed their faces… So having always admired black and white photographs I have to admit this colorized version of the familiar portrait of Saint Maximillian is quite the eye opener. It provides a sensitive and fresh look to this incredible and heroically holy man. Well done and very much appreciated.