Homily for August 14, 2018
_ “See that you do not despise one of these little ones; for I tell you that in heaven their angels always behold the face of my Father who is in heaven.” *(Matthew 18:10)*_
From the words of Jesus in our Gospel passage today, we can see that truly, truly, we all have Guardian Angels. We cannot see them but we cannot doubt their existence. There is one for each person and these Guardian Angels are always there to watch, to guide, to inspire and to protect.
Jesus warns us against despising (disrespecting, maltreating) any child because of the existence of their Guardian Angels. Children may seem vulnerable but anyone who tries to take advantage of this fact will surely have God to contend with. Like a man would abandon ninety-nine sheep in search of one, God would abandon the whole world to protect one single child from perishing.
In fact, if we must get to heaven, we must not only respect children, we must humble ourselves like children. Heaven is not for the proud-hearted.
Today, we remember St. Maximilian Kolbe. Born as Raymund Kolbe on January 8, 1894, in the Kingdom of Poland, he was a Polish Franciscan friar and a martyr in the German death Camp of Auschwitz during World War II. In 1918, he was ordained a priest and continued his work of promoting Mary throughout Poland. Over the next several years, Kolbe took on publishing. Kolbe also founded monasteries in both Japan and India. To this day, the monastery in Japan remains prominent in the Roman Catholic Church in Japan.
In 1936, Kolbe's poor health forced him to return home to Poland, and once the WWII invasion by Germany began, he became one of the only brothers to remain in the monastery. Kolbe refused to sign a document that would recognize him as a German citizen with his German ancestry and continued to work in his monastery, providing shelter for refugees - including hiding 2,000 Jews from German persecution.
On February 17, 1941, the monastery was shut down; Kolbe was arrested by the German Gestapo and taken to the Pawiak prison. Three months later, he was transferred to Auschwitz. Never abandoning his priesthood, Kolbe was the victim to severe violence and harassment. Toward the end of his second month in Auschwitz, men were chosen to face death by starvation to warn against escapes. Kolbe was not chosen but he volunteered to take the place of a man with a family.
The story of how Kolbe offered himself in place of a man who had a family is so striking and touching. One would ask: “are there still people like this?” Can I afford to die in place of another person whom I don’t even know, who will never get to repay me back? If I think I can’t, I now know St. Maximilian Kolbe did just that.
Let us pray: Lord Jesus, increase my sense of humility and the willingness to sacrifice for the sake of others. Amen.
*Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you. (Tuesday of the 19th Week in Ordinary Time: Bible Study: Ezekiel 2:8-3:4, Psalm 119:14-131, Matthew 18:1-5,10,12-14).*
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