Saint Maximilian Kolbe
Fed by Christ, Broken for Others
Fr. Trey Nelson
 
Saint Maximilian Kolbe was a Polish Franciscan Friar. He was arrested and placed in the concentration camp at Auschwitz in 1941. During his time there, despite those most horrid conditions, he continued to bring hope to the other inmates.  A most significant part of his story is in how he died.  The Nazi guards had selected 10 people to be put to death. Maximilian volunteered to take the place of 1 of those 10 and died in his place. He was canonized a Saint in the Church and a martyr in 1981. His feast day is celebrated each year on August 14^th. 
 
Although his feast day has passed, I felt compelled to revisit his story and how it might challenge us.  You may have noticed, but for the past several weeks, we have been reflecting on the image and the gift of Jesus as The Bread of Life.   We recall the gift of Eucharist, and we recall the many ways in which Christ was broken for us. We look to his brokenness on the Cross, and we give thanks for the sacred meal he gave us on the night before he died.  It is something beyond our human understanding to consider that, every time we receive the gift of Eucharist, we receive the true presence of Jesus Christ, under the form of bread and wine. The priest leads the assembly in prayer, as he says every time, “Send forth Your Holy Spirit upon these gifts of bread and wine, that they may become for us the Body and Blood of your Son, Jesus Christ.”  Then, only a few moments later, we come forward and physically receive this gift.   It was, however, never meant to end there. At the conclusion of every Mass, the moment commonly referred to as the “Dismissal,” the priest or deacon proclaims the following or similar words, “The Mass is ended. We go in peace, glorifying God by our lives.” To put it simply, as we have been fed by Christ—who was broken for us—we are to go forth and allow ourselves to be broken for and feed others.
 
More than likely, none of us will ever be in the position to make the type of sacrifice that St. Maximilian Kolbe made.   Nor will our “being broken for others” entail any physical suffering on our part.  However, consider the many ways in day-to-day life that we have the blessed opportunity to do this.  Allow me to share with you one example that makes this very real for me. A few years ago, I was having a conversation with a young man, a junior in high school at the time.  This was a truly kind-hearted, compassionate young man, really trying to live his best life.   One week, he noticed a classmate sitting alone. He recalled how that boy seemed to have no friends. So, this good young man ventured forth from his regular friend group and befriended his classmate.  He continued to do so, often sitting with him at lunch.  Eventually, he told me, his friend group began to treat him differently. They did not invite him to be part of any of their weekend plans, would often turn off their locations on their phones, and so on.  In relating this to me, he said, “Yeah, father, I took a real hit with my friend group.”  (For the record, a year later all that was healed.) As it was unfolding, though, I asked him, “Would you do it any differently?”  Without hesitation, he told me, “No.  I still feel it was where God needed me to be, and I wouldn’t change a thing.”
 
That is most definitely an example of what it means to allow ourselves to be broken for others. It may hurt a bit, and there will always be some degree of risk involved.  In the end, though, it always gives birth to something new.  “Through the intercession of Saint Maximilian, grant me, O Lord, the courage to go where You ask, to do what You need, and to feed others with the same love that You have bestowed upon me in my brokenness.   Amen.”