Aug 14 – St. Maximillian Mary Kolbe, priest, martyr
Maximillian Mary Kolbe (1894-1941) was known as a mischievous child, sometimes considered wild, and a trial to his parents. However, around the time of his first Communion, he received a vision of the Virgin Mary that changed his life. While still in seminary, he and six friends founded the Immaculata Movement (Militia Immaculatae, Crusade of Mary Immaculate) devoted to the conversion of sinners, opposition to freemasonry (which was extremely anti-Catholic at the time), spread of the Miraculous Medal (which they wore as their habit), and devotion to Our Lady and the path to Christ. Stricken with tuberculosis which nearly killed him, it left him frail in health the rest of his life. His insights into Marian theology echo today through their influence on Vatican II.
He founded monastries and published a magazine to fight religious apathy in Poland and Japan. By 1939, the Polish monastery housed a religious community of nearly 800 men, the largest in the world in its day, and was completely self-sufficient including medical facilities and a fire brigade staffed by the religious brothers. During his arrest by the Nazis, he volunteered to die in place of a married man with young children. He died as he had always wished – in service.
- Patron Saint Index
Ez 16:1-15,60,63
Mt 19:3-12
“…I will conclude a covenant with you that shall last for ever.”
There is something deeply moving about today’s readings. They remind us that before covenant is something we make with God, it is first something that God makes with us. Covenant begins not with human faithfulness, but with divine love. God is always the One who takes the first step, who seeks, who saves and who remains faithful — even when we are not.
The prophet Ezekiel paints a striking picture of God’s covenant with His people. Israel had nothing to offer Him. She was abandoned, vulnerable and left to perish. Yet God passed by, took pity on her, clothed her with dignity and beauty, and entered into a covenant of love with her. “I bound myself by oath, I made a covenant with you — it is the Lord who speaks — and you became mine.” (Ez 16:8). Everything she possessed was pure gift.
Yet, the tragedy is not that God failed His people, but that His people forgot Him. “You have became infatuated with your own beauty; you have used your fame to make yourself a prostitute…” (Ez 16:15). Israel forgot that every blessing had its source in God’s love. She began to rely on herself rather than on the One who had given her everything.
How easily we do the very same. We may not consciously reject God, yet how often in the course of a single day do we quietly choose our own way instead of His? We trust our own judgement before seeking His will. We cling to comfort rather than embrace sacrifice. We become absorbed by work, possessions, achievements or distractions, forgetting that everything we have and everything we are is sustained by His loving providence. Ironically, it is often when life is going well that we become most forgetful. We begin to think that we are managing quite well on our own, when in reality, every heartbeat, every grace and every blessing is held together by God’s faithful covenant.
Yet, the beauty of today’s reading lies in God’s response. He does not abandon His people because they have abandoned Him. Instead, He declares, “But I will remember the covenant I made with you when you were a girl, and I will conclude a covenant with you that shall last for ever.” (Ez 16:60). God’s covenant does not depend upon our constancy, but upon His. He remembers, even when we forget. He remains faithful, even when we wander. His love is never withdrawn; it patiently waits for our return.
It is no wonder that Prophet Isaiah bursts into praise: “Truly, God is my salvation: I trust, I shall not fear.” (Isa 12:2). Our confidence rests not in our ability to keep the covenant perfectly, but in the God whose mercy is greater than our failures and whose love never tires of calling us home.
This same covenantal love finds its fullest human expression in marriage. When questioned about divorce, Jesus returns to God’s original intention: “They are no longer two, therefore, but one body. So then, what God has united, man must not divide.” (Mt 19:6). Marriage is not a contract negotiated between two individuals for mutual benefit. Contracts exchange goods and services. Covenants exchange persons. Husband and wife freely give themselves to one another completely, permanently and fruitfully, just as Christ has given Himself completely to His Church.
This means that fidelity is measured not only by avoiding physical adultery. The covenant can be wounded long before that. Emotional infidelity, entertaining impure thoughts, refusing forgiveness, withholding affection, choosing selfish ambitions over family life, allowing pride, anger or indifference to take root, or simply failing to be truly present to one’s spouse — all these weaken the communion that covenant is meant to protect. Every time we refuse to will the good of our spouse, we fail, in that moment, to love as Christ loves.
The call of today’s Gospel is therefore not merely to preserve a marriage, but to live it as a daily gift of self. Husbands are called to love with the sacrificial agape of Christ, laying down their lives for their wives. Wives are called to receive that love with the trusting openness and faithful response with which the Church receives the love of Christ. Such love is demanding because it requires the continual dying to self that lies at the heart of every authentic covenant.
The Lord never breaks His promises. We are the unfaithful ones. Yet, He never ceases to invite us back into communion with Him. Whether in our relationship with God or with our spouse, every new day is an opportunity to renew the covenant through repentance, forgiveness, sacrifice and love. May we never forget the One who has never forgotten us, and may His unwavering faithfulness teach us to become ever more faithful ourselves, learning each day both to give, and to receive, the self-giving love that alone endures forever.
(Today’s OXYGEN by Susanah Cheok)
Prayer: Ever-faithful God, whether saint or sinner, it is You who first loved us, and it is You who loves us with an everlasting love. Grace us to love You as You deserve, teach us to spare nothing for You, because truly Lord, all things come from You and belong to You.
Thanksgiving: Thank You, Lord, for receiving what little we bring each day, our humble offerings of incomplete love and faithfulness. Thank You for using our scraps and turning them into so much more every time.
OXYGEN 
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