A Lenten Treasure Hunt: Sixth Clue
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“Never be afraid of loving the Blessed Virgin too much. You can never love her more than Jesus did.” St. Maximilian Kolbe
St. Maximilian Kolbe is best known for volunteering to die in place of a father in Auschwitz. But there is another story that truly pulled at my heart. I first learned about it during my first consecration to Jesus through Mary two years ago. Since I am in the process of renewing my consecration, and I just finished the second week with St. Maximilian, I was reminded of it.
Raymond Kolbe grew up in a humble and devout family in which prayer and a steady work ethic defined the daily rhythm of their life. One day, he was getting on his mother’s nerves when she shouted, “Raymond, what will become of you?” He was very much struck by the question, and asked the Virgin Mary herself, “Mother, what will become of me?”
He describes what happened next: “The Virgin Mother appeared to me holding in her hands two crowns, one white and one red. She looked at me with love and she asked me if I would like to have them. The white meant that I would remain pure and red that I would be a martyr. I answered yes, I wanted them. Then the Virgin looked at me tenderly and disappeared.”
This vision foreshadowed St. Maximilian’s martyrdom at the hands of the Nazis, but first, he would receive the white crown of purity. Raymond, as Brother Maximilian, professed religious vows, one of which was chastity. But aside from purity of the body, he also had purity of intention. He created the “Militia Immaculata” in 1917 to bring the whole world to Jesus under the leadership of Mary Immaculate. He sacrificed everything for its accomplishment.
In 1941, he was arrested by the Gestapo and sent to the Auschwitz concentration camp. On the eve of the feast of Mary’s Assumption into heaven, after having volunteered to take the place of a father condemned to starvation, the impatient Nazis, because St. Maximilian would not die, finished him with a lethal injection. Thus, St. Maximilian received his red crown.
St. Maximilian was beatified in 1971 and canonized by Pope John Paul II in 1981. Like Jesus, he loved his fellow men to the point of sacrificing his life for them. “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13), were the opening words of the papal decree introducing the process of beatification.
Copyright © 2025 Christy Romero. All rights reserved. If you thought of someone while reading this, bless them by sharing it with them.
My name is Christy Romero and I am a cradle Catholic. I met my husband, Rafael, 46 years ago on a Youth Encounter, and we got married four years later. We have three young adult children who are all happily married, and two grandsons that have stolen our hearts. Even though I have always loved writing, God took me on a different career path. I graduated with a degree in Accounting in 1986, and thirty years ago, I established my practice to help small businesses and individuals with their tax filings. Last year, I decided to retire to spend more time with my growing family, and to dedicate more time to writing. I created a blog to share my meditations ten years ago, and I have a faithful following of family and friends. Now, I feel God urging me to share the Good News of the Church that He established over 2,000 years ago with a larger audience. In the words of St. Teresa of Calcutta: “I am just a little pencil in the hand of a writing God sending a love letter to the world.” You can find more of my writings at https://christysmeditations.blogspot.com/
