The Catholic Calendar for Monday, August 14, 2006
St. Maxmilian Kolbe, priest, religious and martyr
Vigil of the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

(Please note that tomorrow, Tuesday, is a Holyday of Obligation.
Check your local diocesan regulations, and please read this)

Scripture for today's meditation is from the evening Vigil Mass of the Assumption as follows:
1 Chronicles 15:3-4, 15-16; 16:1-2
Psalm 132:6-7, 9-10, 13-17
Reading II: 1 Corinthians 15:54b-57
Luke 11:27-28

A reflection on today's Sacred Scripture:

"When that which is mortal clothes itself with immortality, then the word that is written shall come about." (1 Corinthians 15:54)

One of the best examples of an ordinary person who did an extraordinary thing happened on this day, August 14, 1941. That is when the Franciscan friar, Maximilian Kolbe lifted up his arm to receive a lethal injection of carbolic acid in place of a young husband and father in the Auschwitz death camp. Saint Maximilian Kolbe's life and death served as a sublime illustration of unselfish love for God and for all men--a love that was inspired by true devotion to Mary.

I had always wondered how people can be so brave. How do they stand up for what is right even when it means their own death? Are they superhuman? The answer was no. They are just ordinary people who zealously and selflessly, always choose to do what is right regardless of the consequences. Just as Christ sacrificed his life for our salvation when He opened His arms on the cross, thousands of ordinary men and woman throughout history have enriched the world with a little more light as living beacons of God's enduring love. Just as one candle wipes out darkness-one life can bring extraordinary light into a world filled with much darkness.

- Anne
(anne97 at gmail dot com)