Wednesday of the Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Today I can see prisoner number 16670 in a starvation bunker, his fellow inmates receiving the Divine Mercy of the Lord by being “released” by death, but not before prisoner 16670 heard their confession. It is said that St. Maximilian Kolbe’s jail cell was turned into a chapel. S.S. guards, after shutting the door to the cell, heard the inmates sing traditional Polish Catholic songs to Our Lady, the Queen of Poland, and recite the rosary and other psalms and songs. He heard men’s confessions as they prepared to meet the Lord face to face.
The Lord Jesus said in today’s gospel, “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have won over your brother…Amen, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Again, amen, I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything for which they are to pray, it shall be granted to them by my heavenly Father. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” St. Maximilian Kolbe had eleven other men in his jail cell, and the Lord was most certainly with them. Let’s follow the next two days and see how St. Maximilian Kolbe’s life plays a role in the gospels.
Reflection by Br. Maximilian Burkhart, OSB
Posted in Articles for Ordinary Time, Daily Reflections