Memorial of Saint Maximilian Kolbe

Gospel Reflection for August 14, 2023

“As they were gathering in Galilee, Jesus said to them, ‘The Son of Man is to be handed over to men, and they will kill him, and he will be raised on the third day.’ And they were overwhelmed with grief.” (Mt. 17:22-23 NABRE)

The disciples were most likely confused and saddened when they heard Jesus speak these words. Why was He going to be handed over and killed? Couldn’t they protect Jesus and prevent that from happening? What does He mean by being “raised on the third day”? The disciples loved Jesus and had given up their lives to follow Him, so these words of His must have raised much sadness and many questions.

We know that the purpose of Jesus coming to live in the world was so that He could offer His perfect and sinless life as a ransom for our imperfect and sinful lives. And we are called to accept the Lord Jesus as our Savior and to follow His example.

We can do this by laying down our lives for the will of the Father, just as Jesus did. We must strive to live out our faith in all things.

Saint Maximilian Kolbe offered a good example of this by surrendering his life to the service of God. He faithfully followed the Lord, and like Jesus, Maximilian Kolbe even suffered martyrdom for the faith by volunteering to die in place of a man in the German death camp of Auschwitz during World War II.

How far are we willing to go for our faith? Are there things that we’ve refused to give up or have failed to do in our walk with the Lord? May we strive to be like Jesus and His saints, who gave all and held back nothing in loving and serving God, and making sacrifices for Him. There is no greater reward in this life and no earthly good that will ever compare to receiving the gift of eternal life with our Lord Jesus in Heaven. So, we must not hesitate to do the will of God.