Week 11 – 75th Anniversary The Martyrdom of Work
Week 11 October 23 – 30 The Martyrdom of Work St. Maximilian never rested. Much to the decline of his health. In the early years of the founding of Niepekalanow, Maximilian worked himself to the point of exhaustion which caused his Provincial to require Maximilian to take a few weeks of rest
As a farmer, not far from Niepekalanow once noted,
“He works harder than anyone. He doesn’t ask anyone to do anything which he himself is not willing to do. The fact that he jokes and laughs about the great obstacles which the brothers daily face keeps the communal spirit very high. Father Kolbe’s construction savvy has drastically altered my idea of a priest as someone who is trained for religious duties only.”
While living in Nagasaki Maximilian wrote in a letter,
“I am overloaded with work. Our task here is very simple: working hard all day; working ourselves to death. Being considered a little less than a fool by our own people and exhausted, dying for the Immaculata.”
Even in death he desires not to rest but to work even more as he writes in another letter from Nagasaki,
“As for our nerves, may the Immaculata direct all things! After all, in the worst case, we too will die, and then work a for Her a lot harder.
Prayer:
O Blessed St. Joseph, patron Saint of Workers, inspire me to work not just for my own profit but most of all for the spread of the Gospel and the building up of the Kingdom of The Sacred Heart of Jesus in the hearts of all people and in the world.
Meditations and Questions:
1. What work do I do every day?
2. How much time do I spend working for God and His Kingdom?
3. What work needs to be done in my parish? In the Church?
4. How can I help?
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