From today’s Scripture: “Then I bathed you with water, washed away your blood, and anointed you with oil. ”  — Ez 16:9

We know him best as a martyr of the Nazis, a prisoner at the notorious Auschwitz prison camp. A prisoner had escaped; the Nazi commander demanded that 10 be killed in retaliation. After the 10 were randomly chosen, Father Kolbe stepped forward and asked that he replace a man who had a life and children. He was starved, then injected with poison.

This Polish Franciscan had seen religious indifference as the danger of his day, and founded both an organization and a publication that reached a million subscribers to combat it. He was a remarkable missioner, even to the point of death, laying down his life for a friend. His zeal and selflessness are a model for all of us today.

Let us pray: O God, let thy will be done in every way. Today, help me to find some way to stand with a person in trouble.

Today’s author is John Feister, former Communications Director of Glenmary, now writing a novel set in Appalachia.

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