St. Maximillian Kolbe Project | Harrington Hamronies

Saint Maximilian Kolbe: Priest, Prisoner, Martyr

Saint Maximillian Kolbe Project Ideas and Reflection | Harrington HamroniesWe did a wonderful study on Saint Maximilian Kolbe last year along side our WWII study. Today is his feast day.  He was the perfect saint to learn a little about while we covered that war and time period. My son really got interested in the life of this holy saint. I found some wonderful resources on him which really enhanced the study.  Afterward, we went on a pilgrimage to Marytown. It all culminated with a wonderful public speaking project at the end.

Two wonderful books we used last year for our study on St. maximilian Kolbe. | Harrington Harmonies Books for Children About Saint Maximilian Kolbe

We read about him first. The book I liked the best for his main reading was Saint Maximilian Kolbe: Mary’s Knight . My son read  this book easily on his own with both curiosity and genuine interest in the life of this holy man.

Soldier of God: The Gripping Story of Maximilian Kolbe we picked up at the Marytown gift shop, it was very good for an easier read and yet still a sensitive handling of a St. Maximilian Kolbe’s imprisonment and martyrdom at Auschwitz . It’s a difficult topic to discuss with children but it handles it all very well. Though in a graphic format, it in no way took away from the significance and sanctity of his life and martyrdom. In fact, I think it made it even more accessible and understandable for some children and that he would like that since he spent so much of his life producing religious media.

Saint Maximillian Kolbe Drawing by Stephanie Harrington | Harrington HarmoniesPrayer, art therapy and reflection on Saint Maximilian Kolbe.

As I myself prepared this week for this post, I didn’t realize the effect this man of God would have on me. Last night I found great peace in doing this charcoal drawing of him. I’ve been struggling a great deal lately with a circumstance that I can not change. I’d been feeling very trapped and  just haven’t been able to reconcile a few things. And like many of us, I’d also been very concerned about the horrific persecution of Christians going on. So I just started drawing. And I kept drawing him and staring at his face and thinking of his life and his imprisonment. And I prayed too.

Although my circumstances haven’t changed it gave me peace with them. It’s no coincidence that he is the patron saint of imprisoned people, drug addicts and addiction, political prisoners and the pro life movement.   Truly great is our cloud of witnesses!

A Presentation on St. Maximilian Kolbe

Presentation on St. Maximillian Kolbe | Harrington Harmonies

Mechanical man was able to give a short presentation to his CCD class on this wonderful saint also last year.  It was the perfect opportunity to add some public speaking into our homeschool. I was very impressed with how much he really had learned about him from the books and how much of an effect this saint had on him and the other children in the class.

I’ll leave you this anniversary of his death in 1941 with one of his most famous sayings:

Never be afraid of loving the Blessed Virgin too much. You can never love her more than Jesus did.”–Saint Maximilian Kolbe

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Related posts:

Fr. Emil Kapaun: Servant of God

Prisoner of Jesus- Sacred Guitar Song by Brian Harrington

St. Rose Philippine Duchesne: Woman Who Always Prays