Saint Maximilian Kolbe: Priest, Prisoner, Martyr

St. Maximillian Kolbe Project | Harrington Hamronies

Saint Maximilian Kolbe: Priest, Prisoner, Martyr

Stephanie August 14, 2014302 Views4 min Read

We 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.

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.

Prayer, 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

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

Subscribe for your Free St. Maximilian Kolbe Notebook Pages Here.

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Stephanie - Post Author

Stephanie has been a military spouse for 17 years and is a homeschool mom of 10+ years. She is mom to three creative kids from college grad down to third grade. Her homeschool style is eclectic with Charlotte Mason and classical influences. She and her husband of 22 years serve and live wherever the US Army sends them. She also shares her homeschool and life experiences on her other blogs,Harrington Harmonies and Nature Notebook When she isn't teaching, writing or moving she enjoys sightseeing, gardening, and cooking.