Maximilian Mary Kolbe, Priest, Martyr Obligatory Memorial
Today's readings hold up before us a God whose love is stubbornly, extravagantly faithful — a love that refuses to let go even when we wander, even when we betray, even when we forget. In Ezekiel, God reveals Himself as the one who rescues the abandoned and binds Himself in covenant, not because we have earned it, but because His mercy runs deeper than our unfaithfulness. Jesus echoes this same vision of love in the Gospel, showing us that true love is not casual or conditional but total, permanent, and rooted in God's own design. Saint Maximilian Mary Kolbe lived this truth to its ultimate conclusion — he freely offered his life in place of another man's, making his entire self a gift, whether through his priestly celibacy or his martyr's death, showing us that the most radical love is always a covenant kept at great personal cost.
Reading 1
1 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:
2 Son of man, make known to Jerusalem her abominations.
3 And thou shalt say: Thus saith the Lord God to Jerusalem: Thy root, and thy nativity is of the land of Chanaan, thy father was an Amorrhite, and thy mother a Cethite.
4 And when thou wast born, in the day of thy nativity thy navel was not cut, neither wast thou washed with water for thy health, nor salted with salt, nor swaddled with clouts.
5 No eye had pity on thee to do any of these things for thee, out of compassion to thee: but thou wast cast out upon the face of the earth in the abjection of thy soul, in the day that thou wast born.
6 And passing by thee, I saw that thou wast trodden under foot in thy own blood. and I said to thee when thou wast in thy blood: Live: I have said to thee: Live in thy blood.
7 I caused thee to multiply as the bud of the field: and thou didst increase and grow great, and advancedst, and camest to woman’s ornament: thy breasts were fashioned, and thy hair grew: and thou wast naked, and full of confusion.
8 And I passed by thee, and saw thee: and behold thy time was the time of lovers: and I spread my garment over thee, and covered thy ignominy. And I swore to thee, and I entered into a covenant with thee, saith the Lord God: and thou becamest mine.
9 And I washed thee with water, and cleansed away thy blood from thee: and I anointed thee with oil.
10 And I clothed thee with embroidery, and shod thee with violet coloured shoes: and I girded thee about with fine linen, and clothed thee with fine garments.
11 I decked thee also with ornaments, and put bracelets on thy hands, and a chain about thy neck.
12 And I put a jewel upon thy forehead and earrings in thy ears, and a beautiful crown upon thy head.
13 And thou wast adorned with gold, and silver, and wast clothed with fine linen, and embroidered work, and many colours: thou didst eat fine flour, and honey, and oil, and wast made exceeding beautiful: and wast advanced to be a queen.
14 And thy renown went forth among the nations for thy beauty: for thou wast perfect through my beauty, which I had put upon thee, saith the Lord God.
15 But trusting in thy beauty, thou playedst the harlot because of thy renown, and thou hast prostituted thyself to every passenger, to be his.
60 And I will remember my covenant with thee in the days of thy youth: and I will establish with thee an everlasting covenant.
63 That thou mayest remember, and be confounded, and mayest no more open thy mouth because of thy confusion, when I shall be pacified toward thee for all that thou hast done, saith the Lord God.
Or
59 For thus saith the Lord God: I will deal with thee, as thou hast despised the oath, in breaking the covenant:
60 And I will remember my covenant with thee in the days of thy youth: and I will establish with thee an everlasting covenant.
61 And thou shalt remember thy ways, and be ashamed: when thou shalt receive thy sisters, thy elder and thy younger: and I will give them to thee for daughters, but not by thy covenant.
62 And I will establish my covenant with thee: and thou shalt know that I am the Lord,
63 That thou mayest remember, and be confounded, and mayest no more open thy mouth because of thy confusion, when I shall be pacified toward thee for all that thou hast done, saith the Lord God.
In Plain Words
God speaks to Jerusalem through the prophet Ezekiel, using the image of a abandoned infant whom He rescued, raised, and made into a beloved bride — only to watch her betray Him by chasing after false gods and worldly pleasures. Despite her unfaithfulness, God promises not to abandon her forever but to renew His covenant with her out of pure mercy, not because she deserves it.
Key Takeaways
- Everything we have comes from God's grace alone — our very life, dignity, and beauty are gifts He gave us when we had nothing and deserved nothing.
- Sin is ultimately a betrayal of love: when we turn away from God toward created things for our ultimate fulfillment, we wound the covenant relationship He freely initiated with us.
- God's mercy is more powerful than our unfaithfulness — even after profound betrayal, He promises to remember His covenant and restore the relationship, not because we earned it, but because of who He is.
Historical & Cultural Context
Ezekiel wrote during the Babylonian exile (around 593–571 BC), when Israel had suffered catastrophic defeat and displacement. The allegory of the unfaithful bride was a prophetic device used to help Israel understand that their national disaster was the consequence of spiritual adultery — abandoning the Lord for the pagan gods of surrounding nations like Canaan, Assyria, and Egypt. The covenant language of marriage echoes the Sinai covenant, where God bound Himself to Israel as a husband to a wife, making infidelity to God equivalent to marital betrayal.
Living It Today
On this feast of St. Maximilian Kolbe — a man who loved the Immaculate Mary and gave his life out of love for another — this reading invites us to examine where we have placed our ultimate trust: in God or in the 'beauty' of worldly comfort, status, or approval. Like Jerusalem, we are called to return to God with humble, open hearts, confident that His mercy always awaits us, especially in the Sacrament of Confession. We can also make a concrete act of gratitude today, recognizing that every good thing in our lives is a gift from a God who loved us before we could love Him back.
Gospel
3 And there came to him the Pharisees tempting him, and saying: Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause?
4 Who answering, said to them: Have ye not read, that he who made man from the beginning, Made them male and female? And he said:
5 For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife, and they two shall be in one flesh.
6 Therefore now they are not two, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let no man put asunder.
7 They say to him: Why then did Moses command to give a bill of divorce, and to put away?
8 He saith to them: Because Moses by reason of the hardness of your heart permitted you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so.
9 And I say to you, that whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and he that shall marry her that is put away, committeth adultery.
10 His disciples say unto him: If the case of a man with his wife be so, it is not expedient to marry.
11 Who said to them: All men take not this word, but they to whom it is given.
12 For there are eunuchs, who were born so from their mother’s womb: and there are eunuchs, who were made so by men: and there are eunuchs, who have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven. He that can take, let him take it.
In Plain Words
Some religious leaders try to trap Jesus with a question about divorce, and He responds by pointing them back to God's original plan: marriage is a sacred, permanent union between a man and a woman. Jesus makes clear that this lifelong bond is not a human invention but something God Himself establishes, and He goes on to acknowledge that some people are also called to a life of celibacy as a gift given for the sake of God's kingdom.
Key Takeaways
- Marriage is not merely a social contract but a sacred covenant instituted by God from the very beginning — a permanent, unbreakable union of one man and one woman in which the two become 'one flesh.'
- Human laws or customs that permit divorce reflect the weakness and stubbornness of the human heart, not God's original design; Jesus restores marriage to its full dignity by calling His followers to a higher standard.
- Celibacy embraced freely 'for the kingdom of heaven' is a real and holy vocation — a charism, or special gift, that some receive to give themselves entirely to God, as seen perfectly in saints like Maximilian Kolbe.
Historical & Cultural Context
In first-century Jewish society, there was an ongoing debate between two rabbinic schools — the strict school of Shammai, which permitted divorce only for serious moral failure, and the more lenient school of Hillel, which allowed divorce for nearly any reason. The Pharisees hoped to draw Jesus into this controversy and discredit Him with one side or the other. By appealing directly to Genesis and God's creative intent, Jesus sidesteps their political trap entirely and grounds His teaching in divine revelation rather than rabbinic opinion.
Living It Today
If you are married, let this reading be an invitation to renew your commitment to your spouse as a sacred, God-given bond — perhaps through prayer together, an act of intentional kindness, or even the Sacrament of Reconciliation if wounds have built up over time. If you are single, discerning, or consecrated, hear Jesus affirming that every vocation — marriage or celibacy — is a gift from God meant to be lived wholeheartedly and with great love, just as St. Maximilian Kolbe showed us by laying down his life for another.