The readings for today’s feast draw us into a theme that lies at the very heart of our Christian faith: love. Love is the foundation on which our faith is built, the motivation that shapes how we live, and the source of strength that enables us to persevere. Yet both readings remind us that this love cannot remain just a pleasant feeling or a topic of conversation—it must be lived.
Love for God is what inspired St. Maximilian Kolbe to offer his life in place of another prisoner in Auschwitz. It was love that shaped his every thought, word, and action, conforming him more closely to the image and likeness of God and compelling him to extend that love to others. St. Augustine tells us that if we truly love God, we will love what God loves and embrace what He asks of us. From this flows our love for others.
Augustine also reflected that it was love of God and neighbor that moved the martyrs to lay down their lives. He wrote, “In commemorating [the martyrs] at Christ’s table, we do not pray for them, as we do for others, but rather we pray that we may follow in their footsteps.”
Today, as we honor St. Maximilian Kolbe, let us ask for his intercession, that everything we say and do may bear witness to our love for God and for those He places in our path.
Living in Love with God 
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