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The Knight of the Immaculate: Father Maximilian Kolbe
Includes 204 photos, plans and maps illustrating The Holocaust
St. Maximilian Kolbe is famous as the saint of Auschwitz who volunteered to die of starvation and thirst in place of another prisoner. But his heroic death in 1941 in the worst of the Nazi concentration camps was only the culmination of an amazing life—for St. Maximilian was fired by the supernatural ideal of conquering for Christ through Mary all souls in the entire world—to the end of time!
Full of interesting stories, this little book describes his mischievous boyhood, his youthful prophetic vision of two crowns, his dream of martyrdom, his use of modern printing technology to further Our Lady’s work, his agreement with St. Therese the Little Flower, his “Cities of the Immaculata” (the one in Poland grew from 19 members to 762 and was the largest religious community in the world), his knowledge that he was fighting Satan, and his prison abuse for being a Catholic priest.
St. Maximilian Kolbe is famous as the saint of Auschwitz who volunteered to die of starvation and thirst in place of another prisoner. But his heroic death in 1941 in the worst of the Nazi concentration camps was only the culmination of an amazing life—for St. Maximilian was fired by the supernatural ideal of conquering for Christ through Mary all souls in the entire world—to the end of time!
Full of interesting stories, this little book describes his mischievous boyhood, his youthful prophetic vision of two crowns, his dream of martyrdom, his use of modern printing technology to further Our Lady’s work, his agreement with St. Therese the Little Flower, his “Cities of the Immaculata” (the one in Poland grew from 19 members to 762 and was the largest religious community in the world), his knowledge that he was fighting Satan, and his prison abuse for being a Catholic priest.
338 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 11, 2016
90 people are currently reading
37 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
January 15, 2022
I'm sorry to give a story of a Saint such a low score, but in all honesty the book was not well written in the slightest.
September 5, 2017
[Writing this as a Catholic who chose St. Maximilian Kolbe as my patron by adopting his name for the sacrament of Confirmation]
I was hoping for more from this text. I have been searching for a good biography of St. Kolbe for some time now, and this was not it. I wanted a typical biography -- one that is objective and rooted in well-cited primary and secondary sources. This account does not contain citations, and while I don't see any major factual errors in the narrative account of his life, it is entirely anecdotal. Moreover, the text is not objective, but is clearly slanted to reinforce the spiritual standing of St. Kolbe and is predicated on many assumptions about the role of Divine intent in his life.
At the level of the writing itself, I'm sad to say that the quality is not very good. The sentences are formulaic and the chapters are short and underdeveloped.
Lastly, I am disappointed by the shallow treatments of St. Kolbe's theology and politics. While the text gratuitously drives home St. Kolbe's commitment to the Immaculata, it does little to explore the theological underpinnings of where that commitment came from or what it meant in practice as a distinctive and original movement. The text celebrates and focuses intensely on St. Kolbe's imperialistic approach to evangelism (something that I find extremely problematic), but it doesn't ever approach the spiritual value or meaning of the evangelizing efforts. The text also conspicuously glosses over St. Kolbe's anti-Nazi publications during his later years at Niepokalanow -- a chapter of his life that I was especially interested to read about.
On the whole, I was disappointed by this biography. I give it three stars because it supplies a basic structure of his life, but it is not at all what I was looking or hoping for.
I was hoping for more from this text. I have been searching for a good biography of St. Kolbe for some time now, and this was not it. I wanted a typical biography -- one that is objective and rooted in well-cited primary and secondary sources. This account does not contain citations, and while I don't see any major factual errors in the narrative account of his life, it is entirely anecdotal. Moreover, the text is not objective, but is clearly slanted to reinforce the spiritual standing of St. Kolbe and is predicated on many assumptions about the role of Divine intent in his life.
At the level of the writing itself, I'm sad to say that the quality is not very good. The sentences are formulaic and the chapters are short and underdeveloped.
Lastly, I am disappointed by the shallow treatments of St. Kolbe's theology and politics. While the text gratuitously drives home St. Kolbe's commitment to the Immaculata, it does little to explore the theological underpinnings of where that commitment came from or what it meant in practice as a distinctive and original movement. The text celebrates and focuses intensely on St. Kolbe's imperialistic approach to evangelism (something that I find extremely problematic), but it doesn't ever approach the spiritual value or meaning of the evangelizing efforts. The text also conspicuously glosses over St. Kolbe's anti-Nazi publications during his later years at Niepokalanow -- a chapter of his life that I was especially interested to read about.
On the whole, I was disappointed by this biography. I give it three stars because it supplies a basic structure of his life, but it is not at all what I was looking or hoping for.
February 23, 2018
Inspiring book !
This is on of the best books written on father kolbe. His great devotion to our lady and tireless work for humanity lifts and inspires to grow in faith and trust . The sacrifice of his life for a stranger shows the heart and spirit of this Holy priest.i could not put it this down .very well written I was sorry when I finished but left with my heart lifted up .i highly recommend this read.
This is on of the best books written on father kolbe. His great devotion to our lady and tireless work for humanity lifts and inspires to grow in faith and trust . The sacrifice of his life for a stranger shows the heart and spirit of this Holy priest.i could not put it this down .very well written I was sorry when I finished but left with my heart lifted up .i highly recommend this read.
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February 19, 2021A must read for anyone who wishes to learn about a great saint and the Immaculata
Incredible book detailing an incredible story of sacrifice And love for Our Blessed Mother through the Immaculata. Saint maxi and Kobe was able to Suffer incredible indignities both physically and spiritually and was able to survive all of them through his love of Mary and the Immaculata.
Incredible book detailing an incredible story of sacrifice And love for Our Blessed Mother through the Immaculata. Saint maxi and Kobe was able to Suffer incredible indignities both physically and spiritually and was able to survive all of them through his love of Mary and the Immaculata.
December 4, 2017
It might be the best book that I've ever read.
Short. Concise. Real. Martyrdom. Sacrifice. World War II. Catholic Saint.
I will read this book again, again, and again.
Short. Concise. Real. Martyrdom. Sacrifice. World War II. Catholic Saint.
I will read this book again, again, and again.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews