Nine Prayer Novena

to St. Maximilian Kolbe – Patron of people suffering addictions to illegal drugs.

Last Saturday I started a novena to St. Maximilian Kolbe, I thought I'd publish it here as there are some good short prayers. I like it as it's nice and easy, particularly if you falter in your prayer life quite often, like me!

To read more about St. Maximilian Kolbe check out my post here!

FIRST DAY: 

Dear St Maximilian, when still a child you entrusted your future to the Mother of God and accepted the crowns of purity and martyrdom. Help us to learn to be generous with our lives in the service of God. We pray especially for (mention your request).

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be

SECOND DAY:

Dear St Maximilian, you had a great love of the military and thought of joining the army but instead began the Militia Immaculata to work for the conversion of sinners. We remember all those who serve in the armed forces and their families. We pray especially for (mention your request).

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be

THIRD DAY:

Dear St Maximilian, you began a small religious newspaper which led to an upsurge of faith amongst your countrymen. May we too realise that nothing we do is too small for God to use. We pray especially for (mention your request).

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be

FOURTH DAY:

Dear St Maximilian, you had such a zeal for the proclamation of the Gospel that you went to Japan with no money and no word of the language and what you built is now the centre of the Franciscan province there. May we share in your zeal to announce the Good News through our words and our lives. We pray especially for (mention your request).

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be 

FIFTH DAY:

Dear St Maximilian, when the Nazis had invaded your country and you were under suspicion you said, “No one in the world can change truth”. May we hold firm to the one who is the Truth, Jesus Christ. We pray especially for (mention your request).

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be

SIXTH DAY:

Dear St Maximilian, in prison you were asked whether you believed in Christ and were beaten every time you said you did. You persevered in your witness. May we still hold fast to Christ even in suffering or pain, and if we are persecuted for that belief may we have the courage not to desert him. We pray especially for (mention your request).

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be.

SEVENTH DAY:

Dear St Maximilian, even when you were sent to Auschwitz you did not abandon your vocation as priest. Although you were beaten almost to death you still heard confessions and spoke of Christ’s love. We ask you to give us something of your conviction and courage in the face of the sufferings of our lives. We pray especially for (mention your request).

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be.

EIGHTH DAY:

Dear St Maximilian, when a fellow prisoner was sentenced to death by starvation you volunteered to take his place: to die so that he had a chance of life. May we always remember the words of our Lord, “he who loses his life for my sake shall find it” and give us the courage to lose our lives in whatever way is asked of us. We pray especially for (mention your request).

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be.

NINTH DAY:

Dear St Maximilian, because you were killed by an injection of carbolic acid, you are the patron of drug users. We pray for all those who suffer this terrible addiction and for their families. May they have the courage and help they need to turn their lives around. We pray especially for (mention your request).

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be.

St. Maximilian Kolbe

Today marks the Feast of St. Maximilian Kolbe, one of the Churches more recent living Saints and one that I have found strength in reading about. Amongst other things, he is the Patron Saint against drug addiction, and for those whom battle with a drug addiction. Quite fitting for me!

Born in Russian occupied Poland in 1894 as Raymond Kolbe, to a poor yet pious family, his parents were both Franciscan lay tertiaries. His father was hanged by the Russians whilst fighting for Polish independence, after which his mother became a Benedictine nun. Raymond's brother also became a priest.

At a young age when receiving his First Holy Communion, he had a vision of the Virgin Mary which changed his life: "I asked the Mother of God what was to become of me. Then she came ti me holding two crowns, one white, the other red. She asked if I was willing ti accept either of these crowns. The white one meant that I should persevere in purity, and the red that I should become a martyr. I said I would accept them both." - St. Maximilian Kolbe.

He founded the Immaculata Movement "Militia Immaculatae" and spread devotion to the "Miraculous Medal". He also started a magazine, "Knight of the Immaculate" which had a big publication rate for its time, and also founded a new monastery, "City of the Immaculate" near Warsaw with land given to him by the Prince of Poland. This monastery eventually started its own radio station, had a religious community of about 800 men, the largest in the world of its day, and was fully self sufficient including medical services and fire brigade. Obviously Maximilian had a great devotion to Our Lady!

He did a great number of other things in his time, but when he was arrested by the Nazi's in their invasion of Poland, eventually ending up in Auschwitz, his love of God and his fellow man didn't diminish. There he would hear confessions and celebrate Mass (with bread and wine smuggled in).

Some prisoners escaped from the camp, and Nazi retribution meant they had to kill ten prisoners for every one prisoner who escaped. The man the Nazi's chose to kill was married, and had young children. Maximilian took that mans place and was to die by starvation. Whilst fellow prisoners died, Maximilian was still fighting on, eventually having to be "killed off" with a lethal injection, dying the way he always wished - in service.