“Do not forget that holiness consists not in extraordinary actions. But in performing your duties towards God, yourself, and others well” ~ St. Maximillian Kolbe.
August 14th is the feast of St. Maximillian Kolbe. He was a Polish priest who died in 1941. When he was a Nazi concentration camp prisoner, he traded his life for another’s in execution. Hopefully, none of us will be called to such an opportunity for martyrdom. For Maximillian, this extraordinary act made him famous in the Catholic Church. The rest of his life, he lived in holiness through his duties.
When I was engaged, I did wonder if I could ever become a “saint.” How many canonized saints were married or parents? We have one well-known example in Louis and Zelie Martin, but who else? Of course we can go to Heaven without being canonized saints. But it was very humbling to realize I was surrendering my potential for the “extraordinary.”
Now I look at my children and I understand. Spouses and especially parents do not go to the far corners of the earth and do extraordinary things. Yet, Maxmillian Kolbe is famous because he gave his life for a fellow prisoner marked for execution. Why? Because the prisoner had a family he wanted the chance to get home to. Maximillian was made an extraordinary saint because of the man who chose the unextraordinary life.
The “Unextraordinary” Life
I may not be a missionary or a speaker or a religious. Instead I am a steward of two beautiful souls I can see and one I won’t meet for several months. Most of us will not be the extraordinary saints we selected at confirmation or pray with now. We will be holy in performing our duties toward God, yourselves, and others.
Holiness is found in Sunday Mass. In the routine of taking our relaxing time to put in the effort to go to Mass. It’s found in the sleepless nights with our babies. Holiness is found in cooking our spouse dinner, taking out trash, folding laundry because we love them. It’s found in being an example of a Catholic marriage and family. Holiness consists of living our lives for God, no matter how quietly, and letting others see.
We may not be the extraordinary saints. But we may be around them. We may influence them. Perhaps, if we’re really lucky, we are raising them.
