DAY 13
To Be an Instrument -
Rather, to be Instruments
Again, St. Maximilian didn't just want to ask for graces from the
Immaculata. He wanted to be the graces of the Immaculata. He didn't
just want to do the will of the Immaculata. He wanted to be the
will of the Immaculata. Wait, be the graces and the will of the
Immaculata? Isn't this a bit too much? Not according to Kolbe's
reasoning. He figured, "Well, if people can give themselves
over to Satan to be possessed by him and be his instruments
of evil, why can't people give themselves over to God to be
possessed by him and be his instruments of love?" He further
reasoned that, more than anyone, the Immaculata is
"possessed" by the Holy
Spirit,47
so why not ask to be
"possessed" by her so as to be perfectly united to God's
will? In other words, it wasn't enough for him just to be Mary's
"slave", as St. Louis de Montfort often put it. He
wanted something deeper. He wanted to be an instrument
in the hands of the Immaculata.
To be an instrument in the hands of the Immaculata. This is the
central idea to Kolbe's whole vision of Marian consecration. Thus,
he writes it directly into his prayer of consecration, "Let
me be a fit instrument in your immaculate and merciful
hands." To what purpose? The conversion of
the entire world.
Come on. Kolbe is getting a little carried away, right? I mean,
what can one man do? But this gets to his main point, his master
strategy. His own piece wasn't the only part of his master plan. In
fact, he wanted to raise up a whole army of fighting knights and
soldiers who give themselves to be instruments in the grace-filled
hands of the Immaculata. He wanted to build a "Militia
Immaculata," which he describes as follows:
The Knights of the Immaculata seek to become ever more truly
the property of the Immaculata; to belong to her in an ever more
perfect way and wlder every aspect without any exception. They
wish to develop their understanding of what it means to belong to
her so that they may enlighten, reinvigorate, and set on fire the
souls living in their own environment, and make them similar to
themselves. They desire to conquer these souls for the Immaculata,
so that in their tum they may belong to her without reserve and
may in this manner win an ever greater number of souls to her — may
win the entire world, in fact, and do so in the shortest possible
time.48
What genius! Notice the brilliant logic that undergirds Kolbe's
whole strategy: If we really love God, if we truly long to work
for his kingdom, then we should find the quickest and easiest way
to become saints, and thereby return to him. Now, the quickest and
easiest way to do this — as we learned from de Montfort — is through
Marian consecration.
Yet Kolbe takes it further: He didn't just stop with himself. He
didn't keep the great saintmaking secret to himself. Look at it
this way: What's better, one saint or two? A thousand saints or a
million? Think of what a million saints fully consecrated to Mary
could do. Imagine if Mary had a million instruments through whom
she could fulfill the perfect will of God. It's an amazing
thought. So, Kolbe exclaims, "Teach others this way! Conquer
more souls for the Immaculata!" If this is the quickest,
easiest way to become a saint, then it's also the quickest, easiest
way to conquer the whole world for Christ, if only we teach others
about it. So, Kolbe says, "Let's get to work!" Yes,
let's begin by learning to live this consecration ourselves, and
then bring others into it.
Okay, so first things first. We need to learn to live this
consecration to the Immaculata. We need to "belong to her in
an ever more perfect way". How do we do this? Simple. We learn to
love the Immaculata. How? By relying on her powerful intercession,
experiencing her tender care, speaking to her from our hearts,
letting ourselves be led by her, having recourse to her in all
things, and trusting her completely. Yes, we should especially
trust in the Immaculata and be happy in her. We should follow the
example of Kolbe, related to us by one of his religious
brothers:
When things ... were going well, he rejoiced with all his
heart with everyone and fervently thanked the Immaculata for the
graces received through her intercession. When things went badly
he was still happy and used to say, "Why should we be sad?
Doesn't the Immaculata, our little mother, know everything that's
going on.49
Tomorrow, we'll learn more about Kolbe's form of consecration to
"our little mother." Today, let's end by reflecting on
his words: "My dear, dear brothers, our dear little, little
mother, the Immaculate Mary, can do anything for us. We are her
children. Turn to her. She will overcome
everything."50
Today's Prayer:
Come, Holy Spirit, living in Mary. Prepare me to be a fit
instrument in the hands of the Immaculata.
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