This upcoming week we have some interesting combination of Saints including a Pope and perhaps his Antipope on the same day. All of the saints that I picked this week are martyrs, I hope that we can be inspired by these saints and be willing to do anything for our faith.
Lawrence of Rome (c. 225–258)
Lawrence has a special place in my life as it was the name of the Church I went to growing up. His story is a great one as well. Lawrence was one of the seven deacons of Rome under Pope Sixtus II. In August of 258 Emperor Valerian issued an edict which said that all bishops, priests and deacons should be put to death, the Pope was among those captured and killed. According to St. Ambrose the prefect of Rome demanded that Lawrence give the riches of the Church to Rome and he was given three days to get it all together. However instead of collecting all the riches Lawrence gave it to the poor, so on the third day when the prefect came back Lawrence presented the poor, the crippled, the blind and the suffering, and said these were the true treasures of the Church. For this Lawrence was put to death and it is one of the more gruesome martyrdoms as he was roasted alive on a gridiron. Lawrence is patron saint of chefs. According to another legend Lawrence got his hand upon the Holy Grail and had it sent to Spain where it could be to this day. One of the Seven Pilgrim Churches of Rome is name for St. Lawrence it is also a Papal Basilica.
Pope St. Pontian (died October 235), Hippolytus of Rome (170–235)
This paring is interesting as Hippolytus is commonly mentioned as the first Antipope as he was the head a separate group within the Church however it is unclear if Hippolytus ever declared himself Pope. Pontian reigned in a era of peace as the emperor Severus Alexander, was nice to the Christians. This changed when Maximinus became Emperor and turned the heat up on Christians. Pontian and Hippolytus were both arrested and sent to a mine on Sardinia it is here where they eventually reconciled. Their bodies were brought back and they were declared martyrs by Pontian’s successor.
Maximilian Maria Kolbe, O.F.M. Conv., (8 January 1894 – 14 August 1941)
Maximilian Kolbe is one of the Saints of World War II. He was a Polish Conventual Franciscan friar who was devoted to Mary. He built a monastery in Nagasaki which survived the atom bomb. As World War II broke out Kolbe provided shelter for many people including about 2000 Jews. For this he was arrested and was eventually be transferred to Auschwitz. At the end of July 1941 three individuals disappeared from Auschwitz and so the Nazis took ten men and starved them to death. One of the men who was selected cried out “My wife! My children!” and Kolbe volunteered in his place. So Kolbe joined the other nine men in an underground bunker where Kolbe lead them in prayer and songs. Kolbe would celebrate Mass each day for them as well, after two week Kolbe was the only one still alive and was given a lethal dose of carbolic acid, some even say that he raised his arm up and calmly waited for the injection. John Paul II named Kolbe in one of his homilies the Patron Saint of Our Difficult Century (20th).
Deep in the well 