Days 8 to 12

Day 8 - Who are you, St. Maximilian Kolbe?
This day begins with a new perspective. That of St. Maximilian Kolbe. Kolbe is considered the Saint of Auschwitz, among other titles. Born Raymond Kolbe in Poland in 1894, after being asked of his mother "What will become of you?" He went to church and asked the question repeatedly in prayer. He tells of a vision he had of the Virgin Mary who appeared to him with two crowns, a white one and a red one. The white one showed his purity and his red was because he would be a martyr.

Kolbe's purity was not just of the body. He would have purity of intention by directing his thoughts, words and actions to a divine purpose and to God. He would also become a martyr at the hands of the Nazi's. He volunteered to take the place of a man with a family and was killed through lethal injection when the Nazi's became impatient trying to kill him through starvation.

Today's Prayer - Come, Holy Spirit, living in Mary... Make me pure in body and spirit and help me to die to myself.

Day 9 - Who are you, O Immaculate Conception?
In Mary's apparitions to St. Bernadette at Lourdes, she says "I am the Immaculate Conception." She does not say she was immaculately conceived. The author of the book, Michael Gaitley, goes on to say the Immaculate Conception is Divine. However, he says it's the Holy Spirit. This leads into a discussion of two Immaculate Conceptions. One is created and the other is uncreated. That is, the Holy Spirit is the uncreated and that Mary is the created. The Holy Spirit is Love that springs from the Father and the Son. Gaitley ties this to the idea that children "spring" from the love of a husband and wife.

Today's Prayer - Come, Holy Spirit, living in Mary...Unveil for me the meaning of the Immaculate Conception.

Day 10 - Who are you, O Immaculate Conception? (Part Two)
There is a special union between Mary and the Holy Spirit. According to Kolbe "The Holy Spirit dwells in , lives in her." The two are united. Again, in a comparison to marriage, "the wife takes the name of her husband she belongs to him, is one with him, becomes equal to him and is with him." Mary is the spouse of the Holy Spirit, this means that she will have the same name.

Today's Prayer - Come, Holy Spirit, living in Mary...Unveil for me the meaning of the Immaculate Conception.

Day 11 - The Immaculata Always Does God's Will, Perfectly.
Mary does the will of God perfectly. We are created to love God. By nature of this creation we are first separated from God and then we must return or reunite ourselves with Him. Because God gave us free will we can chose not to return. In short, we sin. It is through sin that we cannot make it back to God. Mary perfectly performed to God's will. In doing so, she helps sinners. She shows us the way back to God, she is ready to help us become saints.

Today's Prayer - Come, Holy Spirit, living in Mary...Renew the face of the earth, so that all creation may return to God. 

Day 12 - Who are you, O Holy Saints of God?
Maximilian Kolbe declared in his early years that "becoming a saint was his number one goal." He taught others "W + w = S" (God's Will + our will = Sanctity) This equation only works when our will is aligned with His will. Kolbe created founded the Militia Immaculata and urged his members to "become soldier saints for God under the generalship of Mary Immaculate." Again, this is because she so perfectly does the will of God. If we unite our will to hers, then they will be united to God's. Kolbe says she is the Mediatrix of Grace. On the Miraculous Medal, Mary has rays of light (graces), that come from the rings on her hands. One hand, however, has no rays. When asked by St. Catherine Laboure during the apparition, Mary explained that they were graces that no one was asking for.

Today's Prayer - Come, Holy Spirit, living in Mary...Untie my will to the will of the Immaculata, which is one with your will.