"St. Maximilian Kolbe, Martyr of Charity", Neilson Carlin
"... the Blessed Mother appeared to me holding in her hands two crowns: one white the other red. She looked at me with tenderness and asked me if I wanted these two crowns. The white one signified that I would preserve my purity and the red that I would be a martyr."St. Maximilian offered his life in exchange for a prisoner who was to be executed. he died by lethal injection, after many days of starvation. Kolbe's death was truly a heroic act of the most perfect charity by which he won his martyr's crown. Since his canonization, the Saint's intercession is often sought for people addicted to drugs because of the manner in which he died. However, I see his death foreshadowing the growing practice of euthanasia we hear about in our times: withholding nutrition and hydration, as well as lethal injection. That is exactly how Kolbe was put to death - although much more cruelly, no clinical pretensions to comfort. On account of this, Kolbe must be considered a major patron of the pro-life movement, especially for the abolition of the death penalty and to stop the trend towards euthanasia.
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In 1973 Paul VI beatified him and in 1982 John Paul II canonized him as a Martyr of Charity. - Source
