continuation...

The Mariology of St. Maximilian M. Kolbe
by Fr. James McCurry, O.F.M. Conv.

This Franciscan backdrop begins to provide an answer to the second question which a survey of Kolbean thought must pose: What are the sources for the Marian Christocentrism which we have already seen as characterizing Kolbe's fundamental perspective? One year after professing his first vows as a Conventual Franciscan in Poland, Friar Maximilian was sent in 1912 to Rome, where in 1915 and 1919 he received doctorates in philosophy and theology respectively. There in Rome, while living at his Order's Collegio Serafico, Kolbe was exposed to the rich Franciscan tradition which stressed the Primacy of Christ (and its pastoral correlative, devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus), at the same time as it linked to Christ's primacy a theological and devotional emphasis on the privilege of Mary's Immaculate Conception. Fr. Domanski has pointed out, for example, the impact that two 1913 para-liturgical devotions, held in the seminary, had on the developing Franciscan consciousness of young Kolbe: first, the dedication of a statue of the Immacualte Conception in the seminary chapel in February of that year; second, the seminary's participatio in the solemn consecration of the Order to the Sacred Heart the following June.

Such devotions stimulated Kolbe's theological reflections on the Franciscan/Scotistic claim that the Absolute Predestination of Christ as Word Incarnate and of Mary as Immaculate Conception are linked inseparably in one and the same decree of the Divine Plan of Salvation. This Scotistic dimension of Kolbe's thought will be seen more fully in the next major section of this paper. For the time being, one reference should suffice to demonstrate that Kolbe is an authentic offshoot of the Franciscan trunk.

The reference, penned by Kolve in 1940, is part of the "Schema" for a book which he was preparing on the Immacualte Conception:

Among the innumerable possible beings that could express his different perfection's, God from all eternity was one endowed with perfect form, immaculate, with no slightest taint of sin, a creature that would reflect his own divine qualities in the most perfect degree possible for a created nature. He rejoiced in this vision, and from all eternity decided that in time he would call such a creature into existence.

When he had created the angels, God willed that they should spontaneously give him a proof that they would always and everywhere accomplish his will. He revealed to them the mystery of the Incarnation [and announced] that some day he would call into existence a human creature made of body and soul, a creature that he would raise to the dignity of Mother of God...

Before moving into a deeper consideration of characteristic features in Kolbe's mariology, I should note in passing two other very significant influences on Kolbe's Marian Christocentrism: A) the nationalistic cult of the Virgin, particularly the Czestochowa madonna, so ingrained in Kolbe's Polish background; B) the spirituality of the "French School," particularly the dynamics of "Total Consecration to Mary" seen in St. Louis de Montfort. The Polish marian cult taught Kolbe to recognize the presence of Mary in practical human affairs (political, social, cultural, and so forth) as an active dynamic force. The influence of de Montfort refined Kolbe's understanding of the spiritual nature of a person's self-surrender to Jesus through Mary. Both the Polish and French influences, however, stand only on the periphery of this paper's mariological concerns, because their impact lay in the realm of Kolbe's spirituality and apostolate rather than in the realm of his speculative theology.

Kolbe's theological speculations in themselves stand as the third major issue inviting the crutiny of this paper's Kolbean survey. The question may be posed: What specific points characterize this mariology? Three emerge as the most salient: 1) the Immaculate Conception in its relationship to the Mission of the Spirit; 2) the Immaculate Conception in its relationship to the Mission of the Son; 3) the Immaculate Conception in its relationship to the Trinity. All three slient points share a common denominator: they focus on the mystery of the Immaculate Conception as the mystery of Mary's personhood or identity. Several of Kolbe's written meditations repeat the question: "Who are you, O Immacualte Conception?"