Celebrate St. Maximilian Kolbe

Novena in Honor of St. Maximilian Kolbe – August 2025

Introduction
We live in times when hope often seems to be scarce. Amid the sorrows of the world, the challenges of faith, the losses and fears, the human heart cries out in search of a deeper meaning, of a light that illuminates the path, of a strength that sustains the journey. This novena is an invitation to rediscover Christian hope, not as a vague or fragile feeling, but as a certainty rooted in God's love, revealed in Christ and sustained by the maternal presence of Mary, Our Lady of Hope. Inspired by the heroic witness of St Maximilian Kolbe, whose life was and always will be a luminous sign of hope for so many people, we want, day after day, to make room in our hearts for a hope that generates life, is born of love, brings us closer to God, and launches us into mission. No matter your situation, your pain, tiredness, or your doubts, welcome this time as an opportunity to renew your gaze and your inner strength. Let the Word of God, the voice of the Church, the example of St Maximilian, and community prayer rekindle in you the certainty that hope does not disappoint (Rom 5:5). 

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

O Immaculata, you guided St. Maximilian Kolbe to love without measure. Teach me to be a witness of the Gospel and to make of my life a gift of love and hope for my brothers and sisters. O Lord Jesus Christ, who said, “greater love than this no man has that a man lay down his life for his friends,” through the intercession of St. Maximilian Kolbe whose life illustrated such love, we beseech you to grant us our petitions (in silence, we state our petitions).

Day One: Hope generates life “Surely, I wait for the LORD; who bends down to me and hears my cry, draws me up from the pit of destruction, out of the muddy clay, sets my feet upon rock, steadies my steps.” (Ps 40: 2-3)

The Voice of the Church
“The Christian community should be at the forefront in pointing out the need for a social covenant to support and foster hope, one that is inclusive and not ideological, working for a future filled with the laughter of babies and children, in order to fill the empty cradles in so many parts of our world. All of us, however, need to recover the joy of living, since men and women, created in the image and likeness of God (cf. Gen 1:26), cannot rest content with getting along one day at a time, settling for the here and now and seeking fulfilment in material realities alone.” (Spes non confundit, no. 9)

Testimony
“From the very first day he arrived at the death camp, I often met him following the evening roll call. Although his head was usually bent forward—perhaps because of his poor health—and he spoke slowly and low, his words gave me hope and strength to endure the camp sufferings with great, deep joy and satisfaction. After listening to him, I felt no longer afraid to die, a prospect constantly threatening one.” (Patricia Treece, A Man for Others, pp. 160-161 – 1st ed.)

Personal Reflection
Have I been a sign of hope in the lives of people who live with me? 

Intercessions
When our life is no longer a gift for others, All Our Lady of Hope, intercede for us! • When we cannot find the right words to console people who are without hope, All Our Lady of Hope, intercede for us! • When we are content just to survive rather than live, All Our Lady of Hope, intercede for us! Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be. Closing

Closing Prayer
St. Maximilian, in the darkness of Auschwitz, you were a light, and you gave confidence and hope to your fellow captives. You gave everything to the end, even your very life out of love. With you and the whole Church, I wish to pray for world peace, justice, and respect for the dignity and value of each human person. St. Maximilian, help me to become like you, an instrument of communion, a reflection of Mary’s maternal tenderness, a witness of Charity, a voice that proclaims, “Love alone creates!” St. Maximilian Kolbe, pray for us.

Day Two: Hope is born of love “Guide me by your fidelity and teach me, for you are God my savior, for you I wait all the day long.” (Ps 25: 5)

The Voice of the Church
“Hope is born of love and based on the love springing from the pierced heart of Jesus upon the cross: “For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more surely, having been reconciled, will we be saved by his life” (Rom 5:19). That life becomes manifest in our own life of faith, which begins with Baptism, develops in openness to God’s grace and is enlivened by a hope constantly renewed and confirmed by the working of the Holy Spirit.” (Spes non confundit, no. 3)

Testimony
“I often saw him walking along, his head bent slightly forward, wrapped in prayer. And since he fulfilled God's will and commandments, he possessed the love of God. In the concentration camp, where we were crushed by inhuman sufferings and robbed of faith, he not only accepted everything as from God's hand, but thanked Him and loved Him all the more.” (Patricia Treece, A Man for Others, p. 161 – 1st ed.)

Personal Reflection
Does my daily life mirror a faith rooted in hope and God’s love? 

Intercessions
When our hope wavers in the face of difficulties, All Our Lady of Hope, intercede for us! • When, like St. Maximilian, we are called to live God’s will in difficult times, All Our Lady of Hope, intercede for us! • When life challenges us to follow God’s will, All Our Lady of Hope, intercede for us! Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be.

Closing Prayer
St. Maximilian, in the darkness of Auschwitz, you were a light, and you gave confidence and hope to your fellow captives. You gave everything to the end, even your very life out of love. With you and the whole Church, I wish to pray for world peace, justice, and respect for the dignity and value of each human person. St. Maximilian, help me to become like you, an instrument of communion, a reflection of Mary’s maternal tenderness, a witness of Charity, a voice that proclaims, “Love alone creates!” St. Maximilian Kolbe, pray for us.

Day Three: Hope draws closer to God “My soul, be at rest in God alone, from whom comes my hope.” (Ps 62:6)

The Voice of the Church
“Hope speaks to us of a thirst, an aspiration, a longing for a life of fulfillment, a desire to achieve great things, things which fill our heart and lift our spirit to lofty realities like truth, goodness and beauty, justice and love.” (Pope Francis, to Students in Havana, September 20, 2015)

Testimony
“Trust in God. By way of such trust, without understanding things directly, we give great glory to God for we acknowledge His wisdom, His goodness and His power. Let us trust in God, then, but trust Him without limits. Let us be confident that, if we are concerned only with doing His Will, no real harm will ever come to us, even if we were to live in times a thousandfold harsher than the ones we live in now.” (KW 1264)

Personal Reflection
Do I trust in God even when I do not understand what He allows in my life? Is my trust grounded on faith or circumstances? 

Intercessions 
When to follow your Son seems difficult and our faith falters, All Our Lady of Hope, intercede for us! • When our “no” precedes our “yes,” All Our Lady of Hope, intercede for us! • When we lose the ability to dream, All Our Lady of Hope, intercede for us! Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be.

Closing Prayer
St. Maximilian, in the darkness of Auschwitz, you were a light, and you gave confidence and hope to your fellow captives. You gave everything to the end, even your very life out of love. With you and the whole Church, I wish to pray for world peace, justice, and respect for the dignity and value of each human person. St. Maximilian, help me to become like you, an instrument of communion, a reflection of Mary’s maternal tenderness, a witness of Charity, a voice that proclaims, “Love alone creates!” St. Maximilian Kolbe, pray for us.

Day Four: Hope causes us to be on the move “They that hope in the LORD will renew their strength, they will soar on eagles’ wings; They will run and not grow weary, walk and not grow faint.” (Is 40:31)

The Voice of the Church
“The storms that buffet us will never prevail, for we are firmly anchored in the hope born of grace, which enables us to live in Christ and to overcome sin, fear and death. This hope, which transcends life’s fleeting pleasures and the achievement of our immediate goals, makes us rise above our trials and difficulties, and inspires us to keep pressing forward, never losing sight of the grandeur of the heavenly goal to which we have been called.” (Spes non confundit, no. 25)

Testimony
“[Max] refused to be blocked by obstacles; the most arduous difficulties seemed to him nothing.... His passion, his torment, was for three main things: the union of the Churches, the purity of the peoples’ way of life, and the sharing of all persons in the holiness of God. For these goals, his energies flowed.” (Patricia Treece, A Man for Others, p. 16 – 1st ed.)

Personal Reflection
How does the thought of Heaven as my ultimate goal affect my daily choices and attitudes? 

Intercessions
When we are tempted to stop before reaching our final goal, All Our Lady of Hope, intercede for us! • When fear paralyzes us, All Our Lady of Hope, intercede for us! • When we do not understand God’s ways, All Our Lady of Hope, intercede for us! Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be.

Closing Prayer
St. Maximilian, in the darkness of Auschwitz, you were a light, and you gave confidence and hope to your fellow captives. You gave everything to the end, even your very life out of love. With you and the whole Church, I wish to pray for world peace, justice, and respect for the dignity and value of each human person. St. Maximilian, help me to become like you, an instrument of communion, a reflection of Mary’s maternal tenderness, a witness of Charity, a voice that proclaims, “Love alone creates!” St. Maximilian Kolbe, pray for us.

Day Five: Hope widens our horizons “Brothers, I for my part do not consider myself to have taken possession. Just one thing: forgetting what lies behind but straining forward to what lies ahead, continue my pursuit toward the goal, the prize of God’s upward calling, in Christ Jesus.” (Phil 3:13-14)

The Voice of the Church
“[Hope]is the ability to go beyond human reasoning, the wisdom and prudence of the world, beyond what is normally considered common sense, to believe in the impossible. Hope opens new horizons, makes us capable of dreaming what is not even imaginable. Hope leads us into the darkness of an uncertain future to walk in the light. The virtue of hope is beautiful; It gives us so much strength to walk through life.” (Pope Francis – Audience, December 28, 2016)

Testimony
“When will we raise up the flags of the Immaculata in her Niepokalanows in the second hemisphere: Canada, the United States, Mexico, the various Republics of Central America, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Peru, Bolivia, and so on?… May the Immaculata wish to hasten that time.” (KW 749)

Personal Reflection
In which situations have I chosen comfort rather than the Gospel’s audacity? What prevents me from taking risk for the love of God?

Intercessions
When we desire to raise our gaze and walk with courage toward the horizons God the Father has dreamed for us, All Our Lady of Hope, intercede for us! • When we see only our limitations, All Our Lady of Hope, intercede for us! • When we need strength to move onward, All Our Lady of Hope, intercede for us! Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be.

Closing Prayer
St. Maximilian, in the darkness of Auschwitz, you were a light, and you gave confidence and hope to your fellow captives. You gave everything to the end, even your very life out of love. With you and the whole Church, I wish to pray for world peace, justice, and respect for the dignity and value of each human person. St. Maximilian, help me to become like you, an instrument of communion, a reflection of Mary’s maternal tenderness, a witness of Charity, a voice that proclaims, “Love alone creates!” St. Maximilian Kolbe, pray for us.

Day Six: Hope opens us to our brothers and sisters "Whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me." (Mt 25:40)

The Voice of the Church
“During the Holy Year, we are called to be tangible signs of hope for those of our brothers and sisters who experience hardships of any kind. I think of prisoners who, deprived of their freedom, daily feel the harshness of detention and its restrictions, lack of affection and, in more than a few cases, lack of respect for their persons.... Signs of hope should also be shown to the sick, at home or in the hospital. Their sufferings can be allayed by the closeness and affection of those who visit them.... Signs of hope should also be present for migrants…. Their expectations must not be frustrated by prejudice and rejection….The elderly, who frequently feel lonely and abandoned, also deserve signs of hope. Esteem for the treasure that they are, their life experiences, their accumulated wisdom, and the contribution that they can still make, is incumbent on the Christian community and civil society…. I ask with all my heart that hope be granted to the billions of the poor….” (Spes non confundit, nn. 10-15)

Testimony
“In the dark days of 1940, in spite of the friary’s poverty and a new group of deportees to care of, he continued this policy, trusting in 'the bottomless cash box of Divine Providence.’ Father Florian recalls: 'He gave orders to feed anyone who came to the door of the friary hungry. It was simply a principle of his to console or help anyone who had problems or sorrows.’” (Patricia Treece, A Man for Others, pg. 93 – 1st ed)

Personal Reflection
Am I truly able to listen to the needs of my brethren who are hopeless, and to make myself their neighbor?

Intercessions
When we get tired of doing good, All Our Lady of Hope, intercede for us! • When we are insensitive to the needs of our brothers and sisters, All Our Lady of Hope, intercede for us! • When we close our hearts because of prejudices, All Our Lady of Hope, intercede for us! Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be.

Closing Prayer
St. Maximilian, in the darkness of Auschwitz, you were a light, and you gave confidence and hope to your fellow captives. You gave everything to the end, even your very life out of love. With you and the whole Church, I wish to pray for world peace, justice, and respect for the dignity and value of each human person. St. Maximilian, help me to become like you, an instrument of communion, a reflection of Mary’s maternal tenderness, a witness of Charity, a voice that proclaims, “Love alone creates!” St. Maximilian Kolbe, pray for us.

Day Seven: Hope makes happiness blossom “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete.” (Jn 15:11)

The Voice of the Church
“But what is happiness? What is the happiness that we await and desire? Not some fleeting pleasure, a momentary satisfaction that, once experienced, keeps us longing for more, in a desperate quest that leaves our hearts unsated and increasingly empty. We aspire to a happiness that is definitively found in the one thing that can bring us fulfilment, which is love. Thus, we will be able to say even now: I am loved, therefore I exist; and I will live forever in the love that does not disappoint, the love from which nothing can ever separate me.” (Spes non confundit, no. 21)

Testimony
“So, you know many people on earth do not know God yet, do not know the Immaculata, and so at times they even wonder why they exist. They do not have happiness, especially in coping with life’s troubles and sufferings. They do not know that the end of man is God and that any reality of this world is only a means to reach God in eternity in heaven. They do not know that the Mediatrix of all graces, the spiritual mother of all men is Mary Immaculate; that by having recourse to her, loving her, they may come closer to God more easily and more swiftly.” (KW 758)

Personal reflection
Where am I looking for happiness?

Intercessions
When we realize that many still live without knowing God, who is the true meaning of life, All Our Lady of Hope, intercede for us! • When suffering seems to have no answer and sorrow no consolation, All Our Lady of Hope, intercede for us! • When we give up on trusting that happiness, which doesn’t disappoint, does exist, All Our Lady of Hope, intercede for us! Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be.

Closing Prayer
St. Maximilian, in the darkness of Auschwitz, you were a light, and you gave confidence and hope to your fellow captives. You gave everything to the end, even your very life out of love. With you and the whole Church, I wish to pray for world peace, justice, and respect for the dignity and value of each human person. St. Maximilian, help me to become like you, an instrument of communion, a reflection of Mary’s maternal tenderness, a witness of Charity, a voice that proclaims, “Love alone creates!” St. Maximilian Kolbe, pray for us.

Day Eight: Hope makes us builders of peace “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God” (Mt 5:9)

The Voice of the Church
“The first sign of hope should be the desire for peace in our world, which once more finds itself immersed in the tragedy of war. Heedless of the horrors of the past, humanity is confronting yet another ordeal, as many peoples are prey to brutality and violence. What does the future hold for those peoples, who have already endured so much? How is it possible that their desperate plea for help is not motivating world leaders to resolve the numerous regional conflicts in view of their possible consequences at the global level? Is it too much to dream that arms can fall silent and cease to rain down destruction and death? May the Jubilee remind us that those who are peacemakers will be called “children of God” (Mt 5:9).” (Spes non confundit, no. 8)

Testimony
“Rekindle love and trust in Mary Immaculate everywhere and you shall soon see tears flowing from the eyes of the most hardened sinners. You shall see prisons emptied, the ranks of honest workers increased; while home hearths will be redolent of virtue; peace and happiness will destroy discord and pain, for it will be already a new era.” (KW 1069)

Personal Reflection
The world needs peace. Which small choices can I make today to be a sign of peace in the place where I live? 

Intercessions
When building walls seems easier than building bridges, All Our Lady of Hope, intercede for us! • When hatred and resentment overtake love, All Our Lady of Hope, intercede for us! • When we are called to be a presence of peace, All Our Lady of Hope, intercede for us! Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be.

Closing Prayer
St. Maximilian, in the darkness of Auschwitz, you were a light, and you gave confidence and hope to your fellow captives. You gave everything to the end, even your very life out of love. With you and the whole Church, I wish to pray for world peace, justice, and respect for the dignity and value of each human person. St. Maximilian, help me to become like you, an instrument of communion, a reflection of Mary’s maternal tenderness, a witness of Charity, a voice that proclaims, “Love alone creates!” St. Maximilian Kolbe, pray for us.

Day Nine: Hope does not disappoint “Hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the holy Spirit that has been given to us.” (Rm 5:5)

The Voice of the Church
Christian hope does not deceive or disappoint because it is grounded in the certainty that nothing and no one may ever separate us from God’s love: “Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril or the sword? No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” ( Rom 8:35.37-39). Here we see the reason why this hope perseveres in the midst of trials: founded on faith and nurtured by charity, it enables us to press forward in life.” (Spes non confundit, no.3)

Testimony
“He was totally enamored of God. When in the camp we suffered hunger, cold, and when we slept on the ground or on hay under tents – and it was already a snowy and icy November – and we had no water to drink,… and while the insects and filth tormented us, Father Maximilian bore it all with joy. It was a way, he felt, he could show his love for God.” (Patricia Treece, A Man for Others, pg. 82 – 1st ed.)

Personal Reflection
Which recent situations put my hope to the test? How did I react?

Intercessions
When difficulties cause us to doubt the love of our Heavenly Father, All Our Lady of Hope, intercede for us! • When practicing charity seems challenging, All Our Lady of Hope, intercede for us! • When physical or interior suffering weighs on our shoulders, All Our Lady of Hope, intercede for us! Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be.

Closing Prayer
St. Maximilian, in the darkness of Auschwitz, you were a light, and you gave confidence and hope to your fellow captives. You gave everything to the end, even your very life out of love. With you and the whole Church, I wish to pray for world peace, justice, and respect for the dignity and value of each human person. St. Maximilian, help me to become like you, an instrument of communion, a reflection of Mary’s maternal tenderness, a witness of Charity, a voice that proclaims, “Love alone creates!” St. Maximilian Kolbe, pray for us.