These reflections are a result of more than 40 years of ministry as a Roman Catholic priest. Most of these years I spent in the Diocese of Charlotte which covers Western North Carolina. Now I am retired, and live in Medellín, Colombia where I continue to serve as a priest in the Archdiocese of Medellín.

Saint Maximilian Kolbe, presbyter & martyr, August 14

Responsorial Psalm (Psalm 133)
R. The glory of the Lord is higher than the skies.
From the rising to the setting of the sun is the name of the LORD to be praised.
High above all nations is the LORD; above the heavens is his glory.
R. The glory of the Lord is higher than the skies.
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/081424.cfm
As the Eucharistic prayer says: “You never cease to gather a people to yourself, so that from the rising of the sun to its setting a pure sacrifice may be offered to your name” (Eucharistic Prayer III). It is this praise of the Lord that filled the heart of Maximillian Kolbe (1894-1941) and moved him to offer his life in place of a fellow prisoner in Auschwitz who had a family. He died on this day a martyr of charity.