SSPX.ca: Eucharistic Crusaders

CHAPTER 4
TRIALS AND GRACES

The dark night of the soul continued for Fr. Maximilian, but he was faithful and continued to love Our Lady and help others love her. He finished his letter to the novices, "Have no confidence in yourselves, but in all your temptations and trials call on Mary and she will help you overcome them. I want you to love Mary so much that you will be unable to live without her!"

Meanwhile, the publication of the Immaculata at Grodono prospered. The magazine continued to increase: in 1924, 12,000 copies; in 1925, 30,000 copies; and in 1926, 45,000 copies. The old monastery at Grodono was filled to overflowing. The older priests did not approve of the huge production of all these magazines. They wanted to use the income from the magazine to support the monastery, but Fr. Maximilian held firm, "What good would it be for the monastery to have an income while souls are being lost? The devil and the atheistic press continue to snatch souls away from Our Lady. We must continue to fight to save souls until our last breath!"

Fr. Maximilian came back to Grodono from Zakopane when conditions at Grodono were quite bad. The Superiors at Grodono felt that they were being overcrowded in body and in soul so they decided that Fr. Maximilian, his Brothers and the printing presses must go.

Our Lady was watching over her knights. News came in the summer of 1927 that near Warsaw, in Niepokalanow, there was land for sale. On August 6, Fr. Maximilian, going to this land, set up a statue of Our Lady in the middle of the field saying, "Mary Immaculate, please take this field into your possession, for it is exactly what we want." Our Lady heard the prayer. Later, the saintly monk had to tell Prince Drucki-Lubecki, the owner of the land, that he was not able to buy it. The Prince was surprised at first and then, having a change of heart, gave the land to Fr. Maximilian for free! How powerful Our Lady is.

The Superiors at Grodono accepted the offer as well and gave permission to Fr, Maximilian to move with his Brothers to the new land.

The first group of workers left immediately to build the new monastery. They built some rough barracks and tried to carry on as best they could, being as poor as they were. But God provides, and the peasants from the surrounding country brought food for the monks, and also lent a helping hand.

More Brothers left Grodono on November 20, 1927 and arrived at Niepokalanow the next day. They had to help build the sheds for the printing presses. Mary blessed her knights and by 1938, the brothers printed up one million copies of the Immaculata magazine! What a blessing from Our Lady.

The monks were burning with love for Our Lady and even went so far as to publish a magazine called the "Little Knight of the Immaculata", for children. They also put out a Latin publication, the "Soldier of the Immaculata", for the clergy of all countries to read.

And this was not all they did. For a long time the Bishops of Poland had wanted a newspaper under Catholic management. Other people tried to print this special paper, but with no success. The "knights" decided to undertake this task and in May 1935, the first "Little Journal" appeared - a newspaper for the public, printed by Catholics. It was an instant success.

But what was the secret of this success? For nine days before the first issue was printed, the 327 Franciscan Knights of the Immaculata prayed night and day before the Blessed Sacrament. They fasted and did penance, and handed the whole project over to Our Lady. Then after nine days, they put the presses in motion. Mary blessed their work and all went well.

The monks continued to live in very great poverty, even so far as using tin cups for tea. China dishes were not allowed in the monastery. Fr. Maximilian continued to promote a great love for Our Lady amongst the Brothers and would often speak of her. "She is our whole life. It is she who does everything! Through her we want to win for Christ every soul in the entire world - those souls that are and those souls yet to be until the end of time." While speaking words like this, the holy priest's face would become transfigured. Fr. Maximilian looked more like an angel than a man, so full of love was he for Our Lady.

The Brothers had a special box in the monastery where they could put their ideas for inventions and projects. Many of these ideas were put into use so that the monastery could produce more magazines and papers.

All the Priests and Brothers were treated in the same way. Only the sick were privileged. They were given special food and all the remedies they needed to get better, even the most expensive. Fr. Maximilian literally spoiled the sick people and called them his "dear sick ones". When a visitor would ask where in the monastery the most work is done, the holy priest would reply, "Here!" and showed them the sick friars.

To really understand these Franciscans, we must look at the way they prayed. Their chapel was a simple shed. One is certainly reminded of the poverty in the stable of Bethlehem when speaking about this poor chapel. The chapel was completely filled with the good Brothers who prayed on their knees. They prayed and meditated for three and one half hours every day.

Hardly three years after the foundation of Niepokalanow, Fr. Maximilian set out on a mission. He met some Japanese students on a train and he gave them some Miraculous Medals. Thinking about pagan Japan from time to time, he one day asked the Provincial if he could go to Japan to set up another printing monastery, like the one in Niepokalanow, Poland. Fr. Maximilian did not have money, did not know the Japanese language and had no friends in Japan. Mary was watching. He soon obtained permission from his Superiors and at last on February 26, 1930 he set out with four Brothers for Japan.

Writing to the Brothers at Niepokalanow, he laments, "Nothing causes me more suffering than the lukewarmness of souls vowed to the Blessed Virgin Mary. I would give my life a thousand times to sanctify them. We are the property of Our Lady, her possession. She has rights over us. We are her knights, ready to go wherever she bids, willing to do whatever she asks. We must sacrifice our life to follow in Mary's footsteps."

On arriving in Japan, Fr. Maximilian left two of the Brothers at Shanghai in hopes of starting the printing of the Immaculata magazine there. He then carried on with the other two Brothers and landed at Nagasaki on April 24, 1930.

Fr. Maximilian met the Bishop Hyasaki of Nagasaki sometime after he landed. The Bishop smiled when he heard the plans of the saintly monk to publish a magazine without funds. When he found out that Fr. Maximilian was a Doctor of Theology and Philosophy, he asked him to teach some courses in his seminary.

Fr. Maximilian was delighted, "Gladly, your Excellency, but on the condition that you permit us to publish our magazine."

The Bishop looked at the holy priest, "It's a bargain; but you must manage for yourself!"

On May 24, 1930, Fr. Maximilian sent a message to the monastery at Niepokalano: "Today we are sending out our first issue. We have a printing establishment, praise be to Our Lady! Fr. Maximilian."

The Japanese know how to sacrifice themselves for a good cause. They observe strangers who come to their land, seeing if they also sacrifice themselves for a good cause.

Fr. Maximilian certainly measured up to their standards. They ate poorly, slept little, and lived in the open air without a building. They lived in extreme poverty. The Japanese saw that these Franciscans lived according to their own standards, and helped them wholeheartedly.

They bought an old printing machine and had to force it to work. The poor Brothers racked their brains for setting up type for the magazine articles using the 2000 signs of the Japanese alphabet.

Their housing was pitiful; the roof had holes in it. One night they had snow, a real blizzard. It snowed on the monks and in the morning their sleeping quarters were all white with snow! The poor Brothers, how they suffered!

They suffered worse from the Japanese cooking. "Lizard Stew" was not exactly what the monks enjoyed eating! Just kidding, not really "Lizard Stew," but one day, while talking about the sufferings that await the missionary, Fr. Maximilian put at the top of the list the Japanese cooking! It was just too hard for the holy priest to digest and his stomach suffered terribly from it.

Fr. Maximilian became very sick. He was worn out. He had terrible headaches and a fever that would not leave him. His eyes were red because he could not sleep. He had horrible sores on his body, which caused him much pain. During Mass, two Brothers had to support him because he could stand only on one foot! One day, being tired and worn out, he fell on the road and stayed there, unable to move, until one of the Brothers found him.

Fr. Maximilian did not die, and he wouldn't give up. He just kept on pushing forward. He was eager to continue spreading love for Our Lady over the whole world. He wrote in a letter, "As soon as our work is well set up in Japan, I will leave to make foundations in India. Then I will go to Beirut to convert the Arabs. I expect to publish the Immaculata magazine in Arabian, Turkish, Persian and Hebrew. I want to reach one thousand million people!" The holy priest's apostolic zeal knew no bounds; he would push to the limit to convert souls until he was dead.

to be continued

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