Perhaps one of the most famous historical examples of a Christian putting the life of others ahead of his own is the priest Maximilian Kolbe. Imprisoned in Auschwitz in 1941, Kolbe volunteered to take the place of a man who was about to be sentenced to death by starvation. “I’ll take his place,” Kolbe said. SS guards killed him fourteen days later. (Benjamin Biniaz, “Religious Resistance in Auschwitz: The Sacrifice of Saint Kolbe,” USC Shoah Foundation, August 12, 2016, https://sfi.usc.edu/news/2016/08/12019-religious-resistance-auschwitz-sacrifice-saint-kolbe). Pope John Paul II called Kolbe “the patron saint of our difficult century” God calls men and women of all ages to lead by example. In 2024, nine-year-old Kelvin Ellis Jr. mistook business owner Matt Busbice for a homeless man as Busbice paused outside a coffee shop for morning prayer. Ellis offered him his last dollar, and their story has since gone viral (https://youtu.be/67yIxkOyu9Q?si=8mExlDk19iM0BzJ0). Busbice’s example of prayer and Ellis’s example of generosity may inspire others to lead in their actions as well as their words.
