# St. Maximilian Kolbe on Uniting Our Will with Mary
*2018-04-20*

> Bill Young reflects on St. Maximilian Kolbe’s teaching that sanctity comes from uniting our will with God’s will through Mary, the “Matrix of Graces,” as part of the 33‑day Morning Glory retreat.

## Introducing Day 12 of the Morning Glory Retreat

Good morning, I’m Bill Young. Today we continue our do‑it‑yourself retreat, “33 Days to Morning Glory,” based on Father Michael Gately’s book. This is Day 12, the second week, and we focus on St. Maximilian Kolbe. He shows us how to consecrate ourselves to Mary and grow toward true sainthood.

## Kolbe’s Simple Formula for Sanctity

Kolbe taught his novices a simple equation: Big W + little w = Big S. The capital W represents God’s will; the small w represents our own will. When the two are united, they produce sanctity (the capital S). He repeated this truth throughout his community, urging everyone to become “soldiers of God” under Mary’s Immaculate patronage.

## Why Mary Is the Key to Unity with God’s Will

Kolbe believed that among all creatures, only Mary perfectly fulfills God’s will. When we unite our will with hers, we are automatically united with God’s will. He urged us to pray constantly, asking Mary to teach us to be “handmaids of the Lord” and to say, “Let it be done according to your word.” In doing so, we experience the happiness of fulfilling our destiny here on earth.

## Mary as the “Matrix of All Graces”

Kolbe explained that Mary is the “Matrix of all Graces” because the Holy Spirit distributes grace through her. The Immaculate Heart is the conduit through which God’s graces flow, making the path to holiness easier for us. He pointed to the image on the Miraculous Medal—Mary standing on the globe with rays of grace streaming from the rings of her fingers—as a visual reminder that graces are available whenever we ask for them.

## Putting the Teaching into Practice

Kolbe’s method is not merely to request graces but to allow Mary to take us completely into her hands, making us channels of those graces for the world. Our prayer for today reflects this: “Come, Holy Spirit, living in Mary, unite my will to the will of the Immaculata, which is one with Your will. Amen.” Tomorrow we move to Day 13, focusing on becoming instruments of God’s grace.

*Sanctity is achieved when we willingly unite our will with Mary’s, allowing her to channel God’s graces into our lives.*