Lent celebrates Jesus being led by the Spirit into the wilderness to strengthen his life witness. At the end of his sojourn he is tempted by the devil. Fr. Engelmar Unzeitig is led by the Spirit into the wilderness to strengthen his life witness. He is tempted by the devil that is Nazi Germany during its takeover of Czechoslovakia. Engelmar was ordained in August of 1939, not quite a year after Hitlers’ annexation of Czechoslovakia and on the eve of Hitler’s September invasions that resulted in declarations of war. Hitler’s Nazi cult dominated Czechoslovakia via the Gestapo who roamed the streets. The Gestapo were a police force loyal to the Fuhrer. They obeyed his orders to investigate and arrest his political opponents under the false claim they were dangerous. They enforced race and color distinctions against people Hitler called “invaders.” The Gestapo targeted people whom the Fuhrer’s hated for “poisoning the blood” of the white race. The Gestapo also imprisoned people in concentration camps whom the Fuhrer declared “innerer feind,” translated as “enemies within.” Hitler’s process would be repeated by other dictators across history, including the current U.S. president. Amidst temptations for the people to comply with the Nazis anti-Christ-like behaviors, Engelmar stood strong. From the pulpit he was one of too few priests who spoke out in support of the innocent people targeted for arrest and imprisonment in concentration camps. Engelmar was reported to the Nazi regime. He too was arrested and imprisoned in a concentration camp, Dachau. Dachau became Fr. Englemar’s parish. He cared for and tended to all the people he could. He was transfigured from a man of his time to a man for all time. His appearance changed from a conscientious youth to a dazzling spiritual figure. He became one of the angels of the camp. The squalor and misery forced upon the people was worsened by an outbreak of typhoid. The fever ran rampant through the severely overcrowded barracks. The sick were put in separate barracks to suffer and die alone. Prisoners avoided the typhoid barracks while knowing care was needed for the human beings suffering there. Father Engelmar volunteered to nurse them, “I will go.” Many of the sick prisoners died as did many of the caregivers attempting to heal them. Fr. Engelmar was one of the volunteers who did not survive. At 34 years of age on March 2, 1945, six weeks before Dachau was liberated, Fr. Engelmar died.
Prayer: Engelmar “opposed hatred with love, and answered ferocity with meekness: may his example help us to be witnesses of charity and hope even in the midst of trials.” (Pope Francis at Engelmar’s beatification)
Question: Who are the people who act as opponents or express hatred and I answer them with love?
March 1, 2026 Gospel Matthew 17:1-9 Second Sunday in Lent