The Virgin of the Smile at Les Buissonnets.  Photo credit: Al Basil

Day 3 of the novena to Blessed Louis and Zelie Martin prepared for Sainte-Therese Parish in Metz, France.  Used with the permission of Fr. Jean-Claude Lange and translated by Mary Davidson, OCDS for "Saint Therese of Lisieux: A Gateway."  Please join me in praying in thanksgiving for their generosity and asking God to bless both persons and the parish. 

Third Day

The test and the sickness

"Come to me all you who labor and are heavy laden" (Matthew 11: 28)

Prayer to the Holy Spirit:

Speak, Holy Spirit, and make a fountain in my heart, whose pure and wholesome water saves the greatest fisherman, heals the most incurable sinner, and forgives the most guilty to make them worthy of heaven. More needy than Madeleine, Lazarus in the tomb, or the Samaritan woman, I ask you for this water that I would drink. I ask for this precious gift, knowing that the greater your gift, the more you will be glorified. Help me in my powerlessness; I am a living reed. Stop my inconstancy; I change more than the wind. Dispel my ignorance; I am a man born blind. (St. Louis Marie Grignon de Montfort).

Psalm 41:

1 Blessed are those who have regard for the weak;
the Lord delivers them in times of trouble.

2 The Lord protects and preserves them—
they are counted among the blessed in the land—
he does not give them over to the desire of their foes.

3 The Lord sustains them on their sickbed
and restores them from their bed of illness.

4 I said, “Have mercy on me, Lord;
heal me, for I have sinned against you.”

5 My enemies say of me in malice,
“When will he die and his name perish?”

6 When one of them comes to see me,
he speaks falsely, while his heart gathers slander;
then he goes out and spreads it around.

7 All my enemies whisper together against me;
they imagine the worst for me, saying,
8 “A vile disease has afflicted him;
he will never get up from the place where he lies.”

9 Even my close friend,
someone I trusted,
one who shared my bread,
has turned against me.

10 But may you have mercy on me, Lord;
raise me up, that I may repay them.
11 I know that you are pleased with me,
for my enemy does not triumph over me.

12 Because of my integrity you uphold me
and set me in your presence forever.
13 Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel,
from everlasting to everlasting.

Amen and Amen.Zelie at age 35, in 1868, after the deaths of her two baby sons. She was originally photographed alone; an image of Marie-Joseph-Louis was added to this photograph later.

Reflection: At Les Buissonets, the Virgin of the Smile calls us and invites us to understand that her smile is welcoming and a source of healing. In the school of St. Therese, recognize the true smile in the trial, as in sickness, and distance ourselves from selfish, negative speech that dries up hope: “Why is this happening to me?” Zelie Martin, until the end of her life, endured this trial. It led her to the feet of the Virgin Mary in Lourdes beyond disease and suffering. She practiced hope above all. At Lisieux, Louis Martin put down his cross on the stone altar as a sacrifice of love. The couple chose to stand at the foot of the cross as faithful and compassionate children because they knew, faithful to the school of St. Bernadette, they would be happy not in this world, but in the next. In our turn, we must understand that our whole life, whatever trials that compose it, can be and must become an offering. But how may we find this passage from darkness to light? Listen to St. Peter Chrysologus: "Offer your life to God, the offering of fasting is a pure offering, a holy sacrifice, a living victim who intercedes on your behalf and that is given to God. Whoever does not give God his life will have no excuse, because we always have ourselves to offer. But those who offer their lives will receive mercy. Fasting bears no fruit unless it is watered by mercy. What you do not give to others, you will not receive."  Trials, family problems, illness, professional disappointments--these await us and threaten us regularly. Everything may seem disproportionate and unfair when a catastrophe shakes our lives and our surroundings. But whatever happens, let us remain in the just judgment, the right state of soul. Always have an attitude of listening to the other. Let us keep intact our ability to give, to offer, even if God seems to take back what he seemed to give in a mysterious relationship of the heart. The offering of ourselves should be our ideal for life, supported by Charity, the great theological virtue. Louis and Zelie Martin gave everything. They offered everything without distinction, and sowed with hope of reaping their harvest in the heavenly kingdom. Are we able to sow and harvest, to wait with patience and with humility? Agree to remain as a little child in the hand of the Father. Are you not already accepting His blessing?

For Meditation:

Louis and Zelie Martin teach us an understanding of love from within our trials and illnesses. Blessed Louis and Zelie, Intercede for us so that in our true offering, we may become carriers of water to cleanse the wounds of Him who gave everything for love.

Daily Prayer: Our Father; Hail Mary; Our Father.

"God Our Father,

I thank you for Louis and Zelie Martin,

a couple united in faith, giving the witness of an exemplary Christian life

through the exercise of the duty of their state in life

and the practice of the evangelical virtues.

In the education of a large family,

through trials, mourning, and suffering,

they generously expressed their trust in You

and their submission to Your will.

Deign to grant, O Lord, the graces that I seek,

in the hope that the father and mother of St. Therese of the Child Jesus

will one day be proposed as models for today's families for the entire Church. Amen.”

Day 2 of the novena to Blessed Louis and Zelie Martin prepared for Sainte-Therese Parish in Metz, France.  Used with the permission of Fr. Jean-Claude Lange and translated by Mary Davidson, OCDS for "Saint Therese of Lisieux: A Gateway."  I thank them both warmly and ask you to pray for both these persons and for Sainte-Therese Parish.

The shrine and relics of Blessed Louis and Zelie Martin at St. Patrick's Church, Columbus, Ohio

 Fruits of the Spirit

"The Lord gave me parents more worthy of Heaven than of Earth." (St. Therese of the Child Jesus).

Prayer to the Holy Spirit

"O consuming Fire, Spirit of Love, come upon me and create in my soul a kind of incarnation of the Word: that I may be another humanity for Him in which He can renew His whole Mystery. And You, O Father, bend lovingly over Your poor little creature; cover her with Your shadow, seeing in her only the 'Beloved in whom You are well pleased.'" --Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity

Psalm 21

The king rejoices in your strength, O Lord.
How great is his joy in the victories you give!

2 You have granted him his heart’s desire
and have not withheld the request of his lips.

3 You came to greet him with rich blessings
and placed a crown of pure gold on his head.

4 He asked you for life, and you gave it to him—
length of days, for ever and ever.

5 Through the victories you gave, his glory is great;
you have bestowed on him splendor and majesty.

6 Surely you have granted him unending blessings
and made him glad with the joy of your presence.

Reflection

The "Yes" given in the breath of the Spirit is a commitment to the path of trust and abandonment, so dear to St. Teresa: "Lord Thy will be done, not mine." Indeed, if we listen to the Spirit, it will be easier to discern the call to holiness amid the noise of the world. This particular path can be daunting, or like an arid desert, unless one lives in the sacraments, the Eucharist. Each time we choose this path, we hear the echoes of Hosea's voice so close to us today: "I will espouse you to me forever, in right and in justice, in love and in mercy. I will espouse you to me in faithfulness: and you shall know the Lord "(Hosea 2: 21-22). Hope is a forceful dynamic, for those who recognize God's life in themselves: "The Spirit overshadows you; you welcome into yourself the dew of heaven. Already the time has come. In the distance is the harvest of those who cross the Jordan, the land of Israel "(Chronicles). Louis and Zelie Martin knew the voice of the Spirit and they recognized the scents of the dawn. They always desired to consecrate their union in memory of Tobias and Sarah: "Tobias rises from bed and said to Sarah: arise my love. We must pray and ask our Lord for His grace and protection. She stood up and they began to pray for God’s deliverance.”  (Tobias 8). That is why it is important that the composition of our families here on earth reflects the image of the Father of mankind, the family of Nazareth, and the holy family. We are all called to be architects of hope and love: “As a young man marries a virgin, your Builder will marry you, and as a bridegroom rejoices in his bride, so shall your God rejoice in you" (Isaiah 62:5). Through this sweet relationship with our Father, St. Therese reassures us about our calling as parents. As the Blessed Virgin Mary said: "You will not let families be destroyed." Louis and Zelie Martin teach how to say "Yes" so that we also may build. Through the "Yes" that we give, may we become like prodigal children. May we give life so that life may be given to us.

For meditation:

 Louis and Zelie Martin, in the essence of your love you confirmed your desire for the conception of each of your children. Help us to obtain the grace of peace in our lives given to the Father. May we consecrate all our actions to Him and give Him all of our love.

Daily prayers:

Our Father, . . .  Hail Mary, . . . 

"God Our Father,

I thank you for Louis and Zelie Martin,

a couple united in faith, giving the witness of an exemplary Christian life

through the exercise of the duty of their state in life

and the practice of the evangelical virtues.

In the education of a large family,

through trials, mourning, and suffering,

they generously expressed their trust in You

and their submission to Your will.

Deign to grant, O Lord, the graces that I seek,

in the hope that the father and mother of St. Therese of the Child Jesus

will one day be proposed as models for today's families for the entire Church. Amen.”

Day 1 of the novena to Blessed Louis and Zelie Martin prepared for Sainte-Therese Parish in Metz, France.  Used with the permission of Fr. Jean-Claude Laing and translated by Mary Davidson, OCDS for "Saint Therese of Lisieux: A Gateway."  Fervent thanks to them both.

First Day

The Meeting, God's time

"Never forget that He who is Love died for you. But you will not like that you will suffer in silence." St. Margaret Mary [Alacoque] of Paray-le-Monial).

Prayer to the Holy Spirit:

The Spirit and the Bride say, "Come" …come with your grace, for this world is passing, and you will be all in all. Let the one who hears say, "Come," as one who is thirsty comes to drink freely of the living water. He who testified to this, said: "Yes, I am coming soon." Amen. Come, Lord Jesus, maranatha.

Psalm 23

The Lord is my shepherd;

I shall want for nothing.

He makes me to lie down in green pastures.

He leads me beside the still waters.

He restores my soul.

He leads me in the paths of righteousness

for his name’s sake.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil, for you are with me.

Your rod and your staff comfort me.

You prepare a table for me in the presence of my enemies;

you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.

Surely goodness and mercy will follow me

all the days of my life,

and I will live in the house of the Lord forever.

Reflection

God does not place a desire within us unless God is willing to fulfill it. In fact, the desire of the Spirit lived within Louis and Zelie Martin, they who chose the consecrated life and a total gift. Yet their hopes for a monastic life were not realized. God favored them, in His divine plan, in another time, another path, another door. Remember the engagement between Tobias and Sarah: "Now you are my brother and she is your sister. She is given to you forever starting today”(Tobias 7:11). In fact, it is never good to cling too firmly to our will that our plans succeed. That is why we must attend the school of patience and allow ourselves to be molded by the Spirit. The Divine Will is what is important. Through the tiny lace stitches of Zelie Martin and the ticking clocks of Louis Martin, let the parents of St. Therese take us back to their earthly time, where we will learn to love. Reread the text that Louis Martin addressed to Zelie : "The bond of this sacrament of marriage is independent of consummation. We have a clear proof of this truth in that the Virgin Mary and Saint Joseph, although truly married, maintained a perpetual continence. These illustrious spouses have had many imitators living as virgins in marriage, with just a pure union of heart, giving their mutual consent to eschew the relations allowed for their state in life. These marriages had all the essentials necessary for their validity. They even had advantages over the ordinary marriages to represent a more perfect way: the chaste and perfect spiritual union of Jesus Christ with his Church.

To understand and walk with the desire of the Martin spouses to live in holiness, we remember that in the light of the Spirit, the fertility of the couple often begins beyond the desert: "Then they began to think they had not only to acquire holiness, but also to add new companions to develop the order Our Lady began with them " (order of the Servites).

God our Father, teach us to value your time, not our time so often encumbered by our earthly desires.

May our companions and the things we love reflect Your presence alone.

For meditation:

Louis and Zelie Martin, bring us the gift of being receptive to the Spirit of God.

Louis and Zelie Martin, teach us to remember the gift of the Spirit.

Daily prayers: Our Father; Hail Mary; Our Father

"God Our Father,

I thank you for Louis and Zelie Martin,

a couple united in faith, giving the witness of an exemplary Christian life

through the exercise of the duty of their state in life

and the practice of the evangelical virtues.

In the education of a large family,

through trials, mourning, and suffering,

they generously expressed their trust in You

and their submission to Your will.

Deign to grant, O Lord, the graces that I seek,

in the hope that the father and mother of St. Therese of the Child Jesus

will one day be proposed as models for today's families for the entire Church. Amen.”

Father Jean-Claude Lange, pastor of Sainte-Therese parish  in Metz, France, where devotion to Blessed Louis and Zelie Martin has produced a profound spiritual renewal, generously permitted me to translate the novena to St. Therese and Louis and Zelie that is used in that parish and that appears in French on their Web site (http://saintetheresemetz.fr) and to post it at "Saint Therese of Lisieux: A Gateway."  Please feel free to link to it.

Below is an introduction to the novena, including the prayer for the canonization of Louis and Zelie.  I will post the meditations and prayers particular to Day 1 in the blog entry that follows this one immediately.  You may begin the novena on July 3 and end it on July 11 as a preparation for the feast of Blessed Louis and Zelie Martin on July 12th. 

My fervent thanks to Father Lange and to Mary Davidson, OCDS, who translated the novena into English.

 

A NOVENA WITH ST. THERESE AND HER PARENTS, BLESSED LOUIS AND ZELIE MARTIN

“The good God has given me a father and a mother more worthy of Heaven than of earth.” --L.T. 261

 Foreword:

We are privileged to discover the beauty of a family home, the family of Mr. and Mrs. Martin and their nine children. Here is a novena to pray with them. Let us take a childlike attitude towards this extraordinary family. During this novena, may we imitate the faithfulness of the Martin family as they harmonized the rhythms of their lives with the Lord of Love. In our requests to the little brothers of St. Therese of the Child Jesus and of the Holy Face, let us find strength to support our priests and seminarians in the world today. In our requests to the sisters and brothers of St. Therese, may we find the boldness needed to defend the beauty of the family in today's world. May we rest in the discovery of the liturgy of the family that was so dear to Mr. Martin and Mrs. Martin. This daily liturgy was that of family memory, passing faithfulness on to their children in the image of St. Anne as she taught the Virgin Mary and in humility similar to St. Francis of Assisi.

Yes, as one may be inspired by the cover of a book, may we be drawn into peace and confidence in the ocean of love, to the quiet, deep and nourishing waters of the Mercy of the Father. Let us ask Our Father, Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Virgin Mary, Saint Joseph, and Saint Anne for the healing needed to recognize the sanctity of the family of St. Therese of Lisieux. Let us not hesitate to entrust ourselves to the Divine Will as living stones of the Rosary of our lives.

Introduction

"God created humans in the divine image; in the image of God God created them, male and female God created them" (Gen. 1-27)

What a joy is ours to experience daily God’s creation around us. Let us not hesitate to sing the anthem: “All you works of the Lord, bless the Lord; praise and exalt Him above all forever” (Dan. 3). Our ways on earth rise and fall, are light and dark, with both wetness and dryness, fog and fire. Everything is aimed at establishing a hymn to creation. Louis Martin described for his children the deep valleys and majestic peaks of the landscapes he loved. With his Little Queen Therese, he contemplated all Creation, including cypress trees and the sky in Italy. As a good father, he still leads us today to hear the rushing of the river and the songs of birds that speak of the earth. Louis Martin takes us to the edge of the sea and the sky, joyfully feeling the sea spray. With Therese he read in the stars the brilliance of God; he knew the sparrows and the eagles, snow like pollen on the stones of the Colosseum, the colors of the earth and her orchards. Thus, in the twilights and the dawns of Normandy, Louis Martin orchestrated his family music: his ode to God. He sang every night and recited a poem about the creator for his gathered family. And Zelie Martin, who understood the secret beauty of the snowflake, reproduced this beauty in lace, creating patterns for the holiday season and remembrances. In turn let us be aware of rhythm for our children, the time of the seasons and the times of life and small deaths. May we raise our hands to praise God in creation and thank him. With Louis and Zelie Martin let us rediscover the profound meaning of life borne in the divine spirit. Yes, let us find the desire of our life. “Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us. You are God, the giver of life. Cleanse us from all sin, for you are all good” (Liturgy of Vespers).

Prayers for each day of the novena

To Louis and Zelie Martin, parents of St. Therese of Lisieux; to Marie, Pauline, Leonie, Helene, Louis Joseph, Louis Jean Baptiste, Celine and Melanie:

"God Our Father,

I thank you for Louis and Zelie Martin,

a couple united in faith, giving the witness of an exemplary Christian life

through the exercise of the duty of their state in life

and the practice of the evangelical virtues.

In the education of a large family,

through trials, mourning, and suffering,

they generously expressed their trust in You

and their submission to Your will.

Deign to grant, O Lord, the graces that I seek,

in the hope that the father and mother of St. Therese of the Child Jesus

will one day be proposed as models for today's families for the entire Church. Amen.”

Our Father… Hail Mary...

From June 23-27, 1888 (125 years ago), a great anxiety came to the family of Blessed Louis Martin.    Louis, whose health had begun to decline, suddenly disappeared from his family home, Les Buissonnets, on Saturday morning, June 23.  His daughters Leonie and Celine, with the maid, searched everywhere for him.  In town, at the pharmacy belonging to his brother-in-law, Isidore Guerin, he had not been seen.  An anxious night followed; Louis was still missing.  On Sunday, June 24, a letter arrived from him (probably addressed to the Guerins, but now lost), sent from the Post Office at Le Havre, asking for some money.  His three daughters in Carmel were finally told of his disappearance, and began to pray fervently.  On Monday the "intrepid Celine" set off for Le Havre, together with her uncle, Isidore Guerin, and his nephew, Ernest Maudelonde.  They planned to search for Louis, but they had no address for him.

 Except for the maid, Leonie was alone at home when, at five o'clock in the morning on Tuesday, June 26, the small house of a neighbor, very close to Les Buissonnets, burned down.  Le Normand, June 26, 1888: 

This morning (Tuesday), shortly before five o'clock, a fire broke out in Lisieux, chemin des Bissonnets [sic], in a little house rented by a M. Prevost, who had left the previous night for Saint-Martin-de-Mailloc after having shut his door; the house, belonging to Madame d'Angot, rue du Bec, was destroyed, as well as the greater part of the furniture. . . . Under the direction of Captain Lepage, two pumps were put in action and extinguished the fire; the first from the hydrant at the City Hall, brought into action by Corporal Lemineux, was able to preserve the house occupied by M. Martin and his family; a piece of wood in the roof was beginning to burn." 

In July M. Martin bought the burnt property in order ot enlarge Les Buissonnets.  Its site today is occupied by the stairs and the embankment.

Read the letter Mme. Guerin, Louis's sister-in-law, sent later that day to his three Carmelite daughters.  At that time Louis had not yet been found. If you read French, you can also read Mme. Guerin's letter to her husband at Le Havre that same day (not yet translated into Englsh).

Finally, on Wednesday, June 27, Celine, Isidore, and Ernest found Louis at the Post Office at Le Havre. Although he was lucid, he had become fixated on idea of going away to live in solitude.  They brought him home safe and sound, although he had shaved off his beard. 

[Sources: Letters of Saint Therese of Lisieux, Volume I (1877-1890), tr. John Clarke, O.C.D.  Washington, D.C.: ICS Publications, 1982, p. 439, LD, June 26, 1888 from Celine Guerin to her nieces, footnote 3) and Sainte Therese de Lisieux (1873-1897) by Guy Gaucher, O.C.D.  Paris: Editions du Cerf, 2010, pp. 289-290].