Day 5 of the novena to Blessed Louis and Zelie Martin prepared for Sainte-Therese Parish in Metz, France.  Fr. Jean-Claude Lange gave this novena to us, and Mary Davidson, OCDS translated it for "Saint Therese of Lisieux: A Gateway."    We thank them both.

Louis Martin, released from the Bon Sauveur psychiatric hospital in Caen.  Photographed in 1892 in the garden of7 rue Labbey, Lisieux, where he spent his last years. Photo courtesy Fr. Antonio Sangalli.

FIFTH DAY

Beyond all suffering

“Nevertheless, do not rejoice because the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice because your names are written in heaven.”   Luke 10:20

Prayer of thanksgiving:

"O Mary, living in the mind of the Father; Mary, spouse of the Father’s will: wrap me in your maternal presence and remind me that I was created with inexpressible wisdom and love. Filled with gratitude for a Father so infinitely good, I pray: "Thank you, Lord, for the miracle I am." O Mary, visit the moment of my conception, which I consecrate to you. The marriage of my earthly father and mother I consecrate to you. I consecrate to you all the unions of the earth, that in the image of God, humanity might give life with wisdom and love. "  (Fr. Ephraim)

Reflection:

If we are promised that beyond all suffering eternal joy awaits us, can we say that there is a beginning and an end to all suffering? Pain is always part of life. But if life is a free gift, resistance to pain can lead to struggle, doubt. and. therefore. suffering. We must choose between control and abandonment:

"When God's goodness chooses someone for a particular grace or a sublime state, He gives all the necessary strength to that person and greatly increases his spiritual beauty."(St. Bernardine of Siena).

Suffering can be existential, physical, or psychological. Suffering can be a choice of life and death. Are we ready to accompany our Lord Jesus Christ every Thursday night in Gethsemane?

“When he rose from prayer and returned to his disciples, he found them sleeping from grief. He said to them, ‘Why are you sleeping? Get up and pray that you may not undergo the test.’” Luke 22:45 & 46

Let us not be tempted to escape, to retreat, to become bitter in a struggle against what appears to be unfair. Our pain should be shared with others, offered up at any time, but it is really beyond our earthly comprehension. For beyond all suffering emerges acceptance of grace, of recognizing ourselves as children of God in Jesus Christ, and therefore to be recognized as sons and daughters of God. If we cannot remember, let the tears come because they are always nourishing and the fruit of the Spirit. Any form of desire without suffering can be understood as an illusion of love. The suffering experienced and accepted by the great Saints is a school for everyone, but we never consider suffering as an end in itself. If our weakness is our strength, compassion at the foot of the cross no longer appears as a weakness, but as an expectation, a silent hope. For if at the foot of the cross stood the first church, let us also in this compassion, be willing for it to set us ablaze:

“As they led him away they took hold of a certain Simon, a Cyrenian, who was coming in from the country; and after laying the cross on him, they made him carry it behind Jesus.”(Luke 23:26).

For Meditation:

 Blessed Louis and Zelie Martin, teach us every day to discover and recognize the triumph of love over suffering encouraged by Therese. Let us accept as you did, entrusting ourselves for adoption to the Virgin Mary and St. Joseph for all our healing. Thank you, Louis and Zelie Martin, as you show us the way to choose and accept our adoptions as sons and daughters to live in Nazareth as at Les Buissonnets in your family.

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.

World Youth Day pilgrims to venerate a piece of the white mantle of St. Therese of Lisieux

St. Therese of Lisieux will be an important figure at World Youth Day 2013.   The theme of WYD 2013 is "Go and make disciples of all nations" (Mt. 28:19).   As Patroness of Missions, St. Therese has been named one of only five patron saints of World Youth Day 2013.  Pilgrims will have the chance to venerate a relic of St. Therese that has been brought to Rio de Janeiro especially for this occasion.

In May two representatives from the Pilgrimage Office at Lisieux, Dominique Menvielle and Sister Marie-Christine, traveled to Rio de Janeiro to deliver the relic, a fragment of the white choir mantle worn by St. Therese, to the Local Organizing Committee for World Youth Day. This relic, together with relics of other saints, will be present at the Main Events of World Youth Day.  

About St. Therese's Mantle and Habit

The white cloak of which this relic is a fragment is part of the formal religious dress of Discalced Carmelite nuns.

The white mantle of the Carmelite nun

 The Carmelite habit had at least thirteen separate pieces, all fastened with pins.  See photos and descriptions of all these garments right here at the Web site of the Archives of the Carmel of Lisieux. 

The  nuns wore the mantle for choir and for other formal religious occasions.   Above, Celine photographed the community in their white mantles in July 1896.  Therese is in the second row, third from left.

St. Therese's habit would have been passed on to another nun, but Pauline asked Leonie to offer to buy it back.  The monastery was very poor; the prioress accepted the offer, so the habit was preserved.  You may see it today at the Lisieux Carmel. These two photographs were  the gift of Tom and Dee Curci.

When and Where to Venerate The Fragment of St. Therese's Mantle

The relic of St. Therese's choir mantle will be present at the Main Events of World Youth Day.  At other times, the relic will be exposed for veneration in a chapel at Quinta da Boavista as part of the Vocations Fair, which is part of WYD 2013.  All pilgrims are welcome to attend the Vocations Fair, which runs from July 23-26 and is open from 8:00 a.m. through 8:00 p.m.  More than 150 religious orders, diverse movements, and new communities will be present.  Quinta da Boavista ("Farm with a Good View"), a public park, is located in the São Cristóvão neighborhood of Urca, in Praça General Tibúrcio, Sugar Loaf’s underfoot.

World Youth Day pilgrims will also get to visit the special exhibition "St. Therese of Lisieux, or, Burning with Love" that drew seven million visitors at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris last summer.  More about this exhibit in another blog entry.

 Day 4 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 pray in thanksgiving for them.

Fourth Day
 
Breakup of the family

"Let there be among you abundant generosity and tenderness, forgiving one another as God has forgiven you in Christ. Yes, try to imitate God because you are his beloved children.”


Prayer to the Holy Spirit:

"O fire of the Spirit, the Paraclete, giving life to every creature, you are holy and your life takes many forms. You are holy, you who cover the most painful fractures with balm; you are holy, you who heal the most fetid wounds. O breath of holiness, O fire of love, O sweetness in the hearts and souls, raining down fragrant virtues. O purest fountain where we see God together and seek the lost. O breastplate of life, hope of the union of all men, beautiful respite, savior of souls. Free those who are imprisoned and deliver those who are bound; save them with divine power." (St. Hildegard)

Psalm 133
 Of David

1 How good and pleasant it is
when God’s people live together in unity!

2 It is like precious oil poured on the head,
running down on the beard,
running down on Aaron’s beard,
down on the collar of his robe.

3 It is as if the dew of Hermon
were falling on Mount Zion.
For there the Lord bestows his blessing,
even life forevermore.

Psalm 134
A song of ascents.

1 Praise the Lord, all you servants of the Lord
who minister by night in the house of the Lord.

2 Lift up your hands in the sanctuary
and praise the Lord.

3 May the Lord bless you from Zion,
he who is the Maker of heaven and earth.

Reflection:

Any event in life can serve as a foundation for establishing a family in heaven. For example, those who go before us, our dead, can prepare a way for us. Never forget the beautiful prayer for the souls of our dead, who need our prayers. We also pray for our divorced families, the ones whose marriages have ended. Remember what the Gospel tells us: "It is by your wounds, Jesus, that we are healed." Think positively about all the wounds to love, with an attitude of welcome, not rejection. It may be that we are led to live in separation for a more rewarding life for ourselves and also for our other relationships. Were not the little sisters and brothers of Therese angels in heaven for their family here on earth? Therese herself tells us in P. N. 16. 5: "Lift up your eyes towards Heaven, and you will see on thrones of honor a beloved father, a beloved mother to whom you owe your great happiness.” So we can establish links between this world and Heaven. “Listen to my voice. I give thee counsel, and God be with you. You will discern and your load will be lightened. Others will share it with you…Moses listened to the voice of his father, and he did as he had suggested.” Exodus 18: 13-27.

If we are divorced, we can for example remain faithful to a particular sacrament, an absent husband or wife, preserving in the hope of mercy, a dialogue of love with our Father in Heaven. Whatever our state of separation and waiting to be restored to our union with the Father, learn to bless because we are called to bless. Let us give and receive forgiveness. Louis and Zelie Martin, in fidelity to their covenant, always received the blessing of the Father to keep the family in peace, and their children around them. Yes, cement the union with God because our identity is in our Father. "Fear not, for I have redeemed you. I have called you by name; you are mine."(Isaiah 43: 1-5) With John remember the words of our Lord: “Do not murmur among yourselves.” Sing the Psalm: "Behold it is good, it is sweet, to live together in unity."

For Meditation:

Louis and Zelie Martin, teach us to make paths of healing in our broken families. Louis and Zelie Martin, teach us to say our "yes" or "no." May we see the events of our lives in the light of truth and charity.

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.

On July 2, at the daily Mass he offered at Martha House in the Vatican City, Pope Francis urged Christians to be courageous in their weakness and to have the courage to flee temptation. 

“We are weak, but we must be courageous in our weakness. And often our courage must be expressed in escaping without looking back, so as not to fall into the trap of wicked nostalgia.  “Do not be afraid, and always look to the Lord,” he added.

Pope Francis recalled St. Therese of Lisieux, who said that “in some temptations, the only solution is to escape, to not be ashamed to escape, to recognize that we are weak and we have to escape.” 

Pope Francis remarked on the wisdom of the epigram that the one "who fights and runs away, lives to fight another day.”

Escape, he said, “to go forward along the path of Jesus.”  (See the whole story at Catholic News Agency).  . . . But what temptation did Therese find she had to escape?

 St. Therese and Sister Marthe in a small dispute at the door of the prioress's cell

  Sister Marthe of JesusAmong other texts, Pope Francis could have been recalling St. Therese's account of a squabble with Sister Marthe of Jesus over who was going to return to the prioress the keys of the little communion grille after Mass.  The Communion grille

Mother Gonzague, then prioress, was too sick to attend Mass, and Therese, as sacristan, had the duty of returning the keys to the little grille that had to be opened so that the priest could give Communion to the sisters, who knelt there in turn.

The two young women ran into each other at the door to the prioress's cell, and Marthe was afraid Therese would waken the prioress.  She wanted to take the keys from Therese, who didn't want to give them up.The door on the right opened into the cell where the prioress slept. The left-hand door opened into a little anteroom where she received the nuns.

 Marthe was pushing the door of the prioress's cell to prevent Therese's entering, and, when Mother Gonzague awakened, Marthe blamed Therese for making the noise.  Therese writes:

 "I, who felt just the contrary, had a great desire to defend myself. Happily, there came a bright idea into my mind, and I told myself that if I began to justify myself I would not be able to retain my peace of soul. I felt, too, that I did not have enough virtue to permit myself to be accused without saying a word. My last plank of salvation was in flight. No sooner thought than done. I left without fuss, allowing the Sister to continue her discourse which resembled the imprecations of Camillus against the city of Rome. My heart was beating so rapidly that it was impossible for me to go far, and I sat down on the stairs in order to savor the fruits of my victory. There was no bravery there, Mother; however, I believe it was much better for me not to expose myself to combat when there was certain defeat facing me.

Story of a Soul, tr. John Clarke, O.C.D.  Washington, D.C.: ICS Publications, 2005, pp. 347-348.

The stairs where Therese sought refuge

This funny little incident, which happened when Therese was between 18 and 20, is an example of Therese's spiritual realism, which often helped her to resist the temptations of the enemy and to align herself with God.  She did not have the light to yield to Sister Marthe: "I understand now that it would have been more perfect to cede to this Sister, young, it is true, but still older than I.  I did not understand it then . . ." Therese knew it would be a mistake "to justify herself," but also knew that, if she stayed there, she would not be able to help defending herself.  She accepted her limitations as the boundaries drawn to her being by her gracious God, and cooperated with grace as best she could.  Do you often find yourself in situations where it is better to leave than to expose yourself to "certain defeat?"  

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.”