To celebrate the feast of Blessed Zelie and Louis Martin, Fr. James Kubicki, the director of the Apostleship of Prayer in the United States, wrote in his blog about "A Call to a Deeper Love," the new English translation of the letters of Louis and Zelie Martin.  Most important of all, he ordered it, and he mentioned this Web site.  He also created this fine two-minute video about Louis and Zelie and their significance for us.  Both Blessed Louis Martin and St. Therese were members of the Apostleship of Prayer, and Therese is its co-patron with St. Francis Xavier.  Thank you, Fr. Jim! 

 Click on the image to order the book

Ten ways to promote A Call to a Deeper Love: The Family Correspondence of the Parents of St. Therese of Lisieux, 1863-1885: 

1. Order the book, which is the letters of Blessed Louis and Zelie Martin.
   
2. Submit this writeup to the media.
   
3. Download this 8 1/2 x 11 flyer and this 8 1/2 x 14 poster.  Circulate them to your network by e-mail.  Print them out and post them or distribute them in your parish and your community.
4. Insert this brief blurb in your parish bulletin or your group's newsletter.  Add it to your Web site or Facebook page.
5. Add "www.thereseoflisieux.org" to your e-mail signature.  Link to it online.
   
6. Ask your local bookstore to stock the book.
   
7. Request your library to purchase it.
   
8. Recommend the book to your friends.
9. Choose it as a gift for someone who will enjoy it.
10. Donate a copy to your church library.

This two-minute filmed reflection about Blessed Zelie and Louis Martin, prepared by Fr. James Kubicki, S.J., national director of the Apostleship of Prayer for the first feast of the Martin spouses in 2009, has lost none of its freshness.  Enjoy! 

Just in time for the feast of the parents of St. Therese of Lisieux, their letters have appeared in English!  A Call to a Deeper Love: The Family Correspondence of St. Therese of the Child Jesus, 1863-1885 invites the English-speaking world to find out how much it has to celebrate in these spouses who, while engaged unreservedly in the fabric of everyday life, gazed so steadily on the face of Christ.

 To celebrate the feast, we display, with the permission of Fr. Antonio Sangalli, the above icon of the Martin family, painted by Paolo Orlando.  The adult daughters stand in order of age; Leonie is distinguished by her Visitation habit, and Therese, of course, by the halo.  The four children who died so young also appear. 

May the celebration of the Martin family's adventures in holiness be a source of healing and liberation for the families of today. 

"In Praise of Lay Saints" is a superb five-minute video by Fr. James Martin, S.J., the culture editor of America Magazine.  Fr. Jim, the author of "My Life with the Saints," speaks lucidly about why the Vatican needs to recognize more lay saints (and what has prevented it from doing so).  He mentions Blessed Louis and Zelie Martin and displays their portrait.

The first release of fragments of Zelie's letters in French in 1958 is said greatly to have advanced her cause for beatification.  I hope that the recent publication of her letters in English, "A Call to a Deeper Love: The Family Correspondence of the Parents of St. Therese of the Child Jesus, 1863-1885," will make Louis and Zelie even more deeply loved among the people and will lead to a devotion so powerful that the miracle necessary for their canonization will be forthcoming.