Saint Therese of Lisieux: A Gateway

On October 19 the world received two special graces through the Martin family.  On that date in 2008, Louis and Zelie Martin were declared "blessed" as a couple.  And on October 19, 1997, their daughter  Therese was proclaimed a doctor of the Church.  Please join me in thanking God for these graces.

It is hard to believe that, three years ago today, I was in France to celebrate the beatification.  I spent the day of the vigil with other pilgrims in Alencon, ending with a Pontifical Mass in the church in which Louis and Zelie were married.  For a short account of that deeply graced pilgrimage please read "Tracing the Lives of Zelie Guerin and Louis Martin," published in the Carmelite Review.

Now, only three years after the beatification, we have the joy of being able to distribute the letters of Louis and Zelie, A Call to a Deeper Love, in English!  The need for married saints is so great that I hope this book will make it possible for the English-speaking world to take Zelie and Louis to their hearts and to see how much they have to say to spouses, working couples, business owners, parents, caregivers, the bereaved, the dying, and all those engaged in the struggle to "serve God first." 

Read more about the beatification of Louis and Zelie. And read more about Therese as a Doctor of the Church.