$29.95.  Paperback, 464 pages. 

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      Welcome to the world of Blessed Louis and Zélie Martin of Alençon, the parents of St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus of the Holy Face.  In these 219 letters, Zélie, writing between the ages of 31 and 45, writes the story of the family that gave birth to Story of a Soul, the memoir of her daughter, the saint.  Here Zélie shares herself unreservedly: happy as a wife and mother, overwhelmed with responsibility as a business owner, saddened by the deaths of her parents and four of her children, sensitive to slights and indifference, concerned for her surviving daughters, longing to become holy.  When she is diagnosed with breast cancer, in the midst of a very human desire to live, she shows us how to abandon ourselves to God in the face of death.

     Only 16 letters from her husband survive, but Zélie introduces us to the younger Louis Martin in the years before he suffered from Alzheimer's disease, was interned in a psychiatric hospital, and died.  We see him here as never before as husband, father, and friend in the years before his martyrdom.

     In beatifying Zélie and Louis in 2008, the Church recognized a fundamental reality: that each one experienced severe traumas, but the effects of these traumas were no obstacle to sanctity.  Louis and Zélie accepted their own powerlessness, that God might be all-powerful in their lives.  The transforming influence of their daughter Thérèse on human history was the fruit of that acceptance.  Reading about their profound love for each other and for their children and the deep faith they lived painfully in the midst of many ordeals is a source of liberation and healing.  Zélie and Louis offer us a personal experience of the motherhood and fatherhood of God.  The book is a mirror of the human face of holiness. 

     A Call to a Deeper Love is a translation of Correspondance familiale, the definitive edition of these letters published in French by Editions du Cerf in 2004.  The preface, the notes, and the presentation are the work of Bishop Guy Gaucher, O.C.D., retired auxiliary bishop of Bayeux and Lisieux and distinguished scholar of St. Therese, and of the Carmelites of Lisieux.  The text is exquisitely translated by Ann Hess.  Dr. Frances Renda added jewels unique to this English edition, including an introduction that reflects her intimate and delicate understanding of the depths of the marital spirituality of Louis and Zélie; background on 19^th-century France that helps the reader put these letters in context; a chronology of Thérèse’s family that will be a classic reference; and many new and expanded footnotes. 

     In Story of a Soul Thérèse wrote a new chapter in the history of the human response to divine love.  Before that, Zélie and Louis wrote with their lives a new chapter in the history of marriage: the extraordinary response of two spouses to the call to create a family that was a crucible of sainthood.  A Call to a Deeper Love offers a unique understanding of a couple who became holy in and through their marriage, and it immeasurably deepens our understanding of the influences that surrounded St. Thérèse.  Order your copy now, and may this story of grace and steadfast faith fill you with inspiration, hope, and joy.

$29.95.  Paperback, 464 pages.  

On the feast of St. Francis Xavier, co-patron of the missions with St. Therese, I present a short dialogue Therese wrote between the Blessed Virgin and the young Polish Jesuit, St. Stanislaus Kostka. 

The last "pious recreation" St. Therese wrote, performed at the Carmel's recreation on February 8, 1897, was "Saint Stanislaus Kostka."  Therese placed on the lips of Stanislaus words that expressed her desire to continue her mission after her death:

Saint Stanislaus:

My Well-Beloved Mother . . . . I regret nothing on earth, still I have one desire . . . a desire so great that I'm not sure I could be happy in Heaven if it were not fulfilled . . . . Ah! my dear Mother, tell me that the blessed can still work for the salvation of souls . . . if I can't work for the glory of Jesus when I'm in heaven, I'd prefer to stay in exile, still fighting for Him!

The Blessed Virgin:

You would like to increase the glories
Of Jesus, your only Love.
For Him, in the Heavenly Court,
You will win victories . . .
Yes, my child, the Blessed
Can still save souls. 
By their love, sweet flames
Draw hearts to heaven.

Saint Stanislaus:

Oh! how happy I am . . . Sweet Queen of heaven, I beg you, when I am with you in the Fatherland, let me come back to earth, to watch over holy souls, souls whose long career on earth will complete my own; then, through them, I'll be able to bring the Lord an abundant harvest of merit.

The Blessed Virgin:

Dear Child, you'll protect
Souls struggling in the world.
The more fruitful their harvest,
The more in Heaven you will shine.

from The Plays of St. Therese of Lisieux, tr. Susan Conroy and David J. Dwyer.  Washington, D.C.: ICS Publications, 2008, pp. 353-354.

Therese told Sister Marie of the Trinity:  "What pleased me in composing this play is that I explained my certitude that, after death, one can still work for the salvation of souls on earth.  St. Stanislaus, who died so young, has served me very well to express my thoughts and hopes on this subject."  Plays, p. 332.

St. Therese of Lisieux and St. Francis Xavier, co-patrons of all missions, are also co-patrons of the Apostleship of Prayer, which was founded on the feast of St. Francis Xavier in 1844 and of which Therese became a member at age twelve in 1885. May these two saints, brother and sister on fire with love for God, watch over us and allow us to complete their mission. 

"You love us, Mary, as Jesus loves us."

from "Why I Love You, O Mary!"  in The Poetry of Saint Therese of Lisieux, tr. Donald Kinney, O.C.D.  Washington, D.C.: ICS Publications, 1995, p. 219.

December 1:

When an angel from Heaven bids you be the Mother
of the God who is to reign for all eternity,
I see you prefer, O Mary, what a mystery!The ineffable treasure of virginity.
O immaculate Virgin, I understand how your soulIs dearer to the Lord than his heavenly dwellling.I understand how your soul, Humble and Sweet Valley,
Can contain Jesus, the Ocean of Love!...

from "Why I Love You, O Mary!"  in The Poetry of Saint Therese of Lisieux, tr. Donald Kinney, O.C.D.  Washington, D.C.: ICS Publications, 1995, p. 215.

This photo gallery of Louis and Zelie Martin includes many previously unpublished photographs of their environment at Alencon and Lisieux, their family, the ceremony of their beatification, and their reliquary.  These photographs are among those which appear in my photo show "Blessed Louis and Zelie Martin: Their lives and beatification," but I have been asked to display the photos here so that you can examine them at leisure.  I thank the photographers, Susan Ehlert, Ann Hess, and Juan Marrera.  Special thanks to the Pilgrimage Office at Lisieux for permission to display the photographs of their historic 2008 exhibit of objects, photos, and documents associated with the Martin family.  I am happy to offer these photographs in honor of the Feast of All Saints.