Today while in Adoration an interior whisper reminded me that I should look to see the exact date of the Feast Day for Sts. Louis and Zelie Martin. Lo and behold, it is today! This catapulted me back to the memories of last summer when my family and I spent a good portion of the day in Lisieux, where our family was able to attend Sunday Mass at the Basilica and then pray before some of the relics of St. Therese as well as her beloved parents, Louis and Zelie just three days short of this special day to honor them. After taking in the beauty of the upper basilica with its intricate stained glass windows and mosaics depicting Jesus as the Good Shepherd who is beckoning all to "Venez a moi!" ("Come to me!"), we headed to the crypt for a smaller and more intimate space with its darker lighting, marble decor, and mosaics depicting the main stages and highlights of St. Therese's life. In the back of the crypt, there rested the beautiful reliquary of Sts. Louis and Zelie Martin. There they were together as they had been throughout their fifteen years of marriage, during which time they would become parents to nine children, only five of whom would survive infancy and childhood.
I remember praying for a lot of intentions within my own family, as well as for other friends and loved ones as I knelt down before the gold-inlaid chest containing their bones. Who doesn't need prayers for their marriage and family? The list is long. I felt a sense of great confidence and peace while asking for their intercession, after having read the letters between Louis and Zelie, as well as Zelie's letters to other family members in A Call to a Deeper Love. Through these communications I felt that I knew Zelie in a special way in particular, and could appreciate her desires to help her children in gaining eternal life, making decisions, and keeping them traveling along the path of sanctity. In doing so, I saw how important it was for her to honor her husband as she did, and the bond that the two of them had in making decisions as a team with Christ as their Center and Head. I also recognized how supportive and affirming Louis behaved towards his wife, even giving up his own profession in order to support and assist her lace-making business more fully, and being at her side through sickness and health until the very end when she would succumb to the ravages of breast cancer.
In short, they both lived with the highest good in mind for one another in their marriage - God Himself, and eternal life. All was ordered towards that end for their children as well, in a rhythm of life that consisted of prayer and work within the household and out in the world. This central goal was carried out through a deep reverence for the Sacraments - especially by attending daily Mass, as well as reading holy books as a family and taking pilgrimages. Their daughters were raised to honor God, Holy Mother Church, and the angels and saints. This love of God was carried out by frequent acts of charity for their neighbors, employees, household staff, etc. It was not unusual for homeless paupers to dine in their home and be recipients of whatever they could give to assist the unfortunate. As a result, the family did not operate on pious platitudes, but on small acts of mercy and kindness done with great love. Sound familiar?
The day following our visit, while driving through the green hills of Normandy, I received a text on my phone from Wells Fargo. It said, "Zelle is always with you." I was taken aback. What is this? It looked liked Zelie. Although I finally figured out what new app they were trying to introduce me to, I couldn't help but think that this was a little sign from heaven that beautiful and brave Zelie had heard my prayers the day prior. At their canonization on October 18, 2015, Pope Francis remarked, "The holy spouses Louis Martin and Marie-Azélie Guérin practised Christian service in the family, creating day by day an environment of faith and love which nurtured the vocations of their daughters, among whom was Saint Therese of the Child Jesus."
I continue to pray to them for how I can better love my husband and children each day, and therefore love and honor God in my vocation. Last December on the Feast Day of Our Lady of Guadalupe, I received an interior nudge from Our Blessed Mother that I begin to write little post cards to my husband at least once a week to express my love, support and appreciation. It has been a spark of renewal, kindness, and thoughtfulness for the two of us sprinkled with the element of surprise as he never knows when I will sneak this into his car or briefcase, or what will be depicted on the postcard. In return, he often brings a dozen roses or other bouquets home in gratitude. These are all seemingly small acts, but are all done with great love and are bearing fruit. I desire to multiply these acts more and more for him in the spirit of Sts. Louis and Zelie Martin.
Sts. Louis and Zelie Martin...Pray for us...
