The Feast Day of Zelie & Louis Martin
The parents of St .Therese of Lisieux
The Model of Holiness
Today is the feast day of the parents of St. Therese of Lisieux—Louis and Zelie Martin. They are models of holiness for all of us, especially parents. They are the first spouses in the history of the Church to be canonized as a couple. They had nine children between the years 1860-1873. Four of their children died. Their five daughters entered into religious life. In 1876, Zelie had inoperable breast cancer in which she suffered greatly and eventually died in 1877. Therese was only four years old when she lost her mom.
To get a deeper glimpse into the simple yet profound holiness of their lives, one only needs to read the letters of Zelie Martin compiled in a great book titled, A Call to a Deeper Love.
What has struck me every time I have read this book is the depth of their faith and their deep understanding of what it means to be resigned to God’s will.
She writes, “the wisest and simplest thing to do in all this is to resign oneself to the will of God and to prepare oneself to be ready to carry one’s cross as courageously as possible.”
On the loss of one her children she said, “I’m resigning myself to the will of God, although it’s very hard to lose such a pretty girl.”
Throughout her letters you see this perfect resignation to the will of God and her willingness to lay everything at the feet of Jesus. Whether its in dealing with her business and all its demands (she was a very successful business owner specializing in Alencon Lace), her children, her family (especially her brother Isidore), or her charitable work with the poor and indigent, she yielded all things to God.
In 1874, she shared this simple insight, “I cared about the events too much, and I’m weary to the point that nothing moves me anymore. I’ve heard too much advice of all kinds, and I finally noticed that nothing turned out the way they thought or said it would.” This is the heroic journey of faith—the ability to detach from the things of this world so one can live in freedom for the Kingdom of God. As St. Teresa Avila reminds us, “As Christ does not force our will, He only takes what we give Him, but He does not give Himself entirely until He sees that we yield ourselves entirely to Him.” Zelie and Louis yielded all things to Him and in return were given great graces.
In March of 2019, my family and I spent the day in Lisieux. The highlight of this trip was at the St. Therese Basilica and the opportunity to pray at the reliquary of Zelie and Louis Martin.
My family has received many graces from the intercession of the Martin family, especially Zelie and Therese. On this most special Feast Day, may we continue to ask for their prayers and intercessions as we strive to live out the universal call to holiness.
St. Zelie and Louis, pray for us!