Dear Friend,

Natural disasters, unfortunately, touch the lives of many peoplein many parts of the world. Even in the United States and Canadathere have been tornadoes, major storms, and flooding. LastOctober, Hurricane Sandy devastated areas in New York and NewJersey . . . my own “native place.” Fortunately, our federal and stategovernments have been able to help.

Similar natural disasters have also happened during past yearsin countries such as the Philippines, India, and Zimbabwe, and haveaffected parishes, schools and families that are often assisted by ourCarmelite Mission office. Regretfully, the governments, both nation-ally and locally in these countries, have done almost nothing to helpfamilies who have lost parents or children, or parishes, schools andplaces of work that have been partially or completely destroyed.

This office, because of your kindness and generosity, has fre-quently tried to respond in a small but hopefully significant way tothe people involved, as families try to rebuild their lives, theirhomes and their communities

Every time you send a gift to our Missions it has a meaningful

impact. Every dollar makes such a difference in the rebuildingprocesses in the Philippines, India and Zimbabwe:

Your gift makes it possible to clothe a family that has losteverything. Your gift helps to purchase lumber for the constructionof new homes and parish buildings. Your gift assists in replacingclassrooms and books destroyed in a typhoon and flooding.

When we all work together, these individual gifts add up to anamazing success, but it is only possible if we can count on yourparticipation. There is a wonderful saying: “Yesterday’s the past,tomorrow’s the future, but today is a GIFT. That’s why it iscalled the PRESENT.”

Thank you for your great support of Carmelite Missions, as wetry to respond to natural disasters around the world. May God con-tinue to bless you . . . and bless you kindly!

With my love,

FFrr.. JJoosseepphh PP.. OO’’BBrriieenn,, OO.. CCaarrmm..Director of Carmelite Missions

CARMELITE MISSIONS

FFaatthheerr JJoosseepphh PP.. OO’’BBrriieenn,, OO.. CCaarrmm..Director of Carmelite Missions

SA I N T O F T H E M O N T H N E WS L E T T E R • S E P T E M B E R , 2 0 1 3 • WWW.C A R M E L I T E M I SS I O N S .O R G

Where disaster happens let us be present...

Saint of the Month

Louis and Zelie Martin, beatified in 2008 by Pope Benedict XVI, lie side-by-side in thecrypt of the enormous basilica that honors their most famous child: St. Therésè of Lisieux.The Martins are not, however, simply the parents of St. Therésè, whose “little Way” inspirednew zeal in millions of Catholics and whom Blessed John Paul II named a Doctor of theChurch in 1997.

St. Therésè, in fact, once wrote of them, “God gave me a father and a mother moreworthy of heaven than of earth.”

Blessed Louis and Zelie Martin provide a rare and compelling witness to married cou-ples today. Together, they brought nine children into the world, four who died in infancy andfive who entered religious life. Through all their struggles and triumphs, Louis and Zelie’sheroic witness to divine providence and to the power of a marriage lived in fidelity offersprofound insights into how a man and woman can reach holiness together.

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The first years of marriage are rarelyeasy, and the Martins were no exception tothis rule. On her wedding day, July 13,1858, Zelie Martin wept for hours. She laterreflected, “I can say that on that day I criedall my tears, more than I’d ever cried in mylife, and more than I would ever cry again.”She had longed to enter the same Visitationconvent as her elder sister, but had dis-cerned instead that her vocation lay in thehome. Louis, too, had pursued the priest-hood, but the monastic community towhich he applied rejected him. Their mutu-al desire to live for God alone drew themcloser to one another. Zelie wrote manyyears later that Louis “understood me andconsoled me . . . because his inclinationswere similar to mine . . . Our feelings werealways in accord.”

Today, many couples enter marriagewith disappointment from past-failed rela-tionships or even attempts to follow a dif-ferent vocation. These crosses can be bornein companionship, as Louis and Zelie dis-covered. Instead of longing for what couldhave been, they centered themselves entire-ly on the promise of heaven. Pursuit of holi-ness in the sacraments and prayer becamea regular part of their increasingly busyhome. Zelie raised the children and workedas a full-time lace maker, while Louis trav-eled often for business. In spite of their rig-orous schedules, they found time for familyprayer in the morning and evenings andfrequently attended daily Mass andEucharistic adoration.

These devotions were particularlyremarkable in post-Revolutionary France.The Martins lived in a fiercely secular cul-

ture. The Enlightenment and constant civil war had left the Catholic community in Normandy– as in much of Europe – a small and despised minority. The Martins resisted fierce anti-clericalism, not unlike that found in much of the West today. They prayed fervently that theirown children would be blessed with religious vocations. And in their home, they deliberatelyprovided a strong antidote to the secularism that reigned in contemporary society. Familiestoday can find encouragement in the Martins’ determination to focus not on the failures ofsecular culture, but on the gift of eternal life.

Zelie repeatedly reminded her brother, Isidore, whose faith had grown weak at the uni-versity in Paris, that complete happiness is not possible on earth: “In his wisdom, God want-ed it this way to make us remember that the world is not our true home.” Two decades later,after his wife’s death, Louis Martin would echo these sentiments: “Our heart is satisfied withnothing as long as we’re not seeing the infinite beauty that is God.”

These words were not cheap piety. The Martins endured prolonged financial distress, asituation to which many families today can relate. When the Prussian army occupied anddevastated the countryside around their home in Alencon from 1868 to 1870, Zelie’s lace-making business failed and the couple lived on their modest savings. The French economywas failing, and their home was periodically overrun with invading Prussian soldiers.

Despite these trials, daily life continued, and Zelie and Louis took great joy in their chil-dren. Zelie wrote that, however peaceful life in the convent might have been in comparison,she would never have chosen otherwise, for the sake of her children. Likewise, althoughLouis had sought solitude in the monastery, he instead found God in “the intimate happinessof the family and it’s this beauty that brings us closer to Him.”

Nonetheless, tragedy struck repeatedly – four children died before the age of five. Louisand Zelie spoke often of them as beloved members of their family, providing a beautifulexample of healing for families who have experienced the inexpressible pain of losing a child.“When I closed the eyes of my dear little children and when I buried them, I felt great pain,”wrote Zelie. “Several people said: ‘It would be much better never to have had them.’ I can’tbear this kind of talk. I don’t think the sorrows and problems could be weighed against theeternal happiness of my children . . . We’ll see them again in Heaven.” Her words express theconvictions of many parents that each human life, no matter its duration, is irreplaceable.

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The Martins’ courage and devotion in the face of illness and death are also a movingexample for husbands and wives who today face terminal illness or the death of a spouse. Zeliehad suffered pain in her breast for eleven years when she was finally diagnosed with inopera-ble breast cancer in 1876. Pain and the accumulated years of loss trauma developed into irri-tability and depression. She confessed to her sister that the sleep deprivation made her “trulynot very pleasant.” She continued, “Fortunately, I’m still willing to admit it!” Louis remained ather side until her death, comforting her in the long nights. He understood that his vocationwas to become the face of Christ for Zelie, and he saw her safely into the heaven that she hadalways kept in the center of their home. She died in his arms in 1877 at the age of 45.

After Zelie’s death, Louis moved his five daughters from Alencon to Lisieux, where theycould be near their cousins. The burden of raising the youngest girls fell to the two eldest,Marie and Pauline. Louis wrote to them expressing his fatherly approval and instructingthem “to lead your little battalion the best you can and be more sensible than your oldfather.”

Although life was difficult, Louis wasnot depressed or despondent. He wrote to apriest friend in 1883: “The memories of mywhole life are so pleasant that . . . there aremoments when my heart overflows withjoy.” The burden of single fatherhoodbecame yet another way in which Louisdrew closer to the happiness of heaven.

Louis and Zelie’s prayers and examplebore great fruit. Their five surviving chil-dren entered religious life: four at theCarmel at Lisieux, while the fifth entered theVisitation convent that Zelie herself had solonged to join.

For Louis, his daughters’ vocationswere both the greatest sacrifice and thegreatest joy of his later life. He gladly gavehis daughters to Christ, whom he knew asthe perfect and true Bridegroom. In spite ofhis deep attachment to their companion-ship, he willingly let them pursue the clois-tered life. For Thérèse, his generosity andself-gift embodied the love of God himself.She called him her “King,” who “hadoffered himself as a victim to God.”

At the end, Louis suffered from cere-bral arteriosclerosis. He grew silent anddisoriented. He died in 1892 in a mentalhospital. One year later, Thérèse, expressedin a letter the heart of her family’s vocation:

Remember the Carmelite Missions when you write your will.

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“We are voyagers who are traveling to ourhomeland . . . There we shall be reunitednever to leave each other, there we shalltaste family joy eternally . . . And we shallform a crown adorning the heads of ourdear parents.”

Louis and Zelie won that crown. Thestory of their lives is a gift to all who face ill-ness, financial stress, secularism, and loss ina family. Their heroism and the lives of theirchildren show that no one becomes holy byhimself. Through the vocation of marriage,men and women are called to help bringeach other and their children to glory.

“This article originally appearedin Columbia magazine July 2012 andis reprinted here with permissionfrom the Knights of Columbus, NewHaven, Conn.”

“Children Helped by Carmelite Missions”