#stzeliemartin — Public Fediverse posts
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Sts. Louis & Zélie Novena 2025, Day 1: Hope in Prayer and Intercession
READING
If you could light a candle for me at Notre-Dame des Victoires next Friday, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, I would be very grateful. I’m making a novena so my two little girls, Léonie and Héléne, will get well. Please, do not refuse me this! Try to find a moment during the day. But no, you won’t want to; you look at it as nothing. If you knew what a memorable day December 8 is for me! Twice I received great graces on that day. I hope that you’ll do as I wish.
Saint Zélie Martin
Letter CF 16 to her brother Isidore, 3 December 1865REFLECTION
Saint Zélie experienced great hardship in life, yet she had even greater confidence in three sources of strength: the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the power of the Church’s liturgical life, and the bonds of family. Her urgent plea to her brother Isidore reveals all three. She asks him to light a candle at Notre-Dame des Victoires—trusting in Our Lady’s intercession.
She specifically mentions the Feast of the Immaculate Conception as “a memorable day” when she had received great graces twice before, showing her confidence in the Church’s liturgical life as a source of grace. And despite scolding Isidore (“you won’t want to; you look at it as nothing”), she still turns to family bonds, confident that her brother will help her in this moment of need. This confidence in Our Lady, the Church, and family became pillars that supported and strengthened her hope, which was ultimately grounded in God alone.
PRAYER
Saints Louis and Zélie,
you who in your life as a couple and as parents
have borne witness to an exemplary Christian life,
by putting God first,
by fulfilling the duties of your state in life
and practicing the evangelical virtues,
we turn to you:Help us to have unshakable trust in God
and to abandon ourselves to His Will,
as you did through the joys,
as well as the trials, grief, and suffering
that marked your lives.Help us to love God with all our hearts,
to persevere through our daily difficulties,
and to abide in the joy and hope
that a living faith in Christ gives us.Intercede for us
(Mention your intentions here)
that we may obtain the graces we need
today and every day of our lives.Our Father…
Glory be…
Saints Louis and Zélie, pray for us.
Martin, Z & Martin, L 2011, A Call to a Deeper Love: The Family Correspondence of the Parents of St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus, 1863-1885, trans. Hess, AC, ed. Renda, F, Society of St. Paul, New York.
All scripture references are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America as accessed from the Bible Gateway website.
Don’t become discouraged and give up prayer, says St. John of the Cross. We offer varying novenas to Our Lady of Mount Carmel, as well as novenas to St. Joseph, St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Sts. Louis and Zélie Martin, St. Elizabeth of the Trinity, and St. Edith Stein.
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SCRIPTURE
Now when Jesus returned, the crowd welcomed him, for they were all waiting for him. Just then there came a man named Jairus, a leader of the synagogue. He fell at Jesus’ feet and begged him to come to his house, for he had an only daughter, about twelve years old, who was dying.
READING
For the last two months, my little Léonie has had a kind of purulent eczema on her entire body, and the illness is getting worse every day. I’m very upset and the doctor doesn’t know how to treat it. He told me to give her some antiscorbutic syrup [anti-scurvy medicine], which I did, but the ravages of the illness didn’t lessen. It seems that these kinds of illnesses are almost incurable. Please, give me your advice and tell me what I should do. Perhaps you know some famous specialists who will be able to give you some effective remedies. You wouldn’t believe how much I suffer seeing my poor little daughter in this state. I’ve just written to our sister Élise [Sister Marie-Dosithée, V.S.M.] asking that she say a novena for her.
Saint Zélie Martin
Letter CF 12 from Zélie Guérin to her brother Isidore
5 March 1865PRAYER
Saints Louis and Zélie,
you who in your life as a couple and as parents
have borne witness to an exemplary Christian life,
by putting God first,
by fulfilling the duties of your state in life
and practicing the evangelical virtues,
we turn to you:Help us to have unshakable trust in God
and to abandon ourselves to His Will,
as you did through the joys,
as well as the trials, grief, and suffering
that marked your lives.Help us to love God with all our hearts,
to persevere through our daily difficulties,
and to abide in the joy and hope
that a living faith in Christ gives us.Intercede for us
(Mention your intentions here)
that we may obtain the graces we need
today and every day of our lives.Our Father…
Glory be…
Saints Louis and Zélie, pray for us.
Martin, Z 2011, A Call to a Deeper Love: The Family Correspondence of the Parents of St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus, 1863-1885, Society of St. Paul, New York.
All scripture references are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America as accessed from the Bible Gateway website.
Don’t become discouraged and give up prayer, says St. John of the Cross. We offer varying novenas to Our Lady of Mount Carmel, as well as novenas to St. Joseph, St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Sts. Louis and Zélie Martin, St. Elizabeth of the Trinity, and St. Edith Stein.
https://carmelitequotes.blog/2024/07/05/lzmnovena24-4/
#advice #illness #intercession #LéonieMartin #medicine #novena #prayer #SrMarieDosithée #StZélieMartin #StsLouisMartinAndZélieGuérin
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I, also, would like to be a saint, but I don’t know where to begin. There’s so much to do that I limit myself to the desire. I often say during the day, “My God, how I would like to be a saint!” Then, I don’t do the work!
Saint Zélie Martin
Letter CF 154 to her daughter Pauline
26 February 1876Introduction
Saints Louis and Zélie Martin are exemplary models of Catholic family life and holiness. Through their unwavering faith, trust in Divine Providence, and dedication to living out the theological virtues, they nurtured a spirit of faith and love in their family. Their commitment to God and their devotion to daily prayers, reception of the sacraments, and surrender to His will offer profound lessons for us today.
Pope Francis highlighted their sanctity during their canonization, stating:
“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 Thérèse of the Child Jesus” (Homily, Holy Mass and Canonization, 18 October 2015).
Their example is particularly relevant today, as families navigate the complexities of contemporary life. As Saint John Paul II profoundly stated, “The family is the domestic church… the future of the world and of the Church passes through the family” (Homily, Apostolic Pilgrimage to Australia, 30 November 1986). This highlights the vital role of the family as the foundation of society and the Church.
Let us ask Saints Louis and Zélie to intercede for us, helping us grow in faith, hope, and charity. May we trust in God’s providential care, persevere in our daily challenges, and abide in the joy and hope that a living faith in Christ brings. May this novena encourage us in our spiritual journeys and remind us of the sanctity and beauty of family life, providing points of reflection on the lives of Saints Louis and Zélie as we present our needs to them, begging their intercession.
Saints Louis and Zélie, pray for us.
Pray each day with Saints Louis and Zélie
- Day 1
His Divine Providence - Day 2
Calm and moderation - Day 3
A good woman - Day 4
Léonie’s illness - Day 5
Real life - Day 6
The death of Hélène - Day 7
The Prussian army in Alençon - Day 8
Life is not a bed of roses - Day 9
God takes care of me
Novena Prayer
Saints Louis and Zélie,
you who in your life as a couple and as parents
have borne witness to an exemplary Christian life,
by putting God first,
by fulfilling the duties of your state in life
and practicing the evangelical virtues,
we turn to you:Help us to have unshakable trust in God
and to abandon ourselves to His Will,
as you did through the joys,
as well as the trials, grief, and suffering
that marked your lives.Help us to love God with all our hearts,
to persevere through our daily difficulties,
and to abide in the joy and hope
that a living faith in Christ gives us.Intercede for us
(Mention your intentions here)
that we may obtain the graces we need
today and every day of our lives.Our Father…
Glory be…
Saints Louis and Zélie, pray for us.
Our novena prayer to Saints Louis and Zélie comes from the Shrine of Saints Louis and Zélie in Alençon, France (Imprimatur +Jacques Habert, Bishop of Séez, 26 May 2016).
Join us for the 2024 Sts. Louis and Zélie Martin Novena. Reflect on their faith, trust in Divine Providence, and dedication to family life. Seek their intercession through nine daily meditations inspired by their letters.
Music credit: Sean BeesonAll scripture references in this novena are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America as accessed from the Bible Gateway website.
Martin, Z 2011, A Call to a Deeper Love: The Family Correspondence of the Parents of St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus, 1863-1885, Society of St. Paul, New York.
Translation from the French text is the blogger’s own work product and may not be reproduced without permission.
Don’t become discouraged and give up prayer, says St. John of the Cross. We offer varying novenas to Our Lady of Mount Carmel, as well as novenas to St. Joseph, St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Sts. Louis and Zélie Martin, St. Elizabeth of the Trinity, and St. Edith Stein.
https://carmelitequotes.blog/2024/07/03/lzmnovena24-intr/
#familyLife #intercession #novena #perseverance #prayer #StLouisMartin #StZélieMartin #StsLouisMartinAndZélieGuérin #trust #virtues
- Day 1
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In this episode of our Marie du Jour series, we explore the deep Marian devotion of Saints Zélie and Louis Martin, parents of St. Thérèse. We share insights from Marie Martin, Thérèse’s godmother, including fascinating historical details about their family’s cherished statue, “the Virgin of the Smile,” and its unusual origins. Join us for an inspiring reflection on the Martin family’s faith and love.
Music credit: Sean BeesonMy father and mother had a great devotion to the Blessed Virgin. That’s why they gave the name Mary to all their children, both boys and girls.
Before he married, my father placed a statue of the Blessed Virgin on a path in his garden, and later it would become very dear to the whole family. It was this very statue that was in Thérèse’s childhood bedroom and which came to life and smiled at her when she was very sick.
Praying at the foot of the same statue, my mother was granted very great favors.
Sr. Marie of the Sacred Heart, O.C.D. (Marie Martin)
Witness 7 for the Apostolic Process
The Virgin of the Smile
The original statue, nicknamed “Our Lady of Old Silverware”, was venerated for 50 years in the chapel of the Virgin in the Church of Saint-Sulpice in Paris, which Father Jean-Jacques Olier, S.S. had built and where St. Louis Marie-Grignion de Montfort celebrated his first Mass
Image credit: Discalced CarmelitesWe always refer to the website of the Archives of the Carmel of Lisieux for the vast majority of our quotes concerning Saint Thérèse, Saint Zélie, and Saint Louis Martin. If you would like to purchase English translations for the collected works of St. Thérèse, please visit the website of our Discalced Carmelite friars at ICS Publications.
Featured image: The gold vermeil statue of Our Lady, nicknamed “Notre-Dame de Vieille Vaisselle” (Our Lady of Old Silverware), graces the choir of the Church of Saint-Sulpice in Paris. Image credit: JFBRUNEAU / Adobe Stock (Stock photo)
https://carmelitequotes.blog/2024/05/14/mdj2024-ep15/
#bedroom #familyLife #garden #MarianDevotion #MarieMartin #miracle #prayer #StLouisMartin #StThérèseOfLisieux #StZélieMartin #statue #VirginOfTheSmile
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St. John of the Cross Novena, Day 4: Walking in love
Reading
The soul that walks in love neither tires others nor grows tired.
Sayings of Light and Love, 97
Scripture
If I have all the eloquence of men or of angels, but speak without love, I am simply a gong booming or a cymbal clashing. If I have the gift of prophecy, understanding all the mysteries there are, and knowing everything, and if I have faith in all its fullness, to move mountains, but without love, then I am nothing at all. If I give away all that I possess, piece by piece, and if I even let them take my body to burn it, but am without love, it will do me no good whatever.
Love is always patient and kind; it is never jealous; love is never boastful or conceited; it is never rude or selfish; it does not take offense, and is not resentful. Love takes no pleasure in other people’s sins but delights in the truth; it is always ready to excuse, to trust, to hope, and to endure whatever comes.
Love does not come to an end.
Meditation
“Love makes _____.”
How would you complete this sentence?
Our answers may give us clues as to how we understand love: God’s love, our love for God, and how love, in all its forms—filial, erotic, and caritative—is at work in our lives. In his first letter to the Corinthians, St. Paul is talking about charity, or what some refer to as agape love (αγαπη).
And like a professor standing at a blackboard or whiteboard, Paul defines his term, including both what love is and what it is not. We can feel fairly certain that he is sketching some of the basic parameters of love… as St. John of the Cross might define it in his saying, an untiring love.
Now, nowhere in this passage of his first letter to the Corinthians is St. Paul scolding the Church for possessing a lack of love or a warped concept of love. The context of this chapter is an instruction on worship in the Corinthian church, and how any worship—no matter how glorious it may be—that lacks the spiritual gift of charity, i.e. love, is so much dust in the wind. Hence that famous verse that we so often hear at weddings: “Love never ends; as for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away” (1 Cor 13:8)
It was in reading these chapters that St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus found her inspiration one day. “I opened the Epistles of St. Paul to find some kind of answer. Chapters 12 and 13 of the First Epistle to the Corinthians fell under my eyes… the Apostle explains how all the most PERFECT gifts are nothing without LOVE. That Charity is the EXCELLENT WAY that leads most surely to God” (Ms B, 3r-3v). Therefore, St. Paul urges the Corinthians, “make love your aim” (1 Cor 14:1).
St. John Paul II noted this inspired reading of First Corinthians in his 1997 Apostolic Letter Divini Amoris Scientia:
She discovered hidden treasures, appropriating words and episodes, sometimes with supernatural boldness, as when, in reading the texts of St Paul (cf. 1 Cor 12-13), she realized her vocation to love (cf. Ms B, 3r-3v). Enlightened by the revealed Word, Thérèse wrote brilliant pages on the unity between love of God and love of neighbor (cf. Ms C, 11v-19r).
St. Thérèse did not develop her mad love for God in a vacuum. Love was her aim from her youth, as she testified time and time again in her autobiographical manuscripts and letters. St. John Paul II explained the nature of her formation when he declared Thérèse to be a Doctor of the Universal Church:
Her doctrine, as was said, conforms to the Church’s teaching. From childhood, she was taught by her family to participate in prayer and liturgical worship. In preparation for her first Confession, first Communion and the sacrament of Confirmation, she gave evidence of an extraordinary love for the truths of the faith, and she learned the Catechism almost word for word (cf. Ms A, 37r-37v).
So what was this untiring love that St. Thérèse learned in her family? What did it look like? Who were her models?
When a Doctor of the Universal Church is born to a pair of Saints, one doesn’t have to look very far because ‘the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.’ In fact, one particular letter from her mother, Saint Zélie Guérin Martin to her father, Saint Louis Martin, provides us with an example of the untiring love that was taught by example in the Martin family home. Written during the summer of 1873 after the birth of Thérèse, Zélie takes Pauline and Marie with her to visit her brother and the Guérin family in Lisieux. Can you read untiring, selfless love in the following lines?
Lisieux, August 31, 1873
My dear Louis,
We arrived yesterday afternoon at four-thirty. My brother was waiting for us at the station and was delighted to see us. He and his wife are doing everything they can to entertain us. This evening, Sunday, there’s a beautiful reception in their home in our honor. Tomorrow, Monday, we’re going to Trouville. Tuesday there will be a big dinner at the home of Madame Maudelonde and, perhaps, a drive to the country house of Madame Fournet. The children are thrilled and if the weather were good, they’d be ecstatic.
As for me, I’m finding it hard to relax! None of that interests me! I’m absolutely like the fish you pull out of the water. They’re no longer in their element and they have to perish! This would have the same effect on me if I had to stay a lot longer. I feel uncomfortable, I’m out of sorts. This is affecting me physically, and it’s almost making me sick. However, I’m reasoning with myself and trying to gain the upper hand. I’m with you in spirit all day, and I say to myself, “Now he must be doing such and such a thing.”
I’m longing to be near you, my dear Louis. I love you with all my heart, and I feel my affection so much more when you’re not here with me. It would be impossible for me to live apart from you.
This morning I attended three Masses. I went to the one at six o’clock, made my thanksgiving and said my prayers during the seven o’clock Mass, and returned for the high Mass.
My brother is not unhappy with his business. It’s going well enough.
Tell Léonie and Céline that I kiss them tenderly and will bring them a souvenir from Lisieux.
I’ll try to write you tomorrow, if possible, but I don’t know what time we’ll return from Trouville. I’m hurrying because they’re waiting for me to go visiting. We return Wednesday evening at seven-thirty. How long that seems to me!
I kiss you with all my love. The little girls want me to tell you that they’re very happy to have come to Lisieux and they send you big hugs.
Zélie
Family correspondence CF 108
Prayer
O St. John of the Cross
You were endowed by our Lord with the spirit of self-denial
and a love of the cross.
Obtain for us the grace to follow your example
that we may come to the eternal vision of the glory of God.O Saint of Christ’s redeeming cross
the road of life is dark and long.
Teach us always to be resigned to God’s holy will
in all the circumstances of our lives
and grant us the special favor
which we now ask of you.Mention your request
Above all, obtain for us the grace of final perseverance,
a holy and happy death and everlasting life with you
and all the saints in heaven.
Amen.Let’s continue in prayer
Day 1 — Self-trust
Saint John of the Cross
Day 2 — Self-giving
Day 3 — Cleansing
Day 4 — Walking in love
Day 5 — Trust
Day 6 — Prayer
Day 7 — Humility
Day 8 — Eternal Silence
Day 9 — Silent love
17th c. French painting
Saints Pierre et Paul des Etangs (Leucate), Diocese of Carcasonne-Narbonne
Photo credit: Ministère de la Culture (France), Médiathèque de l’architecture et du patrimoine, diffusion RMN-GPThe novena prayer was composed from approved sources by Professor Michael Ogunu, a member of the Discalced Carmelite Secular Order in Nigeria.
We always refer to the website of the Archives of the Carmel of Lisieux for the vast majority of our quotes concerning Saint Thérèse, Saint Zélie, and Saint Louis Martin. If you would like to purchase English translations for the collected works of St. Thérèse, please visit the website of our Discalced Carmelite friars at ICS Publications.
All scripture references in this novena are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America as accessed from the Bible Gateway website.
Don’t become discouraged and give up prayer, says St. John of the Cross. We offer varying novenas to Our Lady of Mount Carmel, as well as novenas to St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Sts. Louis and Zélie Martin, St. Elizabeth of the Trinity, and St. Joseph.
#agape #archives #carmelDeLisieux #carmelOfLisieux #charity #diviniAmorisScientia #doctorOfTheChurch #doctrine #johnOfTheCross #letter #letters #lisieux #love #novena #sanJuanDeLaCruz #stJohnOfTheCross #stJohnPaulIi #stJohnPaulIiDocuments #stTherese #stThereseOfLisieux #stThereseOfTheChildJesus #stZelieGuerin #stZelieMartin #stsLouisMartinAndZelieGuerin