St. theresa who is
Eventually, Louis settled down in Alencon, a small city in France, and pursued his watchmaking trade. He loved Alencon. It was a quiet place and he was a quiet man. It even had a lovely trout stream nearby, offering him the opportunity to pursue his favorite recreation.
At twenty-two, young Louis sought to enter religious life at the monastery of the Augustinian Canons of the Great St. Bernard Hospice in the Alps. The blend of courage and charity the monks and their famous dogs manifested in rescuing travelers in Alpine snows appealed powerfully to Louis Martin.
Unfortunately, the Abbot insisted the young candidate learn Latin. Louis, whose bravery would have carried him to the heights of the Alps in search of a lost pilgrim, got himself lost among the peaks and valleys of Latin syntax and grammar. His most determined efforts failed. He became ill and dispirited, and abandoned his hopes for the monastic life.
As a young lady, she sought unsuccessfully to enter the religious order of the sisters of the Hotel-Dieu. Zelie then learned the Alencon lace-making technique and soon mastered this painstaking craft. Richly talented, creative, eager, and endowed with common sense, she started her own business and became quite successful.
Notable as these achievements were, Zelie was yet to reveal the depths of the strength, faith, and courage she possessed. Louis Martin and Zelie Guerin eventually met in Alencon, and on July 13, , Louis, 34, and Zelie, 26, married and began their remarkable voyage through life. Within the next fifteen years, Zelie bore nine children, seven girls and two boys.
Zelie was left numb with sadness. But her faith sustained her through these terrible ordeals. My children were not lost forever; life is short and full of miseries, and we shall find our little ones again up above.
The family, so used to death, was preparing for yet another blow. The poor little thing suffers horribly…. It breaks your heart to see her. But the baby girl proved to be much tougher than anyone realized.
She survived the illness. Death seemed to grant a reprieve to the Martin household. Although suffering had left its mark on mother and father, it was not the scar of bitterness. Louis and Zelie had already found relief and support in their faith. The series of tragedies had intensified the love of Louis and Zelie Martin for each other. They poured out their affection on their five surviving daughters; Marie, 12, Pauline, 11, Leonie 9, Celine, 3, and their new-born.
A century later people would know her as St. Marie-Francoise-Therese Martin was born on January 2, , and baptized two days later on January 4th.
My first memories are imprinted with the most tender smiles and caresses…Those were the sunny years of my childhood. The Martin household was a lively place. Her mother, Zelie, wrote her relatives constantly about the joys each child gave her.
Because of this care, she became a lively, mischievous and self-confident child. One could put her in the cellar for the whole day. Little Therese was blond, blue-eyed, affectionate, stubborn, and alarmingly precocious. She could throw a giant-sized tantrum. Her bubbling laughter could make a gargoyle smile. There are times when it gets too much for her and she literally chokes. Through it all, however, Therese thrived on the love which surrounded her in this Christian home.
It was here, where prayer, the liturgy, and practical good works formed the basis of her own ardent love of Jesus — her desire to please Him and the Virgin Mary. Leonie then offered it to her six year old sister, Celine, and her two year old sister, Therese. Celine took a little ball of wool that pleased her.
She never did anything by halves; for her it was always all or nothing. On Sundays, Louis and Zelie Martin would take their daughters on walks.
Therese loved the wide open spaces and the beauty of the countryside about Alencon. Frequently, the walks tired little Therese. Unfortunately, the pleasant family times would soon come to an end.
The shadow of death that had previously occupied the Martin household, once more relentlessly returned. Therese was only four years old at the time.
Louis Martin and his daughters did all they could to help little Therese who missed her mother so much. They lavished affection and attention upon the motherless child. At Les Buissonnets, under the tutelage of her sisters Marie and Pauline, Therese began her first schooling.
Each day after classes were over she joined her father in his study. They would visit a different church each day and pray before the Blessed Sacrament. The bond between father and daughter grew stronger and stronger. Her sister Celine, nearly four years older, became her favorite playmate. The passage is all the more remarkable because it revealed the theme of exile which dominated her whole life.
Sundays had tremendous significance. They were days of rest tinged with melancholy because they must end. It was on a Sunday evening this youngster felt the pang of exile of this earth. Therese, given the proper occasion, continued to produce extreme temper tantrums. The following is her own account of one of the more sparkling scenes that took place between herself and her poor nurse, Victoire.
But she refused, telling me to get up on a chair. Classes bored her. She worked hard, and loved catechism, history and science, but had trouble with spelling and mathematics. Because of her overall intelligence, the good nuns advanced the eight-year-old to classes for fourteen-year-olds. She was still bored. Her keenness aroused the envy of many fellow pupils, and Therese paid dearly for her academic successes.
Genius has its price, and the youngest Martin girl was paying it. The ordinary games and dances of other children held little interest for her. She was uncomfortable with most children and seemed to be at ease only with her sisters and very few others. Of all the Martin girls, Pauline was closest to Therese. Therese thought of her as her second mother. Nine-year-old Therese was stunned. Ah, how can I express the anguish of my heart!
In one instant I understood what life was; until then I had never seen it so sad, but it appeared to me in all its reality and I saw it was nothing but a continual suffering and separation. She believed that just as a child becomes enamored with what is before her, we should also have a childlike focus and totally attentive love. Theresa's spirituality is of doing the ordinary, with extraordinary love.
She loved flowers and saw herself as the "little flower of Jesus," who gave glory to God by just being her beautiful little self among all the other flowers in God's garden. Because of this beautiful analogy, the title "little flower" remained with St.
Her inspiration and powerful presence from heaven touched many people very quickly. Had she lived, she would have been only 52 years old when she was declared a Saint. I will let fall a shower of roses. Countless millions have been touched by her intercession and imitate her "little way.
Theresa a Doctor of the Church - the only Doctor of his pontificate - in tribute to the powerful way her spirituality has influenced people all over the world. Carmelite Authors St. Zelie and Louis Martin, St. Through sickness and dark nights of doubt and fear, she remained faithful to God, rooted in His merciful love. After a long struggle with tuberculosis, she died on September 30, , at the age of Her last words were the story of her life: "My God, I love You!
She described her life as a "little way of spiritual childhood. She believed that just as a child becomes enamored with what is before her, we should also have a childlike focus and totally attentive love.
Therese's spirituality is of doing the ordinary, with extraordinary love. Therese saw the seasons as reflecting the seasons of God's love affair with us. She loved flowers and saw herself as the "little flower of Jesus," who gave glory to God by just being her beautiful little self among all the other flowers in God's garden. Because of this beautiful analogy, the title "little flower" remained with St.
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