Saint Therese of Lisieux: A Gateway

 The Web site of the Archives of the Carmel of Lisieux recently posted photographs and an English translation of a small account book kept by Blessed Louis Martin from 1845-1847.  The Archives site remarks:

 What do we learn from this list of Louis Martin’s bookkeeping, a 22 year old bachelor? His usual expenses for clothing summer and winter. When the feasts of Christmas and New Year’s arrive, he thought of presents. He also had his father and helped him sometimes. A remarkable fact, he bought school books to learn Latin. He also planned to start learning Greek; every month he regularly paid for lessons with a tutor. In vain because it ended 18 months later with the resale of the dictionary and seemingly by the end of classes. The young Martin would never be a priest but father of a family. And skilled at doing his accounts and making the couple’s money grow.

View the photographs of Louis's handwritten entries and the English translation of the entries.