Day 9 of the novena to Blessed Louis and Zelie Martin prepared for Sainte-Therese Parish in Metz, France.  Used with the permission of Fr. Jean-Claude Lange and translated by Mary Davidson, OCDS for "Saint Therese of Lisieux: A Gateway."  Please join me in thanking them.

  Ninth Day

Consecration

“But to those who did accept him he gave power to become children of God, to those who believe in his name” (John 1: 12).

Consecration to Mary

"I choose you today, O Mary, in the presence of all the heavenly court, for my Mother and my Queen. I consecrate to you, with full submission and love, my body and my soul, my talents and possessions, and even the value of all my good actions, past, present and future. I give to you a full right to dispose of me and all that belongs to me, without exception, according to your good pleasure, for the greater glory of God, in time and eternity. Amen.”

St. Louis Marie Grignon de Montfort)
 
Reflection:

Since our baptism, do we constantly call to mind that we are bathed in the anointing of the Lord, incorporated into Christ? Do we remember that through the Sacraments, we receive the blessing of the Father? “Jacob called his sons and said: ‘Gather around, that I may tell you what is to happen to you in days to come.’….. He blessed them and “to each he gave a suitable blessing” (Genesis 49: 1, 28). God gives each person what she or he needs in his or her state in life when it is needed, as a mission, a healing, a conversion.

In anticipation of this meeting and in this time of formation, let us take refuge in the bridal chamber of the spouses of Heaven. We are united to Christ in the Trinitarian life by Love:

“May Christ dwell in your hearts through faith; may you be rooted and grounded in Love” (Ephesians 3: 17).

So let us stand up and, face to face with our God, proclaim our faith! Let us be receptive to the Holy Spirit, so that the blessing of the Father may flow over us like a saving, merciful dew. We thank you, Father, for our hope that we can receive You into our hearts and that we may be worthy to carry You there always.
 
Final Meditation:

Blessed Louis and Zelie Martin, consecrated in the heart of the family of Nazareth, teach us the desire of consecration. Amen.

Blessed Louis and Zelie Martin, we ask you for consecration for ourselves, our family, and all families of the world. Amen.

Blessed Zelie Martin, through St. Thérèse, give to us the love of life. Amen.

Blessed Louis Martin, King of your family, through St. Thérèse, teach us the family liturgy where we may be called priest, prophet, and king. Amen.

Our Father…..

Hail Mary….. 

Closing Prayer:

"God Our Father,

I thank you for Louis and Zelie Martin,

a couple united in faith, giving the witness of an exemplary Christian life

through the exercise of the duty of their state in life

and the practice of the evangelical virtues.

In the education of a large family,

through trials, mourning, and suffering,

they generously expressed their trust in You

and their submission to Your will.

Deign to grant, O Lord, the graces that I seek,

in the hope that the father and mother of St. Therese of the Child Jesus

will one day be proposed as models for today's families for the entire Church. Amen."

Imprimatur

This novena with Louis and Zelie Martin can be distributed among individuals and groups who wish to use it for inspiration.

Monsignor A.M. LEONARD
Bishop of Namur
September 21, 1998

________________________________

Note: families who want to learn more about Blessed Louis and Zelie Martin are encouraged to read the book "A Call to a Deeper Love: The Letters of the Parents of St. Therese, 1863-1885," which contains not only the letters of Louis and Zelie but also an introduction, historical background, invaluable notes, a groundbreaking chronology, and other helps to understanding this family.

An excellent help to praying as a family as the Martin family did is the ever-new classic "Prayers for the Domestic Church," with an array of simple and lovely blessings, prayers, and rituals for many moments in the lives of individuals and families.  I recommend it.

Day 8 of the novena to Blessed Louis and Zelie Martin prepared for Sainte-Therese Parish in Metz, France.  Used with the permission of Fr. Jean-Claude Lange and translated by Mary Davidson, OCDS for "Saint Therese of Lisieux: A Gateway."  Please join me in thanking them.

Main altar at St. Pierre's Cathedral, Lisieux.  Donated by Bl. Louis Martin

EIGHTH DAY

The House of the Father

“One day within your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. The threshold of the house of God I prefer to the dwellings of the wicked.” (Psalm 84:11)

Prayer to the Holy Spirit

Come, Holy Ghost, Creator blest,
and in our hearts take up Thy rest;
come with Thy grace and heavenly aid,
To fill the hearts which Thou hast made.

O Comforter, to Thee we cry,
Thou heavenly gift of God most high,
Thou Fount of life, and Fire of love,
and sweet anointing from above.

Praise we the Father and the Son
and Holy Spirit with them One;
and may the Son on us bestow
the gifts that from the Spirit flow.

(Veni Creator Spiritus)

Gospel Reading:

“Do not let your hearts be troubled.
You have faith in God; have faith also in me.
In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places.
If there were not, would I have told you
that I am going to prepare a place for you?
And if I go and prepare a place for you,
I will come back again and take you to myself,
so that where I am you also may be.
Where I am going you know the way.”

(John 14:1-4)

Reflection:

God is constant in his love. In the hope of the faithful love of our Father, let us understand His gentleness; let us come to His Mercy. And if the sweetness of the love of Christ is reserved for the house of the Father, then let us create in our homes the experience of hope. Let us sing, dance, and praise. Why not create in our homes the clean, light atmosphere reminiscent of the homes of Nazareth, of Alencon, of les Buissonets: “Let us raise our hands to the Triune God. My prayer rises before Thee as incense and my hands as the evening sacrifice.” (Vespers)

Imagine Blessed Louis Martin in his workshop, his eyes sparkling like jewels--did he not contemplate the splendor of the heavenly Jerusalem? At the end of his life, as he donated the Eucharistic altar in the Church of St. Pierre in Lisieux--did he not make a Tabernacle in the Father's house, as Mary was for Jesus? Louis Martin managed his affairs as a good father, a prince or a shepherd. He reminds us of the words: “Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock” (Matt. 7:24). The smell of the Homeland is like perfume from the house of the Father. Be happy that you recognize the Father's house: “Do not rejoice because the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice because your names are written in heaven” (Luke 10:20).

St.  Thérèse says as well: “Lift up your eyes towards Heaven, and you will see on thrones of honor a father, a dear mother, that will give you great happiness.” Return to the Homeland. Dare to take the path of childhood by following the way of Mary. Dare to live this Gospel way, remembering that we are made in the likeness of God and keeping before us the image of the Heavenly Jerusalem. This way of childhood can take us back in time, to before our first sins. Let us ask Him to teach us the Divine Will.

For Meditation:

Blessed Louis and Zelie Martin, teach us the way of childhood, the way of purity, which brings us back to the Father's House. Your family can lead us into the mystery of a God who has the tenderness of a mother.

Daily Prayer: Our Father; Hail Mary; Our Father

"God Our Father,

I thank you for Louis and Zelie Martin,

a couple united in faith, giving the witness of an exemplary Christian life

through the exercise of the duty of their state in life

and the practice of the evangelical virtues.

In the education of a large family,

through trials, mourning, and suffering,

they generously expressed their trust in You

and their submission to Your will.

Deign to grant, O Lord, the graces that I seek,

in the hope that the father and mother of St. Therese of the Child Jesus

will one day be proposed as models for today's families for the entire Church. Amen."

Day 7 of the novena to Blessed Louis and Zelie Martin prepared for Sainte-Therese Parish in Metz, France.  Used with the permission of Fr. Jean-Claude Lange and translated by Mary Davidson, OCDS for "Saint Therese of Lisieux: A Gateway."  Please join me in thanking them.

SEVENTH DAY

Abandonment in hope

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you” (Matthew 7:7).

Prayer to the Holy Spirit:

 “Come, Holy Spirit; come Fire of Love, come Father of the poor; loving my wounds. Lord, You chose me from my tender childhood, and I can be called the work of Your love.” (St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus)

Reading:

Rejoice with Jerusalem and be glad because of her,
all you who love her;

Rejoice with her in her joy,
all you who mourn over her

So that you may nurse and be satisfied
from her consoling breast;

That you may drink with delight
at her abundant breasts!

For thus says the LORD:

I will spread prosperity over her like a river,
like an overflowing torrent,
the wealth of nations.

You shall nurse, carried in her arms,
cradled upon her knees;
As a mother comforts her child,
so I will comfort you;
in Jerusalem you shall find your comfort.

(Isaiah 66: 10-13)

Reflection:

In the home of Nazareth as in Alençon, there is room for a gentle and rewarding education. The sweet school of the Virgin Mary, like that of Thérèse, teaches us in Wisdom and Truth: "The truth will set you free." Free to love, but also free to recognize, to receive love, and to enjoy loving. We can recognize this love because it is a source of grace and healing.

Moreover, Louis and Zelie Martin give us a great example of faithfulness in prayer during time of trial. They are faithful to novenas and pilgrimages. St. Paul says, “How beautiful are the feet that carry the good news.” In her sickness, Zelie Martin abandoned herself in confidence during a trip to Lourdes. To have abandonment, to have confidence of healing: all our states of misery should feed on one or the other. What a mystery, what a treasure to discover!

In the school of Thérèse, we receive everything from Jesus through Mary. We receive the way of childhood, this beautiful childlike healing:

“Whatever you ask the Father in my name, I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. … Whoever loves me will keep my word. My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our dwelling with him”

(John 14: 13, 23).

In this abandonment, Zelie Martin carried within her heart her nine children, consecrated to the Lord. In our innermost being, we must become willing to bear a new child: a child with the names of Love and Forgiveness.

For Meditation:

Blessed Zelie Martin, show us the path of Mary, the great way of childhood prophesied by Thérèse. Let us be reborn in the heart of Mary in confidence, setting aside our own strength.

Louis and Zelie Martin, teach us to abandon ourselves to the time and to the graces of the Father, by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Daily Prayer: Our Father; Hail Mary; Our Father

"God Our Father,

I thank you for Louis and Zelie Martin,

a couple united in faith, giving the witness of an exemplary Christian life

through the exercise of the duty of their state in life

and the practice of the evangelical virtues.

In the education of a large family,

through trials, mourning, and suffering,

they generously expressed their trust in You

and their submission to Your will.

Deign to grant, O Lord, the graces that I seek,

in the hope that the father and mother of St. Therese of the Child Jesus

will one day be proposed as models for today's families for the entire Church. Amen."

Day 6 of the novena to Blessed Louis and Zelie Martin prepared for Sainte-Therese Parish in Metz, France.  Used with the permission of Fr. Jean-Claude Lange and translated by Mary Davidson, OCDS for "Saint Therese of Lisieux: A Gateway."  Please join me in thanking them.

SIXTH DAY

The night sky near Lisieux.  Courtesy of l'instantane Normandie.

The night, the desert, the purification

"That's why I'm going to seduce her into the wilderness and speak to her heart" (Hosea 14)

Prayer to the Holy Spirit:

"Come, Father of lights, God of Love, teach me to pray. Lead me to the truth. Engrave my soul with your blazing fire and fill me with your Love. Come Holy Spirit, who made the martyrs, confessors, apostles, prophets, heroes, and all great hearts: this is the only path that leads to salvation, so therefore I take it too.” (St. Louis Marie Grignon de Montfort).

Psalm 4:

Answer me when I call, my saving God.
When troubles hem me in, set me free;
take pity on me, hear my prayer.

How long, O people, will you be hard of heart?
Why do you love what is worthless, chase after lies?

Know that the LORD works wonders for his faithful one;
the LORD hears when I call out to him.

Tremble and sin no more;
weep bitterly within your hearts,
wail upon your beds.
Offer fitting sacrifices
and trust in the LORD.

Many say, “May we see better times!
LORD, show us the light of your face!”

But you have given my heart more joy
than they have when grain and wine abound.

In peace I will lie down and fall asleep,
for you alone, LORD, make me secure.

Reflection

Our concepts of desert, of loneliness, and of night mingle with those of abandonment, sadness, and punishment. If we accept that our earthly time is not that of God, then we can better understand these negative ideas. For Our Father does not appear to us in storms, or major events, but as Elijah experienced Him: in silence and a gentle breeze. Is it not in the slightest whisper that we tell a secret? For God gives. and He takes away again. in a great mystery of exchange in love. From our perspective, it happens that when we give. sometimes we feel we are not understood. Sometimes we refuse to give, even as we refuse to receive.

Blessed Zelie Martin gave everything she had for her children, right up until her death. Blessed Louis Martin gave his all to the Eucharist on the altar. And the “all” they gave led to their crowning in Heaven. Thus, our earthly nights or our deserts are not those of Heaven. As the dawn triumphs silently over darkness, knowing that morning is inevitable, we must accept without stubborn resistance our night, our desert, or our purification.

On Calvary, the spear brought forth blood and water, a gushing fountain of life. It was necessary for God to suffer in order for us to accept Him. At the end of Christ’s agony, the spear foreshadowed a birth. He could not come before the agony that had announced a death. Therese wanted the Coliseum dust, the dried blood of the martyrs. Zelie Martin brought forth a holy family through her physical and psychological trials. Louis Martin brought to Carmel his desire for the priesthood, and, like Moses after crossing the desert, he could see the Promised Land. Let us read again the writing of Louis Martin: "God has opened a way to lead all people to the happiness that He intends for them. It is a path of contradictions and of the cross. It is for the princes as well as the shepherds, and faith teaches us that no one is exempt. "

For Meditation:

Blessed Louis and Zelie Martin, teach us to be simple, to be poor in spirit as instruments of God.  As St. Therese prepared the altar for each Eucharist, may we invite our God to our table. As we wait for His presence, may we become His servants.

Daily Prayer: Our Father, Hail Mary, Our Father.

"God Our Father,

I thank you for Louis and Zelie Martin,

a couple united in faith, giving the witness of an exemplary Christian life

through the exercise of the duty of their state in life

and the practice of the evangelical virtues.

In the education of a large family,

through trials, mourning, and suffering,

they generously expressed their trust in You

and their submission to Your will.

Deign to grant, O Lord, the graces that I seek,

in the hope that the father and mother of St. Therese of the Child Jesus

will one day be proposed as models for today's families for the entire Church. Amen."

In the spring of 2013 the relics of St. Therese visited Cambodia.  See the lovely two-and-a-half-minute video (with English subtitles) of their visit to Chomkarcheang Village.  Bishop Olivier Schmitthaeusler, Apostolic Vicar of Phnom Penh, is seen speaking to the schoolchildren about the relics.  You will see a subtitle that mentions "Smiling Notre Dame Church."  This translation is a reference to a church named for "Our Lady of the Smile," as the statue in the Martin family home before which the sick Therese, age ten, and her sisters were praying when Mary suddenly appeared to Therese, who was cured. 

The Carmel of Phnom Penh was founded from the Saigon Carmel, which was founded from Lisieux.  Bishop Schmitthaeusler, like St. Therese's spiritual brother, is a member of the Foreign Mission Society of Paris.  Please pray for his work and for the Church in Cambodia.