Zelie Martin and her husband to be beatified!

Zelie Martin is the mother of St. Theresa, the little flower.  I admire Zelie greatly and I think she is a great role model for Christian wives and mothers.   Mark your calendars for October 19 – the day of beatification! 

Here is more information about Blessed Zelie

• Parents of St. Thérèse
  tags: no_tag
  

  • They lived a life of chastity for ten months, after which, under the direction of a confessor they agreed that they should have children of their own. Once convinced that this was God’s will for them they had nine children in thirteen years. Meanwhile, Zélie set up her office next to Louis’ shop, where she continued with her lace making. 
    As she waited for the first baby to arrive Zélie was careful to follow Mgr. Gay’s advice, that during the months immediately preceding the birth of her child, the expectant mother should keep especially close to God, so that she might be a living sanctuary for the child within her. 

  • When Marie Hélène was born the following year on October 13, Zélie’s own health was already beginning to fail. She was unable to nurse this child herself and had to entrust her to a wet nurse, a cause of great sadness for her; her visits to this youngest child filled her with joy. By this time the two eldest were strong lively children. Zélie was always careful about their dress and behaviour. 

  • In June 1865 Louis’ father died and his passing made a deep impression on Zélie. She wrote to her brother, ‘My father-in-law died yesterday at 1 p.m. He had received the sacraments last Thursday. He had a holy death and died as he had lived. I should never have believed it could have affected me so much. I am overwhelmed.’ 

  • On New Year’s Day she brought the baby to Alencon for a few hours and Zélie delighted in dressing him up like a little prince; Joseph laughed and was loved by all the family. Zélie was convinced that he would fulfil her hope of being the mother of a future priest, but her joy was short lived. At 3 a.m. there was a loud knock at the door. The little boy was very ill and they feared he would die. In fact he recovered quite quickly from what proved to be erysipelas, but although the crisis passed he did not ever seem to regain his full strength. On February 14, he died. Zélie was heart broken by the loss of this little one, but with the support of her family resigned herself to the fact that God had taken him to Himself. 

  • Marie Joseph John Baptiste arrived on December 19, 1867 but his was the most difficult birth of all. The child nearly died and the doctor baptised him. He was a beautiful baby but again Zélie was unable to nurse him and had to let him be cared for by Little Rose. Everyone could see that this baby was not strong. Rose was concerned, Zélie was resigned, but never ceased to pray that God would leave him on earth. He suffered from bronchitis for three months and when he improved a little, Zélie took him home with her; the improvement was short lived; he suffered enteritis and Zélie knew that already weakened by so much illness he could not live. On August 24, 1868 he died in his mother’s arms. To add to her troubles Zélie had been nursing her father for over a year. Unable to live alone, he had been persuaded to move in with his daughter and her family. He died less than two weeks after her second son. 

  • As soon as she returned home Zélie began her work. She found her lace-making compatible with motherhood, as it did not take her out of her home. She had about fifteen women working for her and every Thursday they came to bring their work and collect the cotton and their instructions for the next week. Zélie assembled the pieces which they brought to her. She always had time for her children, writing to the two eldest frequently, recounting all the little details of life at home

  • On August 16 Zélie wrote her last letter to her brother, ‘If the Blessed Virgin does not cure me, it is that my time has come and that God wishes me to find my rest elsewhere than on earth.’ 
    Ten days later a haemorrhage took away her voice, her limbs became swollen and she became so weak that the Guérins were summoned. 
    Louis fetched the priest escorting the Blessed Sacrament from the Church. The family were all gathered round for this final ceremony. The next day the Guérins were there. Céline Guérin never forgot the mother’s last look; she resolved to do all she could for the children, but she knew she could not replace such a mother. 
    On Tuesday August 28 at 12.30 a.m. Zélie died, her husband and her brother beside her. The three older girls were there, but they did not waken the two younger ones. Thérèse’s father took her to see her mother for the last time the next morning. The following day Zélie was buried with the four little ones. It was not until 1894 when Louis died that Isidore Guérin had the family grave moved to Lisieux.