Were Saints Louis and Zélie Martin arguing?
February 2, 2021 – Aleteia
Louis and Zélie Martin, the parents of Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus, were canonized as a couple. Has their holiness exempted them from the ups and downs of married life? Was their family life smooth, free of conflict? Aleteia asked the question to Guy Fournier, deacon and assistant to the rector of the Louis and Zélie sanctuary in Alençon.
Aleteia: Did the Martin family live like an ordinary family?
Guy Fournier : All family life is not a long, quiet river: hazards, each person's character, fatigue, stress, bickering among siblings, whims of the little ones, desires of adolescents, educational difficulties, excess of work at times or on the contrary risk of losing him in times of crisis, weakening by illness, deaths... all these cumulative realities did not spare the Martin family. Tensions and disagreements arose, as well as some outbursts. How can we be surprised in a family of five children, with a business to run and a mother admitting to “sometimes being a slave to her Alençon point”? She is sometimes on her feet from 5 a.m. to 23:30 p.m. She has to manage everything at the same time (family life, frequent illnesses among the children, the lace business and sometimes Zélie's migraines, etc.). In the midst of all this the course is maintained: God remains “first served!” » This is the “cement” of the couple!
Serious regulators are necessary to emerge from these daily constraints. In studying the lives of Louis and Zélie Martin, I noted five: mutual respect, mutual listening, dialogue, frankness, personal and family prayer. The result was a true unity of life.
Did the temperaments of Louis and Zélie match perfectly?
Louis and Zélie are perfectly united on their life project and they move forward with their differences. Zélie doesn't like traveling: "To tell the truth, I don't really like sitting at my window putting together my Alençon stitch", whereas Louis appreciates them. Zélie is very active, “activity in person, always busy with her lace, her housework, her children, her correspondence. Our father had a lot to do to relieve her and to persuade her to accept help,” explains Céline. Louis is contemplative, happy in nature. He likes traveling, takes his time...
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