Lift Up Your Hearts

    "Put the things of creation in the second place. You have to leave
this world at some day, for you are not going to remain here forever.
Each day you hear, "Lift up your hearts." But you sink your heart into
this world as though you heard the very opposite.
    Listen to me, you who are poor: what is lacking to you if you have
God? Listen to me, you who are rich: what do you possess if you do not
have God?"
--St. Augustine--Sermon 311, 14-15

Prayer: Lord, help us, so that a change may be achieved in us, and we
may find you ready to offer yourself for the enjoyment of those you
love you.
--St. Augustine--Commentary on Psalm 6, 5

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12 July - Sts Louis (1823-1894) & Zelie (1831–1877) Martin

– Parents of St Thérèse of the Child Jesus/of Lisieux

 Sts Louis and Zelie two married French laypeople and the parents of
five nuns, including Thérèse of Lisieux, a Carmelite nun who was
Canonised as a saint in 1925 and added as one of the only 36 Doctors
of the Church by St Pope John Paul in 1997. On 18 October 2015, the
couple were also Canonised, becoming the first spouses in the Church’s history to be canonised as a couple.

The simple, hard-working and prayerful Martin family from the small
French town of Alençon was anything but ordinary. Not only is one of
the family’s daughters the great St Thérèse of the Child Jesus--the Carmelite Doctor of the Church known for her “little way”--and another daughter, Sister Leonie, under consideration for Canonisation but the
parents became the first married couple ever to be Canonised saints.
Sts Louis and Zélie Martin built a family that shines throughout the
world today as a beacon of ideal family life.

Neither had intended to marry. Both had seriously considered
religious life but doors had been closed to them as they moved closer
to that vocation. God’s will became increasingly clear to them, ending
up as the perfect Catholic love story that, beginning when they met on Alençon’s St Leonard’s Bridge, was bookended with their 2015
Canonisation.

It was love at first sight that day on the bridge. A brief courtship
resulted in their 13 July 1858, marriage. On that day, Sts Louis and
Zélie established a family grounded in a love for God and a commitment
to do His will, not immune from the everyday troubles of family life
nor the pains and sorrows that few families know.

The couple complemented each other well. Louis was reserved and
contemplative, while Zélie was outgoing and social. Both put their
children ahead of themselves and wanted nothing but their best.
Prayerful and discerning, these holy parents had the clear-headed
vision to know that the best for their children was to help them grow
in a relationship with God.

Numerous challenges that the Martins faced was the stuff that has
driven many away from God and religion. Four of the Martins’ children
died at an early age and Zélie suffered a lengthy bout with breast
cancer that resulted in her death at the age of 45.

When understood improperly, one is prone to seeing suffering as a
reason to doubt their faith and to give up on God. Throughout it all,
the Martins confidently proclaimed a profound love of God and an
undying trust in His providence.

The Little Way of St Thérèse posits a simple spirituality of doing
little things exceedingly well. She learned this first and foremost
from her parents as a girl. As she said herself, “The good Lord gave
me a father and a mother more worthy of heaven than of earth.”

In good times and in bad, the Martins were faithful to each other and
to God. They embraced their vocation as spouses and parents with joy
and they dedicated their entire selves to their calling. They worked
hard to provide for their family--Louis eventually gave up his watch
shop to join Zélie in her lucrative lace-making business. But they
knew that their success was found in putting God first, as evidenced
by their daily habit of attending Mass together.

Their family life is a model for families the world over. The Martin
home was filled with laughter and joy just as much as it was with
prayer and love. It was a home of affection, tenderness and mercy. And
it was a home where holiness was desired above all else. They wanted
what God wanted and nothing more. They did not give in to the
temptations and weaknesses that came with trials and suffering, but
relied on Christ’s example and His grace in the sacraments to fortify
them.

In the end, the sole desire of the Martins for themselves and for
their children was to become saints. And now Canonised, Sts Louis and
Zélie provide a clear blueprint for families today who share that same
goal. (OSV Newsweekly)

Louis and Zélie were declared “venerable” on 26 March 1994 by St Pope
John Paul II. They were Beatified on 19 October 2008 by José Saraiva
Cardinal Martins, the legate of Pope Benedict XVI in the Basilica of
Saint Thérèse, Lisieux. A few months earlier, the Church had
recognised the miracle of Pietro Schiliro, an Italian child cured of
lung illness, at their intercession. For Louis and Zélie to be
Canonised, the church needed to find that God worked a second miracle
at their intercession.

On 7 January 2013, Carlos Osoro Sierra, Archbishop of Valencia,
presided at the opening of the canonical process to inquire into the
healing in 2008 of a girl named Carmen, who was born in Valencia four
days before Louis and Zélie were beatified. Eight doctors testified
that there was no scientific explanation for her cure.

The diocesan tribunal held its closing session on 21 May 2013 and the
file was sent to Rome for review by the Congregation for the Causes of
Saints.

On 3 March 2015 Angelo Cardinal Amato announced informally that Louis
and Zélie Martin would be declared saints during the Synod of Bishops.
The Congregation accepted and promulgated the miracle on 18 March
2015.

On 26 June 2015, Miracle of Life in Valencia, a film produced by the Archdiocese of Valencia about the Canonisation miracle was released
online in English.  The next day, at a consistory of cardinals in
Rome, Pope Francis approved the decree for the Canonisation of Louis
and Zélie Martin and announced that the ceremony would take place in
October in Rome.

On 18 October 2015, Louis and Azélie-Marie Martin were Canonised as
saints by Pope Francis.

https://anastpaul.com/2018/07/12/


Saint Quote:
I work here on borrowed money, a prisoner for the sake of Jesus
Christ. And often my debts are so pressing that I dare not go out of
the house for fear of being seized by my creditors. Whenever I see so
many poor brothers and neighbors of mine suffering beyond their
strength and overwhelmed with so many physical or mental ills which I
cannot alleviate, then I become exceedingly sorrowful; but I trust in
Christ, who knows my heart. And so I say, woe to the man who trusts in
men rather than in Christ.
--Saint John of God

Bible Quote:
“It was his loving design, centered in Christ, to give history its
fulfilment by resuming everything in him, all that is in heaven, all
that is on earth, summed up in him” (Eph. 1, 9-10)


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Evil Reports

NOTHING is more opposite to charity, or more fatal to salvation, than
the evil reports we make of one another, whether they be true or
false; because they irritate the mind, disorder the heart, foment
divisions, and embitter hatreds, and because we cannot obtain God's
pardon for them, unless we resolve, in our confessions, to repair the
evil we have done and to reconcile those we may have set at variance.
We should, therefore, neither spread evil reports of others, nor
listen to them and if we do hear anything against our neighbor we
should be careful not to repeat it.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)