clock. When the neighbors heard the first door on the street being closed, they would say, “It’s that Martin couple going to church, so we still have time to sleep.” Participating at Mass was less of an obligation for them than a privileged time in their Christian life.
Communion, above all, brought them joy, and that predilection was something they passed on to their children from their earliest years. “For a few weeks now we had taken her [little Thérèse] out on Sunday. She had not gone to Matthe, as she called it. In coming home from our walk, she let out piercing screams saying that she wanted to go to Matthe. She opened the door and took off under torrential rain in the direction of the church. We ran after her to bring her back home, and her crying lasted a good hour…. She said to me loudly in church, “I just went to Matthe! I prayded to God.”42
Participation at Mass wasn’t just a routine for them but a vital necessity, a refreshment and feast, even though they experienced the well-known difficulties that fatigue and worry can bring: “This morning I was sleeping as I dressed myself; I was almost sleeping as I was walking; I was sleeping at the first Mass when I was on my knees, standing up, sitting down, and as I prayed.”43 On another occasion, Zélie said, “There was sermon, but I am not sure what was preached because I was so absorbed in my thoughts.”44 Distraction and drowsiness were also Zélie’s lot, but meanwhile grace was working during Masses that she experienced without ecstasy: “This morning during Mass I had such dark thoughts about this [fear of losing the baby] that I was completely distressed”; however, demonstrating the fruit of this Mass, she added, “The best thing to do is to put everything back in God’s hands and calmly wait for events to unfold in abandonment to his will.”45
The Martins’ holiness in relationship to the Eucharist was evident in the importance they accorded it, not in any visible fervor. We see its importance for them first in the intense preparation that preceded every Communion for themselves and for the children as well. They didn’t hesitate to separate themselves from their daughter Léonie by sending her to boarding school at the Visitation Monastery with the single goal of having her prepare well for her first Communion. Preparing to receive God requires using all the small means in daily life—“It is a constant preparation that goes on every day,” according to Zélie46—as well as using more significant measures: “I took her [Léonie] last Tuesday on pilgrimage to the Immaculate Conception at Séez so that she could obtain the grace to make a good First Communion.”47 Zélie knew that receiving this preparation was a grace in itself, and she blessed God when she saw Léonie prepare fervently. This preparation was unconnected to the action of grace that follows the receiving of every Eucharist, however: “I attended three Masses this morning. I went to the one at 6:00, I did my thanksgivings and said my prayers during the one at 7:00, and then I went back for the High Mass.”48
Mass was a priority, so all other activities were organized around it. It could require different arrangements, and we can admire the careful manner in which Zélie made provisions for it: “When you come home, dear Pauline, it will be more difficult; you like to sleep in the morning and to go to bed late…. I will figure out a way for both of you [Marie and Pauline] to go [to Mass] at different times. If at that time I am not still making Alençon lace, it will be very simple, but if not, I will have a dilemma. Well, we will just figure something out.”49 Both Louis and Zélie maintained faithfulness to the Eucharist to a heroic degree when, in their final illnesses, they devoted their minimal capacity for movement to receiving it despite their suffering. They didn’t go to Mass as “consumers” but rather with the immense respect of those who know and love the ineffable mystery, the mystery of a God who abased himself to give himself to us.
Recognizing the Eucharist as the most powerful prayer, they never ceased having recourse to it on behalf of the living as much as on behalf of the dead. Zélie, with a touch of humor, attributed the success of her brother’s exams to the Mass she offered for that intention. The Martins preferred to offer Masses for the dead instead of flower bouquets, and they placed every important intention on the Eucharistic table. With a group of friends in Alençon, Louis also participated every month in Nocturnal Eucharistic Adoration; it was so meaningful for him that he organized the Nocturnal Adoration in Lisieux.
The Martins had great respect for every sacrament, in addition to the Eucharist. They preferred that an infant receive baptism almost immediately. They believed from the bottom of their hearts that baptism, by which a newborn passes through the death and resurrection of Christ, brings salvation to that soul, and that had more value in their eyes than the newborn’s life. God always came first. And they delighted in distributing more than four pounds of fine candies to all the children present, adding to the joy of the baptism.
They each had a regular confessor and considered the Sacrament of Reconciliation the privileged instrument of divine mercy, not a burden.
The Martins were bonded to their parish. The Catholic environment of Alençon together with the anticlerical political context resulted in the vivid intermingling of national and spiritual interests. In general, the liveliness of the Christian faith at that time was all on the surface, an outward rather than an inward reality. The Martins, however, while affirming their faith, didn’t engage in polemics and simply participated in the planned parish activities. They took part in liturgical feasts, processions, retreats, and the missions that took place no matter who the more-or-less appreciated preacher was: “For eight days now, we have had two missionaries who are giving three sermons a day. Neither one preaches better than the other, in my opinion. We go hear them anyway out of duty, and for me at least, it is an extra penance.”50 Zélie still had a critical spirit, but she made the best of everything.
Sunday the whole household went to High Mass, vespers, and sometimes the Divine Office evening prayers. Louis and Zélie appreciated beautiful liturgies. Zélie was disappointed about a particular ceremony in the month of May, commenting: “We hear unbearable songs that are like cooing that no one can understand; one would think we were at a café-concert and that annoys me! In earlier times, singing was more pious, so it seems that we are being more progressive now!”51—a reflection familiar to many people today!
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