From: richarra@gmail.com   
      
   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   
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)