Therese Inspires Her Own Sister

On this day 17 June in 1941 the Servant of God Sister Françoise-Thérèse (Leonie) Martin – one of the sisters of St Therese - died at around 1:30 in the morning.  ‘She suffered from eczema throughout her lifetime with painful flare ups. She experienced the untimely deaths of three of her younger siblings, resulting in lasting anxiety. She drove her mother and her father to their wits’ ends by her behaviour, which might be classified as ADHD today along with violent emotional outbursts. She was expelled multiple times from boarding school because of her inability to concentrate and to control her behaviour, her mother’s death from cancer when Léonie was 13 years old was devastating, and she felt deeply the separation from her older sisters who left to become nuns at the Carmel of Lisieux. Unbeknownst to her parents, the maid was beating and threatening Léonie if Léonie spent too much time with her mother and the family. Zélie couldn’t understand why Léonie avoided her until one of Léonie’s sisters discovered the physical and emotional abuse. Later, Léonie tried several times to enter religious life as a nun, but was eventually expelled due to her inability to follow the religious rules. She recognized her inferiority which weighed heavily upon her self-confidence; she was neither as pretty nor as talented as her sisters. She experienced the traumatic death of her youngest sister, Saint Thérèse, from tuberculosis; and the hospitalization, dementia, and eventual death of her father, Saint Louis.  Despite all the psychological, physical, spiritual, and personal sufferings, she maintained a singular hope: to become a real nun. ... it was with the publication of Saint Thérèse’s autobiography, “The Story of a Soul,” that Léonie learned about the “little way” of holiness. This “little way” was making Thérèse known internationally as a saint, which consequently attracted a lot of attention to the remaining living sisters. Léonie decided that she would devote her life henceforth to following this little way of sanctification, in the hope of becoming a holy nun and saint also. Léonie wrote concerning her newfound hope in Saint Thérése’s spiritual doctrine: “I am taking you for my darling Directress, in me and with me, you must continue your religious life: thus I will arrive more quickly and more surely by your loveable little way which is none other than that of divine Love.” Léonie Martin, whose life had been afflicted with so much trauma, persevered in hope. She did become a holy nun and is now on the path to becoming declared a saint.’ [Courtesy of Carmelitequotes.blog]  She entered the Visitation at Caen in 1899 and spent the rest of her life there.

​Intercessions

RIP Mervyn Leach, father of two Secular Carmelites

Cancer: Brian Davis, Bernard (and wife Angela caring for him), Jacqui, Fr Jon Bielowski (Plymouth Diocese), Catherine, Alex (43 with five children), Sister Daranee Teapthong, Theresa K

Ivy – sick child

Brian (recovering from Pneumonia)

Kevin (heart attack)

William Gove (recovering from stroke)

Illness:  Katy Keeling

Siena, Elara – sick children

David OCDS – housebound

Grace – troubling ailments, job difficulties, family (deceased mother and health of father)

Mark – brain infection

Michael, Kira – vulnerable youngsters

Defence of the unborn and the elderly

We are asked to pray for the Diocese of Chiang Mai and Northern Thailand, as the Northern Mission celebrates its centenary. The process of selecting a new bishop continues.