Old Testement

This Catholic fine art print is centered on Blessed Louis and Zelie Martin. The Martins had nine children, four of whom died in infancy. Of their five daughters, four became Carmelite sisters one of whom was St. Therese of Lisieux. Louis was a watch and clock maker and Zélie, an expert artisan of lace, operated their own businesses. They were familiar with the challenges inherent in dealing justly and patiently with employees and with customers. In the Martin household the needs of the poor were never forgotten. Both Louis and Zélie were stricken by disease. Zélie died of breast cancer on August 28, 1877. Louis, a widower with five dependent children, was afflicted with a humiliating brain disease and confined in a psychiatric hospital. During occasional periods of remission, he devoted himself to his fellow patients. He died at home in 1894 at the age of 71. Blessed Louis and Zelie Martin prove to married couples that a great holiness is possible, even in the midst of a family life marked by difficulties and sorrows. Two months before her death, Saint Thérèse wrote to the Abbé Bellière: "God gave me a father and a mother more worthy of heaven than of earth; they asked the Lord to give them many children and to let them all be consecrated to Him." (July 26th, 1897). Louis and Zelie Martin were beatified in Lisieux and declared blessed on 19th October 2008. A further approved miracle after that date will automatically lead to their canonization. Blessed Louis and Zelie Martin pray for us.

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