With the rapid cultural and moral changes taking place in our country and world today, faith filled Catholics can nevertheless seem daunted by the challenges of remaining good witnesses to their beliefs.
The example of Saints can help us and even those on the the way to official acclamation of holiness, like Sr. Francoise Therese Martin, or Leonie, a Visitandine and sibling of St Therese of Lisieux.
A recent interview with the postulator of her cause led to this statement:
In what did her sanctity consist?
“She knew how to welcome what she was. She was poorer in human qualities than her sisters (less intelligent, less beautiful, etc.). She accepted all her limitations with faith and surrender to the will of God. Léonie remained simple and humble, happy with what she was. We ourselves, we often say: “I want to be . . ., I am not . . . ., I yearn to be like that, etc.” Léonie did not react like that. She had no jealousy toward her sisters. Her example means that, with what each of us has received from nature and from our parents, a way of holiness is possible for us. In other words, to be holy does not require any special natural qualities. Sanctity consists in loving and accepting the will of God. This is what Léonie lived. She loved her inadequacies. She lived through difficult moments, including with her family. They sometimes had the habit of calling her “poor Léonie.” She surmounted all her difficulties by faith. She owed much to the education she received and also to Therese, who was always very supportive and who showed Léonie her little way of childhood, which Léonie followed wonderfully. But Léonie was able to let herself be guided, all the while remaining herself.”
Read the entire interview here: http://leoniemartin.org/my-blog-about-st-therese/2015/7/5/father-antonio-sangalli
Our chat Sunday will focus on building up our Catholic strength through focusing on the life of Leonie Martin.