Beginning

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Beginning

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

“And God said: ‘Let us make man in our own image and likeness .’ …God made man in his own image… Male and female he created them…God blessed them, saying: ‘Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth and conquer it…’ God saw all that he had made and indeed it was very good .”

This was God’s plan for the procreation of the human race . Jesus Christ reminded us of this plan when he said:

“Have you not read that the creator from the beginning made them male and female and that he said: ‘This is why a man must leave father and mother, and cling to his wife, and the two become one body’? They are no longer two, therefore, but one body . So then what God has united, man must not divide . ”

Unfortunately this wonderful plan became tainted as a result of original sin . Now we all have an inclination towards sin, as individuals, as couples, as families, as nations . At the same time divine providence offers each one of us sufficient graces to overcome that sinful inclination .

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As regards marriage Our Lord raised it from being a civil contract to a higher level by making it into a sacrament which confers many graces . Our Lord’s view on marriage was aptly demonstrated by what happened at the request of his Mother at the wedding feast in Cana .

Attack. Counter-attack. Victory

It is sad to say that the very notion of marriage as being a union of one man and one woman for life, has been attacked . Those attacks are sometimes direct . Sometimes invidiously and slyly they are indirect . Assaults also arise from a denial of the existence of God .

Those who are responsible for these assaults on God’s plan are not to be feared nor judged nor condemned . On the contrary; they are to be pitied and we must pray for them . Pitied because they do not know that God always wins . We must pray for them because Jesus said: “Do not judge, and you will not be judged yourselves; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned yourselves .” And: “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” .

There are some who require even more pity because they cannot see how silly it is to attack someone whom they claim does not exist . We must pray for their conversion so that they will recognise God in this world before they meet him in the next .

Meanwhile, God is beginning to show his hand . First of all the Holy Spirit has inspired the Church to present

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married couples for canonisation . They are not being presented as two holy individuals as used to be the case . Instead they are being treated as one united couple .

Moreover, miracles have been granted to those who have sought the intercession of such married couples . It would be hard to find a better proof that God wishes his plan for the human race to continue in the way he intended it to be from the beginning .

The process towards canonisation goes in three stages . The heroic virtues of the person, or in this case, the couple, will be recognised . They are then said to be Venerable .

At this stage their intercession may be sought privately . Public services must wait until Beatification . If the Church judges that a miracle has been granted through their intercession they may then be declared as Blessed . Another miracle is required for them to be declared as Saints .

Pope Francis has recently declared the Italian couple, Sergio and Domenica Bernardini, as Venerable .

Another Italian husband and wife, Luigi and Maria Beltrame Quattrocchi were beatified 21st October 2001 .

The French couple, Louis and Zélie Martin were declared Venerable by Pope John-Paul II on 26th March 1994 . The miraculous cure of Pietro Schillero was recognised by the Church authorities . Then the Beatification ceremony took place at the Basilica in Lisieux on Sunday 19th October 2008 .

Another miracle attributed to the intercession of the Martins has been recognised . This was the cure of a

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young Spanish girl named Carmen . This miracle has been considered sufficient for the canonisation of Louis and Zélie Martin to take place in October 2015 .

God’s idea of marriage will continue until the end of time when God will be seen to be victorious in all things . Ironically it will not be God’s enemies who bring marriage to an end, but God himself . There will be no further need for marriage because God’s plan will have been fulfilled .

Love Story

This is a true love story . Louis Martin and Zélie Guérin fell in love at first sight . They loved all their children and wanted the best for them . Above all they loved God and desired that each of their family would love him .

This is also a story of battles and conflict . The Martins lived at a time of trouble for the Church and also of war between France and Prussia . Their main battle, however, was a spiritual one . Instead of bullets they used prayer which can be more powerful than atomic bombs . If needs be, prayer can provide us with wings to fly over any obstacle or furnish us with bridges to cross deep ravines . “Those who trust in the Lord renew their strength . They put on wings like eagles .” “I was hard-pressed and was falling, but the Lord came to help me .” The Martins followed the advice of St Paul and put on the armour of faith, hope and charity . Like faith, prayer can move mountains .

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The Martins firmly believed that all those wonderful things were possible . But in practice they discovered that for most of the time all that is required from prayer is a smoothing out of small bumps and filling in of tiny cracks as we make our journey towards heaven . Equally so, God is as satisfied with many little sacrifices as he is with one or two huge ones .

You may judge how well Louis and Zélie achieved their ambition when you realise that one of their children is now known throughout the world as St Thérèse of Lisieux famous for her ‘Little Way’ . Where necessary Thérèse will be mentioned, but this booklet is not about her . It is about her parents and all their children, who despite set-backs and disappointments, in the end did very well . It could help you and your family to love God if you follow the example of Louis and Zélie who simply lived ordinary lives extraordinarily well .