The Story of a Soul | Page 3

on the occasion of his
baptism, and events have proved the truth of his words. From this town,
by the banks of the Garonne, his parents went to Alençon in lower
Normandy, and there in their new home, as in their old one, Louis was
the cherished Benjamin.
It was not the loveliness of Swiss lakes and mountains and skies that
had drawn the traveller from distant Alençon. He came to the
monastery --and his journey was chiefly on foot--to consecrate his days
to God. On learning his purpose the Prior questioned him upon his
knowledge of Latin, only to discover that the young aspirant had not
completed his course of studies in that language. "I am indeed sorry,
my child," said the venerable monk, "since this is an essential condition,
but you must not be disheartened. Go back to your own country, apply
yourself diligently, and when you have ended your studies we shall
receive you with open arms."
Louis was disappointed. He set out for home--for exile he would have
said--but ere long he saw clearly that his life was to be dedicated to

God in another and equally fruitful way, and that the Alpine monastery
was to be nothing more to him than a sweet memory.
* * * * * *
A few years after the vain quest of Louis Martin, a similar scene was
enacted in Alençon itself. Accompanied by her mother, Zélie
Guérin--an attractive and pious girl--presented herself at the Convent of
the Sisters of Charity in the hope of gaining admission. For years it had
been her desire to share the Sisters' work, but this was not to be. In the
interview that followed, the Superioress--guided by the Holy Ghost
--decided unhesitatingly that Zélie's vocation was not for the religious
life. God wanted her in the world, and so she returned to her parents,
and to the companionship of her elder sister and her younger brother.
Shortly afterwards the gates of the Visitation Convent at Le Mans
closed upon her beloved sister, and Zélie's thoughts turned to the
Sacrament of Holy Matrimony. "O my God"--she repeated constantly--
"since I am unworthy to be Thy Spouse, like my dear sister, I shall
enter the married state to fulfill Thy Holy Will, and I beseech Thee to
make me the mother of many children, and to grant that all of them
may be dedicated to Thee."
God gave ear to her prayer, and His Finger was visible in the
circumstances which led to her becoming the wife of Louis Martin, on
July 12, 1858, in Alençon's lovely Church of Notre Dame. Like the
chaste Tobias, they were joined together in matrimony--"solely for the
love of children, in whom God's Name might be blessed for ever and
ever." Nine white flowers bloomed in this sacred garden. Of the nine,
four were transplanted to Paradise ere their buds had quite unfolded,
while five were gathered in God's walled gardens upon earth, one
entering the Visitation Convent at Caen, the others the Carmel of
Lisieux.
From the cradle all were dedicated to Mary Immaculate, and all
received her name: Marie Louise, Marie Pauline, Marie Léonie, Marie
Hélène, who died at the age of four and a half, Marie Joseph Louis,
Marie Joseph Jean Baptiste, Marie Céline, Marie Mélanie Therèse, who
died when three months old, and lastly, _Marie Françoise Thérèse._

The two boys were the fruit of prayers and tears. After the birth of the
four elder girls, their parents entreated St. Joseph to obtain for them the
favour of a son who should become a priest and a missionary. Marie
Joseph soon was given them, and his pretty ways appealed to all hearts,
but only five months had run their course when Heaven demanded what
it had lent. Then followed more urgent novenas.
The grandeur of the Priesthood, glorious upon earth, ineffable in
eternity, was so well understood by those Christian parents, that their
hearts coveted it most dearly. At all costs the family must have a Priest
of the Lord, one who would be an apostle, peradventure a martyr. But,
"the thoughts of the Lord are not our thoughts, His ways are not our
ways." Another little Joseph was born, and with him hope once again
grew strong. Alas! Nine months had scarcely passed when he, too, fled
from this world and joined his angel brother.
They did not ask again. Yet, could the veil of the future have been
lifted, their heavy hearts would, of a surety, have been comforted. A
child was to be vouchsafed them who would be a herald of Divine love,
not to China alone, but to all the ends of the earth.
Nay, they themselves were destined to shine as apostles, and we read
on one of the first pages of the