Louis and Zelie Martin
Louis and Zelie Martin are the first married couple to be canonized together. They lived humble, ordinary lives, in which both suffering and joy played important parts. Together they bore nine children, but only five survived childhood. Each of these five daughters would eventually enter the religious life. One of them is well known to us: Therese of Lisieux, called "The Little Flower."
It is usually the case that we allow ourselves to be overwhelmed by great lives; we feel that they are super-humans whom God has called in a special way, and that He does not mean for us to attain such a level of sanctity. But this is not the case. Simply by cooperating with God's grace in our particular state in life, we can be deeply purified and closely aligned to Our Lord and His loving will. Louis and Zelie are perfect examples for us. They faithfully fulfilled their roles as spouses and parents and through their quiet lives of love, service, and self-sacrifice, God brought them home to Himself.
