“The holy spouses Louis Martin and Marie-Zelie Guerin practiced Christian service in the family creating day by day an environment of faith and love which nurtured the vocations of their daughters, among whom was Saint Therese of the Child Jesus.” Homily of His Holiness Pope Francis, Holy Mass and canonization of the Blesseds, Ludovico Martin and Maria Azelia Guerin.
During the month of November as we celebrate All Saints Day, how can we, like St. Louis and Zélie Martin, create a daily environment of faith and love to help foster service and nurture vocations in our children?
“The most important thing you can do for your children is to work towards having the strongest marriage possible” (To Know, Love and Serve, page 81). This is so important because marriage is your primary vocation and it is easier to invest in your marriage a little at a time instead of waiting for a crisis to emerge before investing in it. The struggles that every marriage has impacts our children. Working through the struggles in your marriage demonstrates to your children how to face life’s challenges, especially those found in relationships.
Children also learn about their relationship with God through their family. Challenging times offer opportunities as a couple to model how to respect others, how to forgive, how to go through a crisis, how to love, and how to serve even if we struggle in the process. These daily experiences of loving service can help children derive a sense of security from a strong, loving relationship between their parents, which include children witnessing the good times and the struggles of their parent’s relationship.
In the month of November, as we reflect on the examples of the saints who have gone before us, we recommend taking some time to sit down with your spouse and discuss one area of your relationship that you would like to work on and what you would like to do to work on it so that you can imitate St. Louis and Zélie Martin in their efforts and example of practicing Christian service on a daily basis in their family.
Melissa Guzik and Jean MacKenzie are Registered Psychologists who work in private practice in Edmonton, Alberta. Melissa and Jean understand the importance of continuing to work on strengthening their marriages from living the blessings and struggles that come from being married, having children and their professional experiences working with couples. Melissa and Jean work with Catholic couples to help them have marriages that are both fulfilling and pleasing to God. Melissa has been married since 2002 and has four children and Jean has been married since 2001 and has seven children. They are co-authors of the To Know, Love and Serve: A Path to Marital Fulfilment book and workbook. For more information see: www.knowloveserve.info.
1Guzik, M., & MacKenzie, J., To Know, Love and Serve: A path to marital fulfilment, (Ottawa, ON: Justin Press, 2013), p. 81.