Page 25 - Emailing SANTITA FAMIGLIE_ENG

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3. time For Family and Fun

«Our father loved his children very much. He had a maternal
love for us» .
19
In a letter from the Carmel, Teresa wrote to her father Louis:
«Thank you, dearest Father, for everything you give me... do you
remember, Father, when in Genoa we used to follow Mr. “X” and the
others from afar? How much fun we had! I’ll never forget the memory
EVERYDAY LIFE OF THE MARTIN FAMILY
of this beautiful trip with my dearest Father» .
20
In Lisieux, the father, Louis, tried to preserve a warm and joyful
environment. He created small games for his daughters, using his skills
and precision as a watchmaker. He was the one who animated the
Christmas vigils with songs, poems, chess games, chestnuts cooked
on the fire. He also organized walking tours to preserve the healthy
tradition of Sunday walks that took place in Alençon.
These are Marie’s words, in a letter to her aunt: «For us, he
would make all possible sacrifices, he would sacrifice his happiness,
his life, if necessary, to make us happy» .
21

ideas For reFlection

• A large family and the responsibility of work don’t stop the
Martins from carving out time to be with family and have fun together.
• What activities do we share as a family? What do we like to do
together? How do we have fun?
• What undermines our “couple time” and our “family time”?
How might we best defend them?

19 Céline, Procès de béatification et canonisation de Sainte Thérèse de l’Enfant-Jésus et de la Sainte-
Face, v. 336.
20 Thérèse’s letter to Mr. Martin, 17 May 1888, LT51.
21 S.G. Piat, Storia di una famiglia, op. cit., p. 254.