The Grace of the Last Place

                                          

Sister Françoise-Thérèse “Léonie” Martin, sister of Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus, is now a Servant of God. Her cause was opened in Caen, France on July 2, 2015, the anniversary of her profession (1900) in the Order of the Visitation. 

An interesting observation was made by the postulator for Léonie’s cause, Father Antonio Sangalli: 

One can define “Léonie” as “the grace of the last place”—the place that no one wants to occupy. We do not know how God distributes our talents, what criteria He employs to give “to one person, five talents; to another, two talents; and to a third, only one” (Matt. 25:15). Surely, to each, “according to his capacity.” Surely, we often spend our time—for some, their entire lives—by pursuing, if not regretting, the talent that we have not received; while we should be happy for the talent we have received—This is what the Servant of God did all her life, she who had no fear and did not run away to bury her talent in the ground (cf. Matthew 25:25)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%C3%A9onie_Martin

Prayer to the Servant of God Sister Françoise-Thérèse 

Lord our God,
Through the example
of “the Servant of God, Sister Françoise-Thérèse,”
Léonie Martin, daughter of Blessed Louis and Zélie Martin
and sister of St. Thérèse,
You have given us an understanding
of the mercy and the tenderness of Your Love.

You watched over her fragile health
from the first hours of her life.
You supported her in the difficult times
of her childhood and adolescence.

You called her to the consecrated life,
and You sustained her
on the delicate path of her response.

You inspired her to lead a hidden life
humble and a gift to your Love,
as a Visitation nun at Caen,
accepting her limitations.

Lord, if such is your will,
Deign to grant us the grace

that we ask of you (…….)

through the intercession of

"the Servant of God, Sister Françoise-Thérèse.”

 

May she, one day, be counted
among the Venerables of your Church.

Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

+ Imprimatur: Jean-Claude Boulanger, Bishop of Bayeux-Lisieux

Read the free ebook, The Grace of the Last Place: Story of the Servant of God, Sister Françoise-Thérèse Martin, “Léonie” Sister of St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus, taken from the Caen Death Circular.