Our Story
Les Buissonnets, the Martin family home
Lisieux, France
We are passionate about
educating, encouraging, & equipping.
In 2009, we were married and quickly realized that life - and marriage - were more challenging than we had imagined. Our families and our Church had given great wisdom and formation, but we were still faced with difficulties that we didn’t yet have the skills to handle - both inside ourselves and between us. Our love and commitment never wavered. Still, we fell into unhelpful cycles and struggled to find true connection.
Eventually, two important things happened: we sought the education and formation, therapy and spiritual direction we needed to truly thrive. And we pursued the knowledge, skills, and experience to help others thrive as well.
We firmly believe that hope, peace, and freedom are possible for every single person. It is truly an honor to share the wisdom that we’ve received with others, and we pray that you might find a renewed connection to God, reality, your self, and others.
Our Vision
To renew the Church by forming disciples who embrace their mission of self-giving love
through mental wholeness and authentic holiness
The Martin Center for Integration draws its name from the family of Saints Louis, Zelie, and Thérèse Martin.
They are a “modern” holy family with two working parents (Louis actually managed Zelie’s lace-making business), a busy house of children, as well as the reality of mental health struggles, grief, and loss. The members of this family were connected through love of one another and love of Christ – an example of love that grows stronger in the midst of suffering. The youngest child of the family, Thérèse, developed a "Little Way": a spirituality that simultaneously pursues mental health and holiness.
As Marc Foley, OCD, wrote: “...I said that I would not be writing about the spirituality of St. Thérèse as a way to holiness but as a means to sanity. However, as I drew nearer to the conclusion of this book I realized that I could not separate the two. For to be deeply sane is to be deeply holy. Thérèse stayed sane because she stayed rooted in God’s life” (The Love That Keeps Us Sane, Foley).
It is the hope of the Martin Center for Integration to minister in the spirit of the Martins’ charism of abiding faith in the midst of mental health challenges.
Original Cover Art
Convergence
Sarah Norton
2022, acrylic and dried rose petals on canvas
In the Cathedral of Saint Paul in Saint Paul, Minnesota a strip of tiles lines the entire interior perimeter. These tiles have a simple design of a repetitive crashing wave. Symbolic of how life can feel chaotic and messy, being tossed by waves, with the Church as a place of safety in the midst of the tumult. The swells and swirls in this painting contain the same symbolism.
In the beloved film Spirited Away, a filthy brown mud spirit comes into a spa for a bath. Wary of this dreadful thing, the mud spirit is almost turned away. The main character is eventually charged to give it a bath only to find the poor spirit weighed down with trash. As she bathes it she pulls heavy chains and trash out of the muddied creature, and it eventually leaves the spa made new; white, clean, and full of life. The upper right area of painting is symbolic of that sort of “pull”, lifting out all that weighs us down to become light and integrated.
The painting contains many real dried roses. This is a clear and strong association with St. Thérèse, the Little Flower of the Martin Family. A less abstract component in the painting is a large rose adorned with these petals, a bit of clarity on which to lock our eyes.
“The good God gave me a father and a mother more worthy of heaven than of earth.”
St. Thérèse of Lisieux