From the Pastor's Desk - March 14, 2025

Dear St. Martin’s Parishioners,

Congratulations and blessings to our new Shepherd, Archbishop McElroy! Cardinal McElroy was installed as Archbishop this past Tuesday, so please keep him in your prayers as he is charged with sanctifying, governing, and teaching his flock in the Archdiocese of Washington.

In anticipation of our Parish Mission, Via Crucis: Finding Hope in Suffering, I provide below the prayer for the Novena of Our Lady of Hope. Beginning this Sunday, we will pray this novena daily at Mass, and I encourage you to do so individually or as a family. The Mission will take place on Monday, March 24, from 6:30pm-9:00pm, and Tuesday, March 25 from 6:30pm-9:00pm. May Our Lady already be preparing our hearts for an outpouring of grace and strengthening of the virtue of hope, precisely through the love manifested in Christ’s cross.

Prayer to Our Lady of Hope

O Mary, my Mother, I kneel before you with heavy heart. The burden of my sins oppresses me. The knowledge of my weakness discourages me. I am beset by fears and temptations of every sort. Yet I am so attached to the things of this world that instead of longing for Heaven I am filled with dread at the thought of death. O Mother of Mercy, have pity on me in my distress. You are all-powerful with your Divine Son. He can refuse no request of your Immaculate Heart. Show yourself a true Mother to me by being my advocate before His throne. O Refuge of Sinners and Hope of the Hopeless, to whom shall I turn if not you?

O Mary, my Mother, I kneel before you with heavy heart. The burden of my sins oppresses me. The knowledge of my weakness discourages me. I am beset by fears and temptations of every sort. Yet I am so attached to the things of this world that instead of longing for Heaven I am filled with dread at the thought of death. O Mother of Mercy, have pity on me in my distress. You are all-powerful with your Divine Son. He can refuse no request of your Immaculate Heart. Show yourself a true Mother to me by being my advocate before His throne. O Refuge of Sinners and Hope of the Hopeless, to whom shall I turn if not you? Obtain for me, then, O Mother of Hope, the grace of true sorrow for my sins, the gift of perfect resignation to God's Holy Will, and the courage to take up my cross and follow Jesus. Beg of His Sacred Heart the special favor that I ask in this novena. (Make your request.)

But above all I pray, O dearest Mother, that through your most powerful intercession my heart may be filled with Holy Hope, so that in life's darkest hour I may never fail to trust in God my Savior, but by walking in the way of His commandments I may merit to be united with Him, and with you in the eternal joys of Heaven. Amen. Mary, our Hope, have pity on us. Hope of the Hopeless, pray for us. Pray 3 Hail Marys.

In Christ,

Fr. Dave