From the Pastor's Desk - October 12, 2025

Dear St. Martin’s Parishioners,

I recently heard a great analogy that highlights the importance of confession. Often when you visit a website, a little box appears on the screen asking if you’ll accept the “cookies” associated with your activity on the site. Because you’re in a hurry, you often just click “Accept,” and move on. The buildup of all these cookies hampers our internet browsing over the course of time. It is recommended for performance that we delete cookies every few weeks or at least once a month.

The same reality happens in life. As we go about our day, oftentimes in a hurry, we accept thoughts, emotional reactions, and behaviors that have a negative cumulative effect over time. Because events in life tends to happen quickly, we are often unaware of what we have stored up on a spiritual level. Then, after a certain period of time, we can feel hampered or worn down spiritually. That is our soul telling us that it’s time to clean the system. A good and thorough confession resets things in a certain way by the outpouring of grace. If it’s been a while since your last sacramental confession, I highly encourage you to clean out the sinful thoughts and behaviors that have weakened your soul’s capacity for charity. This regular practice of confession is essential for continued progress on the path of holiness.

I invite you to our first of three Marian Encounters during the month of October, which is dedicated to Our Lady of the Rosary. The first one is this Monday, October 13, which happens to be the anniversary of the date of Our Lady’s final apparition to the children in Fatima. Talks will be offered in Spanish and English beginning at 6:30pm in the church and parish hall. The evening also includes music and the praying of the rosary.

In Jesus and Mary,

Fr. Dave