FROM THE PASTOR’S DESK - NOVEMBER 17, 2023
Dear St. Martin’s Parishioners,
I remember coming across a quote from the legendary basketball coach of UCLA, John Wooden, when I was in high school: “Unless a life is lived for others, it is not worthwhile.” (I subsequently learned that Coach Wooden took that quote from St. Teresa of Calcutta.) This Sunday’s gospel hits on a similar theme. A man gives his servants various amounts of talents (units of money in the time of Jesus), and then he goes on a journey. When the man comes back he discovers that while two of the servants have made a return on the investment he gave them, the last servant can only give him his talent back. He has done nothing with it. When we live selfishly, we both forget that we are servants of our Lord Jesus, and we fail to produce fruit for the Kingdom. We might be successful in worldly terms—a good career, money made, fulfilling experiences—but we have failed in what is essential: using our gifts to serve others. This gospel calls us to reflect on the stewardship of the gifts that God has given us. How do we make our life a gift to others? How do we see the gifts that we have been given not as means for self-advancement, but as precious goods to be shared with others?
The Tuesday after Thanksgiving is known as “Giving Tuesday.” Often people will donate to a favorite charity or organization on that day. Please keep St. Martin’s in mind this Giving Tuesday. Recently we installed central air in our parish office. We are also going to buy new windows, as the current ones are very old and drafty. This is a substantial project, but we have relied on the generosity and skills of parishioners in completing it. For the installation of the air conditioning, we only had to pay for the equipment, and that at a discounted price. Electrical work has been done free of charge. We will purchase the windows, but they will be installed free of charge. All in all, we have saved thousands of dollars in completing this project; even so, it will cost us somewhere close to twenty thousand dollars. We could definitely use your help in covering the costs of the project! I thank God our Father for our parishioners who have generously given of their time and talent to make much needed improvements to our parish office!
New Central Air System:
Old windows that need to be replaced:
On Monday our pantry served well over 400 people, the largest non-holiday distribution in its history! This Monday is the Thanksgiving distribution, so we could easily see north of 500 people. Thank you for your donations, which make this possible to sustain week after week. We could certainly use additional volunteers as well. I think Sunday afternoons and Monday mornings are especially needed.
In Christ,
Fr. Dave
