From the Pastor's Desk - November 23, 2025

Dear St. Martin’s Parishioners,

The Solemnity of Christ the King, which is the closing Sunday of the Church’s liturgical year, points back to the beginning of creation. Adam and Eve were created with royal dignity. God tells them in Gen 1:28, “have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.” In other words God created human beings to be the kings and queens of creation, acting with his own authority. We know that our royal dignity was lost through original sin. Today we rejoice in the restoration of that dignity through our incorporation into Christ the King. St. Peter asserts in his letter, “You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, that you may declare the wonderful deeds of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light” (1 Pet. 2:9).

In the liturgy, we proclaim Christ as King in various ways. One way is the genuflection. When we enter into the Church, we genuflect before the tabernacle, because we have come into the presence of the King. The use of incense in the Mass is also in recognition of Christ’s kingship. The Roman emperor was incensed as sign of his authority and divine-like status. Early Christians were put to death, because they refused to offer incense to Caesar or the Roman gods. At Mass the priest and people are incensed at the offertory as a sign that Christ is Lord and we, too, share in his kingship over creation. Lastly, we kneel before and after Communion, as this the most reverent and natural gesture of humility before the presence of Christ, the King of Kings.

Thank you for remembering our parish in this upcoming Giving Tuesday. The monies that are donated to the parish will be used in the refurbishing of the interior of the two houses on Summit Ave. as well as the purchasing of religious décor for the parish hall.

In Christ,

Fr. Dave