From the Pastor's Desk - November 30, 2025

Dear St. Martin’s Parishioners,

Advent blessings! When I meet with couples for marriage preparation, I will sometimes ask them when it was that they began to prepare for marriage. They will likely respond by referring to the date they got engaged or when they first discussed marriage while dating. The answer is surprising, though: they first began preparing for marriage when they were little kids. It started with seeing how their parents related to one another, how they were disciplined, how they formed bonds with others, etc. The preparation begins long before the marriage itself.

Advent is a season of preparation for Christmas, and our celebration of Christmas—not the lights, tree, decorations, and gifts, but the spiritual and religious celebration—begins long before December 25. Advent is a penitential season, which means that it is a period of “going inside.” In the spiritual life, we must go inside in order to go up to God. We must go inside to see the parts of us that long for redemption and yearn to see the face of Christ. It is not easy to turn our attention inward—we are constantly tempted with distraction, boredom, discomfort and fear of what we may find there. It is truly penitential to be honest with ourselves in seeing how we have sacrificed the yearning for God for more superficial comforts. This Advent I pray that you may courageously cultivate the interior life to discover your own interior poverty. It is precisely in that inner poverty that Christ desires to be born anew.

Start Advent off on the right foot by joining us in our Parish Mission, “Reclaim Peace,” given by Fr. Anthony Stoeppel, on Monday, December 1 and Tuesday, December 2. Both nights begin at 6:30pm in the church. Monday’s mission talks will be in English, while Tuesday’s will be in Spanish.

Make this Advent a Charitable Advent. Aware that some members of our parish are currently detained, please make small monetary sacrifices throughout Advent that you can donate at Christmas for the families that are without their primary bread winner. The funds collected will be handled through our St. Vincent de Paul Society to help these families. We will also provide a prayer for each week of Advent especially addressing the situation that many families in our parish are experiencing.

In Christ,

Fr. Dave