From the Pastor's Desk - September 13, 2026

Dear St. Martin’s Parishioners,

On September 14 the Church celebrates the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. This feast focuses on the mystery of Christ’s passion and death which redeemed and liberated us. As the most brutal form of Roman execution, crucifixion was associated with utter shame, defeat, pain and death. Yet Christ’s Resurrection transforms the cross into a symbol of life and triumph. “The foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men” (1 Cor. 25).

After Christ’s Resurrection, the truest meaning of all of human history is revealed through the mystery of the cross. The same holds for each individual, as well. Through the gift of the Holy Spirit, we are conformed to Christ and are able to share in his mind towards suffering and the cross. Here are some passages to meditate on in consideration of the cross in our lives.

• “Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life” (Jn. 12:24-25).

• “If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me” (Mt. 16:24).

• “No one takes my life from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again” (Jn.10:18).

• “Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (Jn. 15:13).

• “But far be it from me to glory except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world” (Gal. 6:14).

May the celebration of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross give you the courage to embrace your cross and to die to sin, so to be fully recreated by the grace of the Resurrection.

In Christ,

Fr. Dave