Fr. Francis Martin
Mentor (2003 - 2013)
Rest In Peace, Aug 2017

Fr. Francis Martin was chaplain of the Mother of God Community in Gaithersburg, Maryland when I lived with my family in Gaithersburg and Damascus. I had the pleasure of hearing daily Mass with Fr. Francis for five years after my youngest, my daughter, Jennfer, was born. Not only did I attend weekday Masses, benefiting from his daily homilies, but I was fortunate to be able to spend time before the Blessed Sacrament for a short time after each Mass, and lead the community in morning prayer before Mass, all this while working full time outside the home. One might think that is a pretty heavy investment in our faith, but that was exactly what I needed at the time to restore my soul and allow me to become more fully alive.

During five crucial years, I learned from this great scholar. I met with him monthly and grew by leaps and bounds in my faith and prayer life. This time of growth resulted in a far greater devotion to and love for my own family, and a greater understanding of and appreciation for the trials my family and others had experienced in life. Fr. Francis gave me a prayer guide, no surprise it was based on the Lord's prayer. Coming from a family of Catholics with a strong devotion to Our Lady, I also adopted eagerly teachings on Our Lady and a devotion to the Rosary and other Marian devotions as well, making the DeMontfort total consecration to Our Lady. 

I took this learning and my new passion for prayer and our faith into my home, working daily with my youngest to begin a habit of daily prayer so that she too could benefit from these great tools of our faith. The prayer interactions I created with my daughter developed into the Pray_Every_Day® program that is now offered here to all; families, schools, and parishes alike.

I cannot thank God enough for putting Fr. Francis Martin into my path at a time when I most needed to recognize, "From whence shall come my help?" (Psalm 121:1b). Pray well!

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