June 23, 2024

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Deacon Mike and Rosy Stock have been a great blessing to our parish over these many years, first as parishioners and then as a deacon couple. Apart from the many baptisms celebrated and homilies preached by Deacon Mike, they have served in a variety of ministries, have helped coordinate the activities of our outreach ministry and were instrumental in the building of our new pastoral center. Most recently, they stepped to lead The Chosen Bible Study, bringing their great wisdom and deep faith to the sessions each week. I am grateful for all that Rosy and Mike have done for the parish as well as for their friendship. Deacon Mike has been serving as a deacon in our parish since he was ordained in 2015 and now the diocese is moving Deacon Mike and Rosy to another assignment, effective July 1st. Please join me in giving thanks to God for their ministry here at St. Edward’s and praying for them as they begin the next chapter of their ministry. You will have an opportunity to express your gratitude to Deacon Mike and Rosy next weekend after the 11:00 a.m. Mass.

As we have been hearing from the Book of the Prophet Ezekiel at Mass, I would recommend an engaging novel by Michael O’Brien about Ezekiel, “By the Rivers of Babylon” published by Ignatius Press (also available on Amazon, Kindle, etc.). Although it is a novel, O’Brien is as accurate as possible given that Ezekeil lived some 2,500 years ago. I encourage you to add this to your summer reading list.

In Christ,

Bishop Tim Freyer

June 16, 2024

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I received a distressing phone call on June 1st around 10:00 p.m. from Fr. Thomas Naval, pastor of Santiago de Compostela Parish in Lake Forest. Fr. Thomas told me that they had their parish appreciation dinner and that Fr. Marco Hernandez had been enjoying the celebration but then said he wasn’t feeling too well and left. Soon after that Fr. Marco collapsed and we learned that the paramedics were treating him. Subsequently, he was admitted to Saddleback Memorial’s ICU and received the sacrament of the sick. Over the course of the next week, many of us, including all the priests continued to pray for Fr. Marco while his family arrived to be with him. Fr. Marco never regained consciousness and then last Monday we heard he developed sepsis. At that point Bishop Vann went to the hospital to anoint Fr. Marco again and to give him the Apostolic Pardon and prayed with Fr. Marco’s family. A little after 8:00 p.m. Fr. Marco went to the Lord.

Fr. Marco was ordained to the priesthood in 2000 originally for the Franciscans in Guadalajara, Mexico and eventually became a priest our Diocese. He served at Immaculate Heart of Mary Church, Santa Ana (2015-2018), here at St. Edward’s (2018-2023) and at Santiago de Compostela Church (2023-2024). I found Fr. Marco to be filled with joy, faith, hope and zeal. He was an excellent priest and many of you have shared with me how he touched your life and brought you closer to the Lord. At this writing, we will have a memorial Mass here in our Diocese and Fr. Marco will then be buried in his native Mexico. Please pray for the repose of his soul as well as for the consolation of his family. May he rest in peace.

In Christ,

Bishop Tim Freyer

June 9, 2024

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Last month, I was blessed to be part of a delegation from our diocese to go to Mount Angel Seminary in Oregon to celebrate Bishop Vann receiving a Doctor of Ministry degree. This was not an honorary degree that colleges and universities give to commencement speakers. Rather, it was the culmination of three years of classes, reading and writing. One of the reasons Bishop Vann wanted to undertake this course of study is to remind all of us that we should always strive to learn more about our Lord and the Faith. We are blessed at St. Edwards’s to have a number of excellent bible studies as well as opportunities to attend workshops or classes on the Faith. Oue diocesan Lumen Christi institute has a wide variety of in person and online classes available to take.

A week and a half ago we celebrated the graduation of our eighth-grade students with a special Mass followed by the graduation ceremony. It was the nicest elementary school graduation I attended, and it gives me the opportunity to thank Mr. Tom Waszak for his amazing leadership. He has assembled a wonderful, bright and faith-filled team of administrators and teachers. We will miss Mr. Waszak but am grateful for all he has done for our parish school.

I heard wonderful things about the Corpus Christi procession we had last Sunday. People commented on how beautiful, prayerful and inspiring it was. I am grateful to all who helped to plan, organize and participate in the procession.

In Christ,

Bishop Tim Freyer