December 24, 2023

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

As we celebrate the 4th Sunday of Advent and Christmas this weekend, we recall how much God loves us that He gave us His only Son to be our savior. The Jewish people were expecting the Messiah to be a strong, wealthy, military leader that would free them from the power of the Romans. But Jesus comes as a little baby, born of a poor couple, with no power or connections. Why? If He came as one who is powerful, we would respect him, but also fear him. On the other hand, coming as a poor child, there is nothing to fear, and we are drawn into relationship with him. That is why He came: So that we would enter into a relationship with him so as to experience His love, healing, joy, peace and hope.

Our parish has many opportunities to feel this love of God in our lives. I invite you to look through the rest of the bulletin and prayerfully consider trying one or two of these groups or ministries as a way to learn more about the Lord or to find fulfillment in serving him (and our neighbor).

The most important thing to remember is that God loves you so much that He came down from Heaven to fill your hearts with the sense of being loved, cared for and cherished. St. Edward Parish/San Felipe de Jesus Chapel is here to help you receive these gifts. I hope you will allow us to help you feel God’s love for you each day. Have a Blessed Christmas!

In Christ,

Bishop Tim Freyer

December 17, 2023

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

The other day in my prayer, I was filled with gratitude for the opportunity to serve here at this parish. The warmth and friendliness that you have shown me has been heartwarming. In prayer I remembered that shortly after I arrived, we had the beautiful Hispanic Heritage Month Mass and dinner with the mariachis from St. Anne Catholic School as well as the cultural dances in the hall. The Memorial Mass at the beginning of November was a time of great healing for many; I was honored to learn about your loved ones who died this past year. The joyfulness and participation of everyone at Thanksgiving Mass was a great blessing. Celebrating Mass with the school is a great joy and am impressed with their singing participation. Added to that have been a number of meetings with a variety of groups doing wonderful things. Thank you to all who have made these events and gatherings so successful.

Many of you have shared with me your prayerful discernment these past weeks about what you are giving to God in the Sunday collection—you are very prayerful people! I am deeply grateful to all of you who spent time in prayer over these weeks as well as for your ongoing generosity.

Please invite family members and friends to join you at Mass this Christmas. This may be an opportunity for God’s grace to touch them and bring them into closer relationship to Him. Again, know how grateful I am to be able to be with you these months!

In Christ,

Bishop Tim Freyer

December 10, 2023

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

This weekend we find ourselves in between two celebrations of Our Lady. On Friday we celebrated the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The Immaculate Conception is the patroness of the United States. On this day, we recognize that God existed before time and the mystery of Jesus’ death and resurrection (as well as the gifts received from this act) are outside of time. God gave Mary the gift of being conceived (her parents were Saints Joachim and Anne) without original sin (the sin of Adam and Eve). This allowed Mary, the New Eve, to have complete freedom, not affected by the effects of original sin, to choose to say yes or no to the call to be the Mother of the Redeemer. Her yes gave us the great gift of Jesus, our Savior and Redeemer.

On Tuesday, we celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Mary, under this title, is patroness of the Americas, children in the womb (she appeared in Advent and so appeared as a pregnant woman), as well as our Diocese of Orange. Mary appeared December 9-12, 1531, to St. Juan Diego who was on his way to get a priest to anoint his uncle Bernardino who was dying. Mary told Juan to go to the bishop to ask that a church be built so that people may have access to her Son in Holy Communion and the sacraments. Bernardino was miraculously healed, the roses (that would not be blooming in the cold mountains) that were collected into Juan’s tilma miraculously turned into Our Lady’s image that is intact (and at body temperature) in Mexico City. Let us ask Mary, under these titles, to pray for us, that we will resist sin and draw closer to her Son.

In Christ,

Bishop Tim Freyer