Springtime

Last Tuesday, March 21st, was the official first day of Spring. Although California needs water, I suspect most of us hope for an end to the cold and rainy winter weather. It would be nice to be able to count on sunny skies and moderately warm temperatures.

The word “Lent” comes from the Old English word , which means

“springtime.” Lent, then, is our spiritual springtime: a time of new life and new growth. Hopefully, our Lenten season has brought us spiritual life and growth: that’s the purpose of the various practices of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving that we carry out during this time. This weekend, as we begin the last two weeks before Easter, it’s a good time to assess how our spiritual life is going. If it’s necessary to hit the “reset button” for our Lent, we should do so.

The new life we celebrate with the Lord is so great on Easter; but we know that the Lord does not force his grace on us. Let’s cultivate our hearts and souls to receive that grace and cooperate with it in our daily lives.

Gratefully Yours,

Academic Decathlon

As you know, I am a huge fan of St. Edward the Confessor Parish School. The school is a huge ministry of the parish; and when I speak of our mission to celebrate, serve, and evangelize, I see these three actions going on in our school on a daily basis. Of course, another important activity that is always going on is learning. Our students learn in the classroom as well as outside of it.

On March 4th, our students showed how far learning can go as they competed in the Diocese of Orange Academic Decathlon Competition at Santa Margarita Catholic High School. It was a day of intense academic competition between middle school students from schools throughout the Diocese. The students competed individually in subject content areas – science, math, literature, English, social studies, fine arts and religion, and as a team in logic and super quiz.

Their months of hard work paid off with strong individual and team performances. Most especially our varsity Academic Decathlon Team placed first among all the schools present. The Monarchs are Number One! We are so proud of these students, and we are grateful to their coaches and their parents for all their hard work of preparation. As our varsity team prepares to participate in the State Academic Decathlon on March 25th, let’s help them along with our prayers and encouragement.

Gratefully yours,

Parochial Vicars

That’s the title that is given to the priests who are appointed to assist the pastor of a parish. At St. Edward the Confessor and San Felipe de Jesús we are blessed to have two parochial vicars, Fr. Marco and Fr. Joseph. The three of us priests work together as a team, and I feel very blessed to have them. Each has his own unique gifts, and I could not do what I do without them.

Sadly, we have received news that both of our parochial vicars will be leaving us on July 1st of this year. Fr. Marco will be transferred to the parish of Santiago de Compostela in Lake Forest, and Fr. Joseph will be transferred to the parish of Holy Spirit in Fountain Valley. We will miss them both very much, and I am sure you will join me in taking every opportunity to express appreciation to them between now and the first of July.

Of course, on July 1st we will also receive two new parochial vicars. Fr. Mauro Tinoco is coming to us from St. Irenaeus parish in Cypress, and Fr. Aristotle Quan is coming from the parish of San Francisco Solano in Rancho Santa Margarita. We will give both of them a warm welcome, and together with them we will continue spreading the Kingdom of God on earth as we journey towards heaven.

In the meantime, I hope you are having a good and fruitful Lent. Let us pray for each other!

Gratefully yours,

Gratefully yours,