The Sacramental Life

From Holy Saturday on, these last few weeks have been marked by a very large number of sacramental celebrations here at St. Edward the Confessor and San Felipe de Jesús. Sixteen people received all three Sacraments of Initiation—Baptism, Confirmation, and First Communion. Ninety-two young people were confirmed by Bishop Freyer. Over a hundred young people have received First Communion so far (and there are more to come); of course, that was preceded by their First Reconciliation earlier on this year. And all of this is in addition to our usual Baptisms, our regular Confessions and Masses, and a number of weddings and Anointings of the Sick.This is the first meaning of the word “celebrate” in our parish vision of “Celebrate, Serve, and Evangelize.”We celebrate the sacraments.

All of this sacramental activity reminds me that the sacraments are the heart and soul of Catholic living. The Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us that “the seven sacraments touch all the stages and all the important moments of Christian life: they give birth and increase, healing and mission to the Christian’s life of faith.” (n. 1210) The sacraments are one of the things that sets us apart from most other Christian denominations.

Since the sacraments are the channels of God’s grace in our lives, we cannot live without them. I hope we treasure these special encounters with Our Risen Lord, encounters that are just as real and redemptive as the encounters with the Lord that the Gospels tell us about. Weekly Mass is a special treasure among these celebrations, and hopefully it is a priority in our lives. May we always celebrate the Paschal Mystery with devotion, gratitude, and joy!

Gratefully yours,

Welcome Rosy!

Have you seen the virtual tour I recently recorded of our new Pastoral Center and Knight Hall? I hope you have—not because I’m in it, but because it is really great to see what’s going on inside that construction site we drive by so often. The project is moving along nicely!

Of course, we have a lot of preparation to do before the building opens; and once it opens, access to the building and promotion of the building will need to be managed. For these tasks (as well as many others), I have brought Rosy Stock on staff to be our Parish Services Manager. She will help with scheduling as well as adherence to the policies and procedures and the philosophy of use that will govern access to the building.

You will be hearing more from Rosy as she gathers information from you (especially the ministry leaders) and keeps you informed on what you will need to know as we move into the new building. We are working as fast and as hard as we can to develop policies and procedures that are equitable and that will hold us all to the highest level of stewardship over this great blessing God has given us. Please join me in welcoming Rosy to her new role. You may contact her at 949-429-2888 or rstock@stedward.com.

Gratefully yours,

Full of Grace

When the Angel Gabriel spoke to the Virgin Mary at the Annunciation, the angel greeted her with the words, “Hail, full of grace.” When we repeat these words in one of our best-known Catholic prayers, we add her name: “Hail, Mary, full of grace.” The fact that the angel did not use her name does not diminish the greeting given to Mary; it simply shows us the key to her identity: she was filled with the life and love of God.

The Easter Season gives special emphasis to the reality of our Baptism, since it is the cornerstone of our identity as Christians. In Baptism the life and love of God enters us in a particularly strong way, making us “full of grace.” As Christians, we have a special relationship with God and also with everyone who shares the life of grace. This includes a special relationship with the Virgin Mary.

Are we still full of grace? Well, we are not perfect. We do our best to cultivate the life of grace God gives us. As we do so, it is only right that we look to Mary, who is the Mother of all Christians. The month of May is especially dedicated to her, so this is a good time to remind ourselves that the Mother of Christ is our mother as well. She looks out for us and prays to her Son with us and for us. Pray an extra “Hail Mary” every now and then during this month as a powerful expression of faith that our holy Mother prays for us “now and at the hour of our death.”

Gratefully yours,