Today’s Gospel is about how we perceive God

 

We call this SoNoGo - South Park-North Park-Golden Hill & Our Mission: to see the baptized who live in SoNoGo worship in SoNoGo

New wesite: https://www.stpatrickschurchsd.org/ 

Saint Patrick Catholic Parish

The Catholic Church Explained

We, the church of Saint Patrick, in the community of North Park,

of the Roman Catholic Diocese and City of San Diego,

declare this to be our primary mission:

to come together to celebrate the Eucharist,

hear God’s word proclaimed,

give praise and thanksgiving to God,

and develop a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

We believe that by freely sharing our faith, talents, and treasures,

we discover Christ’s presence among us and bring Him to others.

We have a strong desire to give and receive love, service, peace, support,

and fellowship, within our families, our parish, our community, and the world.

Open to the power of the Holy Spirit, we pursue this mission faithfully and lovingly.

The virtue of abstinence

No love, no risk. No risk, no relationship.

 

Vatican theologians advance sainthood cause of Wisconsin missionary priest

Peru recognizes St. Turibius of Mogrovejo as patron of human rights

The decree by the Peruvian government acknowledges the saint’s legacy in defending the most vulnerable and mandates initiatives to promote his life and work.

PHOTOS: Pope Leo XIV concludes visit to Argentina, returns to adopted country of Peru

The Holy Father will conclude his historic South American visit with nearly a week in Peru.

Vatican theologians advance sainthood cause of Wisconsin missionary priest

Servant of God Joseph Walijewski served as a missionary priest in Bolivia and Peru. His canonization cause will be reviewed by the prelates at the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Causes of Saints.

Pope Leo XIV returns to Peru: 'Much of my own story belongs to you'

On his first night back in Peru, his adopted homeland, Pope Leo XIV told the country's leaders that his return has "a very special meaning" and urged them to open paths for young people.

Say it again: Jesus was not born in a stable!

November 11, 2026

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I have posted a version of this every Advent since 2013. There are signs the message is getting through (though there is also some resistance!), but the stable will still be preached from pulpits up and down the land, so here it is again.

This year I have rewritten my previous pieces, drawing the different elements together. The argument now integrates Stephen Carlson’s important work on Luke’s vocabulary (which was previously an appendix), engages directly with the case for a cave, and answers the best objections raised in the comments over the years. 

The scene we all know

Picture the nativity. Bethlehem sleeps beneath the moonlight, unaware that the Son of God has been born in one of its outbuildings. Down an anonymous backstreet stands a draughty stable, warm with the breath of animals. A donkey, a cow and an ox lie serenely to one side. The baby stirs in a straw-filled manger while Mary, Joseph and a small lamb kneel in silent adoration. All is calm; all is not quite right.

I am sorry to spoil the scene, but Jesus was not born in a stable, and the New Testament hardly hints that he was. More importantly, he was not born alone, ostracised and outcast. That matters, because the stable tradition loses sight of something Luke is keen to show: that Jesus’ birth bursts into the middle of ordinary life, among ordinary people, and offers the possibility of its transformation.

What follows is in three parts. First, I explore what Luke actually says (which, remarkably, many people ignore). Secondly, I look at what we can reconstruct—and I think it is worth distinguishing between what we can say with certainly, and what is reasonable speculation. Thirdly, I address the question of why the stable has proved so durable—and why it is really worth letting it go!

“Argentina, arise and walk!”: Leo says farewell at Luján

Back in Peru, Leo tells its leaders, “I am returning to my homeland”

Greeted by President Keiko Fujimori at Callao and by some 3 million people along his route into Lima, Leo told authorities, civil society, and diplomats at the Gran Teatro Nacional, “Today I understand how much of this land remains with me and how much of my own story also belongs to you.” NCR’s Justin McLellan called it a deeply personal break from the usual formal arrival speech. Leo urged leaders to protect the “everyday peace” of families threatened by violence and said, “Democratic life implies recognizing that no one has all the answers and that differences do not prevent us from sharing a sincere concern for the good of the country.” — Full text (Holy See Press Office) · National Catholic Reporter (Justin McLellan) · America (Gerard O’Connell) · Vatican News · AP

“Argentina, arise and walk!”: Leo says farewell at Luján

Celebrating Mass for about 2 million people outside the Basilica of Our Lady of Luján, the national shrine so dear to Pope Francis, Leo laid out a path of “reconciliation, enlightenment through the word of God, communion, and being sent forth on mission.” Quoting his encyclical Magnifica humanitas, he said the Church’s “diverse sensibilities” and “strong convictions” are a richness “if they remain anchored in the certainty that unity is a gift received and a responsibility to be fulfilled.” AP called the visit “emotional and politically charged”; President Javier Milei saw him off at the airport. — Homily (Holy See Press Office) · America (Gerard O’Connell) · National Catholic Reporter · Vatican News · AP

To prisoners, Leo says we grow “not in spite of” our limits

At Buenos Aires’ Villa Devoto federal prison, where AP notes the 1976–1983 military junta held political prisoners, Leo listened to inmates’ testimonies and told them, “Human beings do not flourish in spite of their limitations, but often through them.” He urged inmates to see their time as a chance to begin anew, asked guards not to believe that “nothing will ever change for the better,” and called on society to protect young people from “the pernicious networks of criminality.” — Full text (Holy See Press Office) · Vatican News · AP

Today in Lima, then home to Chiclayo

Leo meets Peru’s bishops this morning and leads midmorning prayer with clergy, religious, and synodal teams in Lima’s cathedral, followed by a public meeting in the square outside on “the challenges and hopes” of the Peruvian people. On Friday he flies to Chiclayo, where he was bishop from 2015 to 2023, for what NCR calls the real homecoming of the trip. CNN’s Claudia Rebaza and Christopher Lamb recall how “Padre Robert” waded into floodwaters, raised money for oxygen plants during COVID-19, and helped Venezuelan migrants settle in the region. — America (Gerard O’Connell) · National Catholic Reporter · CNN (via KSL) · Program (Vatican.va) · Also: Where Peter Is (Claudio Iván Remeseira)

Pope and Holy See

• [IT] Today’s bulletin: new bishops for Senegal and South Africa. The pope moved Bishop Martin Boucar Tine, S.S.S., from Kaolack to Thiès, Senegal, and named Father Enrico Valentino Parry, a priest of Oudtshoorn who directs the secretariat of the Inter-Regional Meeting of Bishops of Southern Africa, as bishop of Keimoes-Upington, South Africa. — Holy See Press Office
• “I have returned home. Here I am at home.” Greeting well-wishers from the balcony of Lima’s apostolic nunciature after dinner, Leo asked them to pray for peace and for unity in their families, and joked that the celebrations could go on a little longer, but not too long, because the neighbors wanted some peace too. — Vatican News
• Fujimori uses the visit to call for national reconciliation. Reuters reports that Peru’s president, the daughter of former President Alberto Fujimori, said the country must confront the “unfinished task” of reconciliation after decades of guerrilla violence, state abuses, and polarization. CNN notes that Prevost helped gather signatures for Peru’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission. — Reuters (via Internazionale) · CNN (via KSL)
• Argentina’s bishops promise to take up the pope’s challenges. Archbishop Marcelo Colombo, president of the bishops’ conference, said the Church must now “translate this into pastoral choices,” and Buenos Aires Archbishop Jorge García Cuerva said, “I think we have made ‘Everyone is welcome’ a reality.” — Vatican News (Felipe Herrera-Espaliat)
• As Leo visits Peru, young people welcome new reasons to hope. At Lima’s Pontifical Catholic University, theologians and a political scientist describe students asking, “Where will there be a place for us?” and say reconciliation in Peru “implies justice.” — Vatican News (Francesca Merlo)

United States

• Bishops head to Baltimore next week for their fall assembly. The Nov. 16–19 meeting will take up artificial intelligence, an update on immigration one year after the bishops’ special message, and votes on a new conference secretary (Bishops Earl Fernandes and Kevin Rhoades), six committee chairmen, a new Lectionary, and a Day of Prayer for Racial Justice. — USCCB · Nominees (USCCB)

Around the World

• Catholic groups press for fossil fuel phaseout and climate funding at COP31. As the U.N. climate summit opens in Antalya, Turkey, Caritas Internationalis called climate finance “justice, not charity,” and the chairmen of two USCCB committees joined Catholic Relief Services in urging leaders to remember that “behind every number is a family.” — National Catholic Reporter (Brian Roewe)
• English bishops’ Sherrington urges Parliament to drop a conversion practices bill. Archbishop John Sherrington of Liverpool said the Church “opposes abuse in all circumstances” and that existing law already covers abusive practices, but warned the draft bill’s broad scope could create uncertainty for lawful pastoral care, family life, and religious freedom. — Statement (Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales) · Crux

Liturgy and Church Life

• Memorial of St. Josaphat, bishop and martyr. The 17th-century monk and archbishop of Polotsk gave his life for the unity of the Catholic and Orthodox Churches and is remembered as a “martyr of unity.” — Vatican News · USCCB readings

Video and Podcasts

• The bishop for Silicon Valley on A.I. On America’s “Jesuitical,” Bishop Oscar Cantú of San Jose, who chairs the U.S. bishops’ new task force on human dignity in the age of artificial intelligence, talks about how Catholics should respond to the technology, ahead of his report to the bishops next week. — YouTube (America Media)

Also today

• During Leo’s visit, protest messages on the streets reveal Argentine church tension — Religion News Service. Posters and graffiti from the right and the left in Buenos Aires.
• Pope Leo’s South American tour raises hopes across Uruguay, Argentina and Peru — Crux
• [FR] Leo XIV in Argentina: the Catholic Church, the main counterweight to Javier Milei’s ultraliberal policies — La Croix
• [ES] Leo XIV returns to Peru, his “beloved land,” and asks that no community be forgotten in government decisions — CNN en Español
• Peru’s President Fujimori: Pope Leo XIV’s historic visit calls us to reconciliation — Andina (Peru’s state news agency)

Gaylord’s Decree on the Altar: A Preference, Not a Prohibition

 

On October 2, 2026, Bishop Jeffrey J. Walsh of Gaylord promulgated particular law regulating the direction the priest faces at Mass, effective on the Feast of St. Teresa of Avila, October 15. The decree will be read by some as a prohibition and by others as a victory. It is neither. It is a careful exercise of the bishop’s office as moderator of the liturgy in his local Church, and it deserves to be read as written.

Readers of my last essay, on the Archdiocese of Portland’s prohibition of the orans posture at the Lord’s Prayer, may conclude that I greet every diocesan liturgical directive with a critical eye. I do not. My objection is reserved for directives that substitute personal preference, or a private reading of the rubrics, for what the liturgical norms actually say or leave unsaid. Gaylord’s decree is the opposite case: a judicious and generous application of the norms found in the postconciliar documentation and the General Instruction of the Roman Missal.

What follows is first an account of the law in its exactness, and then the liturgical and sacramental reasons why I believe the bishop’s judgment is a wise one.

No hand holding or raised hands during the Our Father

No hand holding or raised hands during the Our Father prayer at Mass, archdiocese says

The Archdiocese of Portland asked lay people to refrain from raising their hands and holding hands during the Lord’s prayer at Mass, citing various Church documents concerning liturgical norms.

Theologians, retired commander reflect on just war at Catholic Military Conference

The conference comes amid debates about the moral legitimacy of military action and the responsibility of political leaders and service members to uphold the Church’s teaching on war and peace.

PHOTOS: Pope Leo XIV visits Argentina during South American papal trip

The Holy Father has celebrated Mass in multiple cities, met with Catholic leadership and visited with several communities in Argentina.

Pope Leo XIV urges youth to shun ‘the idols of our time’ and turn to Christ

The pontiff echoed Pope Francis’ promise that “everyone, everyone, everyone” is welcome in the Church, while insisting that “we all need conversion.”

“Who told you it was too late?”

“Who told you it was too late?” Leo asks a million young Argentines

At a candlelight vigil with about 1 million young people at Buenos Aires’ Monumento de los Españoles, Pope Leo said, “there is a place for you in the Church, with your questions, your wounds and your story.” Echoing Pope Francis’ “Everyone, everyone, everyone!” from World Youth Day in Lisbon, he told those who feel they have strayed too far, “Whoever you are and whatever you may have done, Jesus Christ knows you, Jesus Christ loves you.” Retelling the story of the three young men in the fiery furnace, he urged them to “stand firm before the idols of our time,” naming success at any cost, money, an obsession with appearance, pornography, and addictive substances. — Full text (Holy See Press Office) · Vatican News · AP · OSV News

In Córdoba, “a home of saints,” Leo tells Argentines to go and be holy

Celebrating Mass for about 650,000 people at Córdoba’s Military Aviation School on the feast of St. Leo the Great, the pope held up Argentina’s saints, especially the “gaucho priest” St. José Gabriel Brochero and St. María Antonia de Paz y Figueroa, “Mama Antula,” both canonized by Francis. Quoting his namesake (“Christian, recognize your dignity”), he urged the faithful to be holy “at school and in the town square, in family life and with friends, in the countryside and in the city, on the farm and in the office. Go and evangelize!” NCR reports the Mass started 15 minutes late after Leo stopped to attend to someone in the section for people with disabilities. — Homily (Holy See Press Office) · America (Gerard O’Connell) · National Catholic Reporter · Vatican News

To priests and religious, Leo warns against working for God without time for him

In an address built around St. Ignatius’ Spiritual Exercises, Leo told bishops, priests, religious, seminarians, and pastoral workers in Córdoba’s cathedral, “We can work hard for God, yet spend less and less time with him.” Quoting Francis’ Evangelii Gaudium that “the worst discrimination which the poor suffer is the lack of spiritual care,” he said material help must go with the proclamation of Christ. Recalling his own recent hospitalization, he said, “Our strength may run out, but God’s power never will,” and urged them to “dream of a Church that continues to make noise, just as your fellow countryman Francis asked you to.” — Vatican News · America · Holy See Press Office · [ES] Full text (EWTN News)

Leo bids Argentina farewell at a prison and Luján, then heads home to Peru

On his last day in Argentina, Leo visits the federal prison complex in Buenos Aires and celebrates Mass outside the Basilica of Our Lady of Luján, the national shrine, before an afternoon flight to Lima. AP notes that both stops have deep ties to Francis and calls the return to Peru, where Leo spent more than two decades as a missionary and bishop, the trip’s emotional highlight. He is due at Callao at 5:30 p.m. local time (5:30 p.m. ET) for a welcome at the presidential palace and an address to authorities at the Gran Teatro Nacional. — AP · Programme (Holy See Press Office) · [ES] Clarín (live) · [ES] El Peruano · Also: Where Peter Is (Claudio Iván Remeseira)

Pope and Holy See

• [IT] Leo accepts Cardinal Juan José Omella’s resignation and names Girona’s Bishop Octavi Vilà Mayo, O.Cist., archbishop of Barcelona. Vilà, 64, a former abbot of the Cistercian monastery of Poblet who was ordained a priest only in 2015, has led Girona since 2024; Omella has headed Barcelona since 2015. — Holy See Press Office
• [IT] Also in today’s bulletin: a new diocese in Tanzania. The pope created the Diocese of Nzega from territory of the Archdiocese of Tabora, naming Spiritan Father Joseph Mashaka Triphon as its first bishop, and named Father Maximilian Francis Buluma an auxiliary bishop of Mwanza. — Holy See Press Office
• From a Córdoba balcony: “When we are united, we can achieve anything.” Greeting crowds from the archbishop’s residence after Mass, Leo gave thanks “for the gift of being united” and asked, “Where are all of the young people?” — Impromptu greeting (Holy See Press Office) · Vatican News

United States

• More than 90 members of Congress ask that Leo be invited to address a joint session. In an Oct. 30 bipartisan letter led by Reps. Mike Thompson and Brian Fitzpatrick, 91 lawmakers asked House leaders to invite the U.S.-born pope in January, calling him “a unifying force”; OSV News notes both organizers may not be in the next Congress after the midterms. — OSV News via NCR (Gina Christian)
• Support for the death penalty falls below a majority for the first time since 1971. A new Gallup poll finds 49% of U.S. adults in favor and 45% opposed; Catholic Mobilizing Network’s Krisanne Vaillancourt Murphy called it “a clear indication that fewer and fewer people are buying the false rhetoric that the death penalty is effective or fair.” — OSV News via NCR (Kate Scanlon)
• Bishops urge the Senate to extend temporary protected status for Haitians. In a Nov. 10 letter, the chairmen of the USCCB’s migration and international justice and peace committees asked senators to pass S. 4814, calling it “unacceptable and untenable” to forcibly return hundreds of thousands of Haitians amid gang violence and weekly deportation flights. — Letter (USCCB)
• A Catholic immigration agenda for the new Congress. J. Kevin Appleby argues the new Democratic majorities should hold ICE oversight hearings and press church concerns such as pastoral access to detainees and family separation, alongside a long-overdue reform bill. — America (J. Kevin Appleby)
• Could the midterm results shift the U.S. bishops’ priorities? John Carr says the bishops “are not chaplains for either political party” and should follow Leo’s lead. — NCR (Brian Fraga)
• Catholic leaders call for “decisive action” at the UN climate conference. Archbishop Shelton Fabre, Bishop A. Elias Zaidan and CRS’s Sean Callahan urged strong commitments ahead of COP31. — OSV News (Gina Christian)

Liturgy and Church Life

• Memorial of St. Martin of Tours. Known as the “Apostle of Gaul,” St. Martin began life as a soldier and became bishop of Tours; he is remembered for cutting his cloak in half to give part to a poor man suffering from the cold. In the United States, today is also Veterans Day. — Vatican News · USCCB readings

Commentary

• Opinion: Synodality before the word existed, in Argentina’s pastoral roots. Claudio Iván Remeseira traces how COEPAL, the Argentine bishops’ post-Vatican II pastoral commission, helped give rise to the theology of the people that shaped Francis and foreshadowed today’s synodality. — Where Peter Is
• Opinion: Let’s change our language about vocation. Sr. Christine Elisabeth Burke, an Australian sister of 64 years now in Manila, asks how religious can speak of the value of their life without implying it is holier than that of every other baptized person. — Global Sisters Report

Also today

• In Argentina, Francis’ legacy hovers over Leo — Aleja Hertzler-McCain, Religion News Service
• In Francis’ hometown, Pope Leo builds on late pope’s social justice message — Justin McLellan, National Catholic Reporter
• Pope Leo XIV’s third day in Argentina — Vatican News. A recap of Tuesday.
• “You have to believe in goodness”: Maia’s hopes for fellow Argentine youth — Vatican News
• [ES] Leo XIV celebrated a massive Mass in Córdoba and highlighted Cura Brochero — Data Diario
• NJ cardinal ‘continues to recover’ after successful surgery, grateful for prayers — OSV News via National Catholic Reporter. An update on Cardinal Joseph Tobin.
• DC bishop says ‘collective action’ trounces big money and other midterm takeaways — Michael J. O’Loughlin, National Catholic Reporter. With Washington auxiliary Bishop Robert Boxie.
• Vietnamese families still search for loved ones’ remains, over 50 years after war — National Catholic Reporter
• Ahead of COP31, climate disruptions in Africa force children out of school — Global Sisters Report

Senator-elect Adam Hamilton, Methodist megapastor, on preparing for the ‘arrows’ of politics

Why a church tore down its own building to combat the housing crisis
Religion Unplugged: Faith Forward Church began meeting in the lower levels of this apartment building during the spring. But the real newcomer to the block isn’t the church — it’s the 67 units of affordable housing stacked on top of it.

 

Nonreligious pilgrims? Why secular travelers are flocking to sacred spaces.*
The New York Times: Burned out and searching for answers, many travelers are turning to ancient walking routes and hidden cloisters to find stillness and renewal.

 

Pope Leo XIV calls for universal access to health care in Uruguay
Religion News Service: Opening his Latin America trip in Montevideo, Leo drew on his recent illness and a monument dedicated to Uruguay’s national hero to urge leaders to care for those who need it most.

 

Senator-elect Adam Hamilton, Methodist megapastor, on preparing for the ‘arrows’ of politics
Religion News Service: “I find we’re a better church because we have Democrats and Republicans, liberals and conservatives, in Sunday school together, in worship together, serving Communion to each other. … I think that’s what we need in Washington, DC,” Hamilton said.

 

Ninety-nine names for a God beyond measure*
The Christian Century: As anthropologist Amira Mittermaier asks Egyptians who God is to them, she both attends to Islamic tradition and refuses to let it impose limits.