Merry Christmas! On behalf of the lay leadership and staff of St. Ignatius Parish, I wish each and all of you a joyous and warm celebration of the Nativity of the Lord! What a grace it is to gather again on this holy day, to hear the familiar carols, and to stand shoulder to shoulder and heart to heart before the Mystery that has changed the world.

Christmas Mass Schedule Christmas Eve 4:00 pm: Christmas Eve Family Mass and Pageant 6:30 pm: Christmas Eve Mass Mass During the Night 10:00 pm: Mass During the Night, carols begin at 9:30 pm Christmas Day 8:00 am: Christmas Morning Mass 10:00 am: Christmas Day Mass 12:00 pm (noon): Christmas Day Mass

If you’ve ever walked into Saint Ignatius Church through the Parker Avenue doors, look to your left—you’ll see her. The Virgen de Guadalupe, standing on the moon, wrapped in stars and golden rays. It’s not just a pretty image. For many, she’s a source of strength, comfort, and belonging.

In your mind's eye, picture an old stone church in a small barrio decorated with lights and parols (star-shaped lanterns). Now imagine the scent of steaming puto (rice cake) and baked bibingka filling the air as many gather to attend the first day of “Simbang Gabi”. Simbang gabi, which directly translates to “Night Mass”, is also called Misa de Gallo (meaning "Mass of the Rooster") or Misa de Aguinaldo (meaning "Mass of the Gifts”). It is a Filipino tradition, a nine-day series of masses leading up to Christmas where we honor the Blessed Virgin Mary as she prepares to give birth to the baby Jesus. These Masses are usually held at dawn and after mass comes a delicious breakfast of Filipino delicacies with hot tsolokate (chocolate).

As I consider the story of my life and vocation in the Society of Jesus, I think they grew out of a deep desire to serve God with my whole life. From early on, I was drawn to prayer, community, and the mystery of how God works through ordinary people and moments. The Jesuits captured my heart because of their spirituality—their call to find God in all things—and their mission to bring faith and justice together in the service of others.

“Gratitude is the foundational virtue. It makes the heart open and generous, and a generous heart creates a generous world.” I could not find the author, but the insight strikes my heart as true and so apt for our time. In these uncertain and the-ground-is-shifting-beneath-us times, gratitude may be a starting place. Cicero said, “Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others.”

Every year on the first Sunday of Advent, which is next Sunday, our old friend Jesuit, Fr. Tom Lucas, pastor of St. Ignatius Sacramento, joins us for an appeal to help the Casa de los Pobres, the House of the Poor, operated by the Franciscan Sisters of Our Lady of Peace in Tijuana. Over the past 26 years or so, our community has purchased thousands of blankets to help needy families who live just across the border. The large, heavy blankets are manufactured in Mexico and cost about $40 each. We are asking for your help again this year. Representatives will be at our doors this next weekend asking for your cash donations or a check made out to the Casa de Los Pobres. They will also have a flyer that includes the Casa’s US mailing address and the Casa de los Pobres website for online donations. You can also give today by going to our website or using the link in your email newsletter. Your support for this work of Christmas charity is something the sisters have depended on for years. They are grateful for your support, and they pray God’s blessing on your generous families.

Saint Ignatius Church offers many places for quiet contemplation. The small chapels invite private prayer, moments of silence, and personal connection through faith. Just beyond the chapels, Manresa Gallery offers another kind of sacred space—one where art opens a door to reflection, inspiration, and dialogue.

On Sunday, November 2, we commemorated the places of sorrow in our lives, and remembered our beloved faithful departed through prayer and music. Our choir and ensemble led us in British composer Bob Chilcott’s Requiem (2010). Thank you for joining us for Requiem Mass. See photos and video, hear the music, and pray for all our beloved faithful departed.

November invites us to pause and reflect. It begins with All Saints’ Day, when many Catholics remember loved ones who have passed away. It’s also the season of Thanksgiving, marked by family gatherings, recipes, and a spirit of gratitude. And while our grocery stores are full year-round, November once marked harvest time—a moment to celebrate the gifts of the earth and prepare for winter. This makes it the perfect time to rethink the Thanksgiving story, which often overlooks or misrepresents native voices. That’s why Native American Heritage Month is so important. Officially established in 1990 by President George H. W. Bush, it’s a chance to listen to Indigenous voices, honor living cultures, and learn the deeper history of this land.

This week, we are hosting a delegation from Parroquia San Antonio, our sister parish in Soyapango, El Salvador. Our visitors will include Fr. Mario Díaz, the pastor of San Antonio, and two other long-time members of Las Vecinas: Irma Vargas and Paty Lazo.

Come to a Catholic call to faithful action in uncertain times! At this event we'll explore questions such as: How does the Catholic Church call us to welcome and walk with our immigrant brothers and sisters? How do we apply that teaching in our own lives? At this event, Ana Grande, PhD, will guide us to discern our response to our call to faithful action through reflection and conversation using the Cardijn method. The Cardijn method, developed by the late Cardinal Joseph Cardijn and expanded by liberation theologians, invites us to see the local realities and challenges, reflect on our observations through the lens of Scripture and Catholic teachings, and act to address the needs we have observed. This framework has greatly informed Ana Grande's experience as a leader and organizer in Los Angeles, and she will use it to lead us in reflection and a discussion of how we can walk with and protect our immigrant communities during these uncertain times.

As a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) volunteer for the past 6 years, I have had the privilege of being a consistent presence in a remarkable young man’s life as he navigated the complexities of the foster care system. Through moves across two counties, multiple foster placements, and five different schools, I witnessed firsthand the instability that so many youth in foster care face – cycling through numerous social workers, lawyers, and therapists. While each professional played an important role, the frequent turnover made it difficult to establish deep, trusting relationships. CASA volunteers become the thread of continuity, the person who knows the whole story and remains by their side.

Sacred Ground is a film- and readings-based dialogue series on race, grounded in faith. Small groups are invited to walk through America’s history of race and racism, while weaving in threads of family story, economic class and political and regional identity.

This year’s delegation from Parroquia San Antonio will include their pastor, Father Mario Díaz, as well as Irma Vargas and Paty Lazo, two of the initial founders of Las Vecinas back in 2001. They will join us for the 10 am Mass on Sunday, November 16, and at Hospitality afterwards.

The signs of the season are all around us, Halloween witches, skeletons, jack o’lanterns, celebrating one of the happiest days of the year, especially for the young ones. In San Francisco, particularly in the Mission District, more signs of autumn appear, papel picado (cut out colorful paper streamers) Catrinas (elegantly dressed skeletons), sugar skulls and bundles of marigolds – all in preparation for the Dia de Los Muertos (Day of the Dead) which takes place this year on Saturday, November 1 – Sunday, November 2.

This week, the federal government threatened to surge immigration enforcement operations in the Bay Area. While San Francisco has received a temporary reprieve—thanks to the courage and diplomacy of Mayor Daniel Lurie—men, women, and children around the Bay still remain very much at risk.

This evening’s Requiem comes from the pen of Bob Chilcott, one of the 21st centuries most widely performed choral composers. A former chorister and choral scholar at King’s College, Cambridge, and later a member of The King’s Singers, Chilcott has spent his life creating music that is joyful to sing and deeply communicative. His Requiem, written for soprano and tenor soloists, chorus, and orchestra, draws on texts from both the Missa pro defunctis and the Book of Common Prayer. In it, he brings familiar words of faith and mourning into a world of sound that feels unmistakably human: solemn, radiant, grieving, and hopeful all at once.

This summer we had a chance to ask a few Litugical Ministers a couple questions: Q: How did you come to be a Liturgical Minister? Why it is important to you, and/or where have you experienced God's grace in your ministry? A: I've been blessed to have been a part of many rich, small faith-sharing communities around the world. Hearing people break open the Word with their own distinct voices inspires new perspectives in me. It moves me to remember that God is always speaking.

A few weeks ago, I was at a dinner party with a large close-knit group of friends. There were two new people who joined us, and they had just moved to San Francisco. Throughout the evening, I watched as every member of our usual crowd made it a point to engage with these newcomers, make them feel welcome, and do what was possible to help them connect with the fabric of the community we had formed. Telephone numbers were exchanged, advice about local restaurants was offered, and future meetings dates were scheduled.