Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

St. Didacus Catholic Parish

The thought of celibacy was painful and confusing

“Actually,” says Father Michael Sinor, “I ran away from the idea of being a priest. I didn’t think I could be celibate.”
“Actually,” says Father Michael Sinor, “I ran away from the idea of being a priest. I didn’t think I could be celibate.”
Place

St. Didacus Catholic Parish

4772 Felton Street, San Diego

Membership: 800 families

Pastor: Father Michael Sinor

Age: 61

Born: Oakland

Formation: University of California-Irvine; University of San Francisco; St. Patrick Seminary, Menlo Park

Years Ordained: 25

San Diego Reader: How long do you spend writing your sermon?

Father Michael Sinor: It depends upon the homily. If it is for a Sunday, I usually start reading and praying about it the Monday beforehand. Reading commentaries, thinking about what the Scriptures are about, and how they apply to our lives is something that bounces around in my heart and mind for two or three days. The actual writing is usually only a couple of hours. I write them out so I don’t repeat myself over the years. I have some help translating the Spanish, so I usually have to have those ready by Thursday morning at the latest…. I try to blend some exegesis with situations that apply for our day and time. The Scriptures are always the center of my focus.

SDR: What is your favorite subject on which to preach?

Sponsored
Sponsored

FS: My favorite topic to preach about would be God’s mercy or just the way God works in our lives. As a priest, I have the privilege of seeing and experiencing in a unique way what God is doing in the lives of people. That is a grace. It’s all about what God has done for us through Christ, is doing right now, and will continue to do for us in Jesus Christ.

SDR: What is your main concern as member of the clergy?

FS: My main concern is that we get so busy with our lives that we miss the many ways God reaches out to us in his love. There are so many voices in our culture, so many desires within us. But our deepest hunger will always be the love and the peace that only Christ can give us.

SDR: Why did you become a priest?

FS: Actually, I ran away from the idea of being a priest. I didn’t think I could be celibate. It was too painful and confusing. But God let me do all the things I thought I wanted to do to be happy. But nothing else really did. Only when I really surrendered to him and let him guide me did I truly find peace. I believed that being a priest was the best way for me to respond to the love of Jesus.

SDR: Why Catholicism?

FS: I grew up Catholic, but lots of people do and they don’t necessarily practice the faith they are baptized into. I believe that Catholicism expresses the truth of God’s love and revelation. Certainly other religious expressions contain much truth, but I believe that Catholicism expresses the fullness of God’s truth and revelation to our world.

SDR: What is the mission of your parish?

FS: The St. Didacus Catholic Community strives to foster God’s Kingdom with the guidance of the Holy Spirit as the one body of Christ. As a community, we proclaim the Word of God, celebrate the Sacraments, pray and serve one another. As God’s children we accept his invitation to grow in Christian faith, hope, and love by ministering to all people. 

SDR: Where do you go when you die?

FS: When I die, through the mercy of God, I hope in faith to rise from the dead and experience the fullness of Christ’s love. I look forward to being with those I have loved who have gone before me to the Kingdom of Heaven.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Taco Taco Poway still has 99-cent fish tacos

Tacotopia prizewinner is well known among Powegians
“Actually,” says Father Michael Sinor, “I ran away from the idea of being a priest. I didn’t think I could be celibate.”
“Actually,” says Father Michael Sinor, “I ran away from the idea of being a priest. I didn’t think I could be celibate.”
Place

St. Didacus Catholic Parish

4772 Felton Street, San Diego

Membership: 800 families

Pastor: Father Michael Sinor

Age: 61

Born: Oakland

Formation: University of California-Irvine; University of San Francisco; St. Patrick Seminary, Menlo Park

Years Ordained: 25

San Diego Reader: How long do you spend writing your sermon?

Father Michael Sinor: It depends upon the homily. If it is for a Sunday, I usually start reading and praying about it the Monday beforehand. Reading commentaries, thinking about what the Scriptures are about, and how they apply to our lives is something that bounces around in my heart and mind for two or three days. The actual writing is usually only a couple of hours. I write them out so I don’t repeat myself over the years. I have some help translating the Spanish, so I usually have to have those ready by Thursday morning at the latest…. I try to blend some exegesis with situations that apply for our day and time. The Scriptures are always the center of my focus.

SDR: What is your favorite subject on which to preach?

Sponsored
Sponsored

FS: My favorite topic to preach about would be God’s mercy or just the way God works in our lives. As a priest, I have the privilege of seeing and experiencing in a unique way what God is doing in the lives of people. That is a grace. It’s all about what God has done for us through Christ, is doing right now, and will continue to do for us in Jesus Christ.

SDR: What is your main concern as member of the clergy?

FS: My main concern is that we get so busy with our lives that we miss the many ways God reaches out to us in his love. There are so many voices in our culture, so many desires within us. But our deepest hunger will always be the love and the peace that only Christ can give us.

SDR: Why did you become a priest?

FS: Actually, I ran away from the idea of being a priest. I didn’t think I could be celibate. It was too painful and confusing. But God let me do all the things I thought I wanted to do to be happy. But nothing else really did. Only when I really surrendered to him and let him guide me did I truly find peace. I believed that being a priest was the best way for me to respond to the love of Jesus.

SDR: Why Catholicism?

FS: I grew up Catholic, but lots of people do and they don’t necessarily practice the faith they are baptized into. I believe that Catholicism expresses the truth of God’s love and revelation. Certainly other religious expressions contain much truth, but I believe that Catholicism expresses the fullness of God’s truth and revelation to our world.

SDR: What is the mission of your parish?

FS: The St. Didacus Catholic Community strives to foster God’s Kingdom with the guidance of the Holy Spirit as the one body of Christ. As a community, we proclaim the Word of God, celebrate the Sacraments, pray and serve one another. As God’s children we accept his invitation to grow in Christian faith, hope, and love by ministering to all people. 

SDR: Where do you go when you die?

FS: When I die, through the mercy of God, I hope in faith to rise from the dead and experience the fullness of Christ’s love. I look forward to being with those I have loved who have gone before me to the Kingdom of Heaven.

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

A poem for March by Joseph O’Brien

“March’s Lovely Asymptotes”
Next Article

Taco Taco Poway still has 99-cent fish tacos

Tacotopia prizewinner is well known among Powegians
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.