Good Shepherd Catholic Church

I love this church, it’s the church I grew up in. I received my Baptism, First Communion, and Confirmation here. I enjoyed going here on Sundays and loved the view of the sunset from the school playground when leaving CCD classes.
I no longer live in the area but today I was able to sneak in for the 5pm mass and was humbled being there. Father John is true to the Canon Laws, Father Michael had excellent Homilies, and Father Phien, well to be honest he’s a bit difficult to understand unless you have a good grasp of Vietnamese accents. Father Jose was good while he was there and hopefully I can catch a Mass with the new priest.
Faith formation rocks, Pat is excellent at his job.
I only regret not joining the choirs they have available.

Our home parish is in Carmel Valley; however, we just moved to Mira Mesa and I love that we have a church so close to where we live.
Décor is simple Catholic. Everyone is friendly and welcoming. Come early to get parking. We usually park off-​street in the residential area so we don’t get stuck in the post-​mass cluster leaving the lot.
The entire mass in chanted, which I wasn’t used to. But after a few visits it became very calming to listen to and I can see that it helps the children to learn the responses. There is a Viet priest whom I have to listen very closely to understand his homily; but, I try to get the gist of it.
My friend’s daughter has been attending Good Shepherd Catholic School. If she is an example of the type of young women and men this school shapes and molds, they are doing an amazing job. She is a beautiful young Catholic.
Although we never planned on having Ares go to a private school, I do plan on transferring his Faith Formation learning to Good Shepherd. They have many class days/​times to choose from — that’s great when you have a kid with other extracurricular activities.

Found this church through Unilocal!Was in the area and decided to celebrate here. It’s a clean modern-​looking church set in a stadium style (semi-​circle) arrangement rather than the traditional cruciform style. Not a whole lot of ornate design (stain glass, statues, or paintings).
I was impressed with Father Robinson’s homily. His use of personal anecdotes kept me engaged. He also has a nice singing voice which he clearly loves to use. There was some pretty tight coordination between him and the choir. The lead singer for the choir could use some practice projecting his voice. He was hard to hear at times while he was singing.
It’s always neat to see how a particular parish has its own twists on the mass to meet the needs of its community or to incorporate the numerous customs of the Catholic religion. This was the first time I had been to a «regular» weekend mass and there was incense burned and used for blessings from start to finish. Pretty cool to smell and watch except that I was sitting up so close to the front that the smoke irritated the cold I had and I had a few coughing fits =(.
There is also a little gift store that is open after mass to purchase rosaries, prayer books, and CD’s.

Now that we live in the area, we attend mass here. Looks are definitely deceiving. From the outside, the church looks small, but when you enter the church, it’s pretty big. There is a small cry room for kids with limited amount of seating, but great view of the alter.
The Church is nicely maintained, clean and modern. One time we attended Christmas mass and the priest was hard to understand. Unfortunate, but the liturgy was well intended and the message was the same.
There are a lot of people who attend mass here and appreciate that they have various masses in different languages (English, Spanish and Vietnamese).
The parking and traffic suck, but its to be expected.

I filmed a wedding ceremony here. The church has nice décor inside and out which which provide an excellent backdrop for traditional ceremonies. The staff was polite and helpful. jfvideography

Everyone is so friendly here! I only go about once a year when I visit family in SD, but I love going here. It used to be walking distance, so I did not have to worry about parking, but I went last week, and wow… I went to 8:30 mass, and we parked all the way in the back. My excuse for not going super early is getting my nephews ready: P I don’t know how they’re so full of energy in the mornings! There were barely any parking spaces left when we got there, and I’m sure the parking situation for the 10:30 mass is much worse.
Anyway, I love all the smiles and greetings I get just walking in to find a seat. Mass was not unnecessarily long, and the homily was not dull. The choir did a wonderful job.
The outside of the church is okay, but the inside is very elegant. They don’t want you walking down the main middle aisle after mass has started though. I guess it is to be respectful and not distract too many people, but you can always walk down the side aisles to find a seat. The ushers will also escort you if you need help finding a seat.
Overall, nice church, and I will continue to come back every time I visit. I’ll just try to go a bit earlier to get good parking (:

I had to find a church to take a baptismal class at while staying in Mira Mesa for three weeks this past August. I looked up parishes on the diocese of SD website and found Good Shepherd on the list. I called to inquire about the class and the lady I spoke to was very helpful and thorough.
While I was down there I decided to go to Sunday mass to get a feel for the parish since I’ve never been before. I loved the immediate sense of feeling welcomed, a part of a parish community that I don’t regularly attend. Out of the two other parishes I visit when in SD, the mass at Good Shepherd feels almost as traditional as the parish I belong to in San Jose. The fact that church can hold as many attendees as they can (not sure how much, but fills three main «wings» of the building) and still have a strong sense of unity and togetherness leaves a lasting impression. The only thing I wish they incorporated are the bells that are rung during the consecration and if they sang the Ave Maria at some point during the mass too.
Well I completed the baptismal class back in August. That was a great experience in itself. There was a gentleman who led the class, provided information (importance of the sacrament), and walked us (parents and/​or soon to be Godparents) through the actual baptismal process so we would know what is expected of us during the baptism. At the end of the class, everyone received a certificate of completion. Everything was pleasant and easy.
I started this review back in September and I am just now getting around to completing it. It’s December, and a few relatives and I attended Midnight Mass here a few nights ago. Luckily we arrived at least twenty minutes before it started, because the entire church was packed. I loved the choir and their choice of Christmas Carols. The entire mass was sung. Since I have attended mass here on more than a few occasions when visiting my family in SD, I can say that really enjoy this parish and highly suggest locals and visitors to attend Sunday mass here to experience it for themselves.

Again, second time around. Love going to my neighborhood church when i used to live in Mira Mesa. It’s crowded so be sure to come on time!

great church to go to! its crowded so be sure to come on time!

Been going to this church on a consistent basis from 1990 – 1996. Then College happened and the parentals stopped forcing me to go to church.
Actually, maybe it was because I was always sleeping in after partying the night before. Nothing says ghetto like wearing the same colored bracelet or hand stamp from the club or frat party the night before.
Starting from college onward, I would be what you would call a Chris-Easter…mainly going only during Christmas and Easter.
I still go during those major holidays. But for my spiritual needs, I found my place with the Rock Church. No offense to the Catholic religion, I feel more connected with where I currently go. My daughter was baptized Catholic and for the most part we will raise her that way until she turns 18 and can make her own decision. I take my daughter to the Rock with me, but we will still have her do through the CCD classes at the catholic church so that she can get all her sacraments
I do enjoy Father Michael who is the senior pastor at Good Shepard. I enjoy his sermons that he gives during the homily. I don’t really care for all the tradition/​ceremony that goes with the rest of the service however. I’ve gotten a chance to talk one one one with Father Michael and received counseling during my divorce and annulment from my ex. We had been previously married through the Catholic Church.
Father Richard who still presides there is ok, but his sermons are not quite captivating and I find myself losing concentration and interest.
I think the church building itself could benefit from a renovation. But it’s kind of unfair when comparing it to the Rock or event St. Gregory’s in Scripps Poway
Bottom line, I think Good Shepard is good for the community but if you get the chance try attending a service at St. Gregory in Scripps Poway.
I’ll still be attending the Rock, but I’ll be there there at Good Shepard or St Gregory’s during Christmas and Easter mainly for my parents.

This is one of the largest churches I’ve been to while in San Diego. The priests aren’t the best, and the masses aren’t the most engaging. On Sundays, it can be packed, especially during the 10:30am mass. The homilies aren’t particularly exciting, and I’ve been to a mass with every priest that works here. There are always a lot of people in attendance, mostly Filipino families. Don’t expect diversity here. Once, there was an older lady telling people after mass that they were not obeying «dress code.» To me, that was extremely judgmental and should not have been allowed. It’s church — isn’t it supposed to be a place where «all are welcome»? Overall, I’d say this is a pretty underwhelming place. It’s the worst place to go if you have to go to church alone, too, as people look at you with piercing, judging eyes. And just the sheer amount of people there can be very distracting.
It’s weird to be writing a review of a church, but hey, it’s Unilocal

Again, I feel weird giving a church anything less than 5 stars. Especially my own church. All the awkwardness others have stated just make this church unique. The parking has been the pits since forever, but that makes I never minded it because that’s what I grew up with. They’re fundraising for a new administrative building which will create more parking spots, so things will only get better.

Love going to my neighborhood church Good Shepherd, especially on the 10:30 and 12:15 mass on Sundays because of the choir and band. But the parking can be really a problem and if you don’t get there early enough, you won’t be able to find a place to sit.
I even like the daily mass in the morning because it’s short and there are tons of parking.
I also like that they have the novena for Our Mother of Perpetual Help on Tuesdays, morning and evening.
Fr. Michael is a great priest, although, often times, he can just go on an on with his sermon. Fr. Richard is kinda old fashion but not very long sermon. Now, I like Fr. Vin, you always know when his sermon is over because he fold up his paper, but he is so hard to understand most of the time. The newest priest, Fr. Edmund is cool.

Is it wrong to give my neighborhood church a three-​star review (especially as I’m an active parishioner)? I really want to rate Good Shepherd higher, but two things are preventing me from doing so:
— The parking. My goodness, if you don’t get here early enough, you’re screwed. Even worse, it’s a mad house getting out of the parking lot after Mass.
— The Mass lengths. Granted, most of the priests here do a good job, but sometimes the homilies just keep going on and on. It can be hard especially when we have one priest whose English is hard to understand. We once had a great priest that kept it short (his Sunday homily was usually under 5 minutes — only because he got to the point), yet connected with the parishioners. Alas, he got transferred to another parish earlier this year.
The church itself is a nice place, and there are some community building events that take place every so often (though why the Oktoberfest/​Harvest Fest was discontinued is puzzling). Still, as this is my home parish, I’ll keep attending and assisting in any way that I can.

Big church, they have a lot of mass time, they have vietnamese mass (Saturday at 7PM) if you want to go. my family friends go here. I go to see them occasionally and try to learn vietnamese so i don’t forget it.

When I used to go to church this was the local Sunday at 5 affair with the family. They did a renovation of the interior a while back, but I wonder if they did the same with the priests. To be honest though, If you are going to choose a someone to reiterate the bible for you, they need to be able to articulate without boring the rest of the parish. Not everyone is Filipino so I feel uncomfortable with the Filipino jokes. Also making feel people bad for leaving the church during communion. That’s my theses, and no my name isn’t Martin Luther.

This was my neighborhood church when I used to live in Mira Mesa so I won’t bore you with the details but will leave you with this story that, really, in a nutshell sums up Good Shepherd.
Good Shepherd used to have a Filipino priest who was from the Visayas (if you’re Filipino, you know the accent). I was at church with my parents on a weekday, being the good Catholic girl that I am, for the Novena. The priest went into the homily which, being the rebellious only child that I am, I wasn’t listening to. What I did hear was the priest saying that Jesus shed his blood for you.
My mom and I turned to each other and busted out laughing, straight out busting a gut I-can’t-hold-it-in LOUD laughing when everyone was quiet because we both thought he said «Jesus shit his blood for you.» I was fricking crying and trying to stop giggling but couldn’t because every time I did my mom was giggling too.
BWAHAHAHAHA God might strike me down for this, I just might burn in hell. So worth it.