My Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
 I offer you my prayers and blessings in this joyous Season of Christmas. Let us reflect on God’s greatest gift to us: the incarnation of His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. Emmanuel, God among us.

By Bishop Gerald Barnes

 “The Lord tests the good and the bad, hates those who love violence.”

 “Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you know how you should respond to each one.”

 As an evangelizer of the unchurched, St. Paul surely knew something about tense conversations. Yet, in his Letter to the Colossians we find a scripture that warrants our attention and reflection. When we encounter one another, regardless of our opinions, beliefs and affiliations we are called to first recognize the dignity of the other.

By Bishop Gerald Barnes

 We are in the month of Thanksgiving, a holiday that calls us to pause and reflect on all that God has given us, to share in a meal that symbolizes His bounty. We know that this observance is traced back to the time of the pilgrims and the Native people who together inhabited what would become the United States of America.

By Bishop Gerald Barnes

 The next 12 months will be a year unlike any other in recent memory in our Diocese. It will be time of ending, of new beginnings and, for me, a time of transition.

 Next June, when I reach the age of 75, I will submit to the Holy Father my letter of resignation as the Bishop of San Bernardino. This is a requirement of Church law.