By Bishop Gerald R. Barnes

 A few years ago I was talking with the mayor of a prominent city in our diocese about the reports of extremely low voter turnout in a recent election. Not Catholic but a man of faith, this mayor said to me very directly that many of those who did not vote were “your people.” He went on to say that if local Catholics voted in greater numbers it would lead to positive change in the city.

By Most Reverend Gerald R. Barnes

 Few would dispute that Pope Francis has gotten our attention in the first year of his papacy. His emphasis on the core of the Gospel, to be a welcoming Church and to care for the poor, has been embraced by many. The fact that he has done this with such obvious joy and has made a priority of being close to the people in both real and symbolic ways hasn’t hurt either. I mean, did you ever think you’d see the Pope on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine, let alone Time magazine’s “Man of the Year?”

By Bishop Gerald R. Barnes

 There is perhaps no time of year when we are more aware of our family connections than the Christmas season. We share traditions, we exchange gifts, we enjoy favorite foods and movies together, we just generally make a point to spend time together – and it is good.

 Two family-owned businesses take legal action so that they don’t violate the tenets of their faith by providing their employees with contraception and abortifacients as required by the new federal health care law. They prevail in the nation’s highest court.

 Hundreds of children and families from Central America flood into Texas seeking refuge and reconciliation with loved ones, and are subsequently transported to a Border Patrol station in our diocese.

By Most Reverend Gerald R. Barnes

 This is an excerpt from Bishop Gerald Barnes’ homily at the Diocesan Migration Mass, held at Sacred Heart Church in Rancho Cucamonga on January 12.

 There’s a story about this priest who is baptizing a little six-month old infant who is sound asleep, through the questions through the anointing of the chest, through the recitation of the creed. The baby just slept and slept and slept. Well, then it was time to pour the water over the baby’s forehead and the baby woke up. He just woke up and the water flowed on the baby.

 This is an excerpt from Bishop Gerald Barnes’ homily at a Diocesan Mass for Immigration Reform, held at St. Frances Xavier Cabrini on Aug. 31.

 This past week as a nation we have remembered, commemorated and celebrated one of our nation’s greatest moral leaders, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and his awakening call to us all in his “I Have a Dream” address. Dr. King shared his dream and we must share our dream and we must listen to one another’s dreams. We must look at those dreams in the light of the teachings of the Lord; in the light of the Gospel. And so this great orator, Dr. King, in his “I Have a Dream” speech gave all of us an opportunity to reflect on our own lives and the life of this country.