By Msgr. Charles Pope – The Following are “Five Advent Reflections” I have prepared… 1. Advent is Witnessed by Creation – Autumn and early winter are times of great seasonal change. The leaves turn brilliant colors then fade and fall. The shadows lengthen as the days grow shorter and colder. The warmth of summer and vacations seem distant memories and we are reminded once again that the things of this world last but a moment and pass away. Even so, we look forward as well. …

By Lawrence Reed, The Stream – The Declaration of Independence and the subsequent Constitution set the stage but not even the Founders believed those documents were the end of the story. Many of them were, in fact, impatient that liberty’s business was yet unfinished. But America’s birth meant that we could grow and, in time, fulfill the promise of liberty for all. So even if you think the Founding generation did not go far enough, you can be grateful that its men and women took us further in the right direction than any other generation, anywhere… I wish I could go back in a time machine to that emotional moment at Fraunces Tavern on December 4, 1783. I would shed tears just as Washington did. …

By Breccan F. Thies, The Federalist – If America’s corporate media truly cared about the truth, they would stop hyperventilating about their self-made “Signalgate” distraction and start demanding accountability for every person responsible for lying about vetting tens of thousands of Afghans… Instead, corporate media outlets are triumphantly heralding an Office of the Inspector General (OIG) report that essentially draws the conclusion that the fake Signalgate non-scandal may have, possibly, perhaps had some distant chance of putting U.S. troops in danger. .

By Rob Sexton, Catholic Exchange – There is a moment in every true conversion, not the dramatic kind, but the hidden, lifelong kind, when we stop trying to look at God and finally allow Him to look at us… That shift is everything. It is the difference between effort and surrender, between striving and sonship. It is also the beginning of real intimacy. We spend much of our lives thinking that if we could only see God more clearly, we would finally have peace. Yet peace does not come from seeing Him. It comes from allowing ourselves to be seen.

Author Don Schwager, Servants of the Word – Matthew 9:27-31 – 27 And as Jesus passed on from there, two blind men followed him, crying aloud, “Have mercy on us, Son of David.” 28 When he entered the house, the blind men came to him; and Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” They said to him, “Yes, Lord.” 29 Then he touched their eyes, saying, “According to your faith be it done to you.” 30 And their eyes were opened. And Jesus sternly charged them, “See that no one knows it.” 31 But they went away and spread his fame through all that district.

By Fr. Robert McTeigue, iCatholicRadio, (Complicit Clergy) – “Please Don’t Cancel Christmas”, Youtube by Fr. Robert McTeigue, S.J. … Fr. Robert McTeigue, S.J. warns of a ditty that you might hear in the coming days, “Mary did you know?” and explains how it cancels Christmas.

Complicit Clergy, by Staff – Catholic bishops have no right to armchair quarterback specific actions carried-out by members of our military services… Six Democrat lawmakers, who are also veterans of military services, have come under fire for issuing a video encouraging members of the U.S. military services to disobey so-called “illegal” orders issued by President Trump.  The Pentagon is now considering recalling some of these lawmakers to have them formally court-martialed.

By Brian Mark Weber, Patriot Post – For years now, conservative Californians have left the state in droves to escape the radical social and economic policies of Governor Gavin Newsom and his fellow Democrats in the state legislature. Likewise, with New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani promising socialism for the Big Apple, residents are considering moving out of New York to find a place where they can afford to make a living. Across the country, Americans are voting with their feet to avoid politicians who no longer represent their core values or care about their economic well-being.

By Vatican News – A report presenting the results of the Commission’s work has been released. It rules out admitting women to the diaconate understood as a degree of the sacrament of Holy Orders, but says that it is not currently possible “to formulate a definitive judgment, as in the case of priestly ordination.”… “The status quaestionis of historical research and theological investigation, as well as their mutual implications, rules out the possibility of moving in the direction of admitting women to the diaconate understood as a degree of the sacrament of Holy Orders. …

Fr. Benedict Kiely, The Catholic Thing – “O God be gracious and bless us and let Your face shed its light upon us.” So begins Psalm 68, often said in the Daily Office, or Breviary, at the start of the day. In St. John’s Gospel, Philip says to Jesus, “show us the Father and that will be enough for us.” Jesus responds, “Philip, to have seen Me is to have seen the Father.” The light shining from the face of Christ is the light of the Father. The blessing of seeing the face of Christ is the gift we will soon celebrate at Christmas: God has become man, and we can look upon Him.

By Felix Miller, Catholic Vote – A new children’s picture book brings its readers on a journey through the life of Saint Nicholas, the Catholic bishop who inspired the legend of Santa Claus… Written by Mike McGrew and illustrated by Kim Merritt, The Boy Who Would be Santa aims to both inform children about Christmas’ religious significance and inspire them to pursue sanctity… In a Dec. 11 email interview, McGrew told CatholicVote that he wrote about Santa in hopes that children would cease to “see him as a secular figure but as a religious person who advocates kindness throughout the year, especially to the less fortunate.”

By Josh Hammer, The American Spectator – The public has grown skeptical, especially when faced with real problems like the cost of living… Is the American Left finally waking up from its decades-long climate catastrophism stupor? For years, climate alarmism has reigned as political catechism: The planet is burning, and only drastic action — deindustrialization, draconian regulation, even ceasing childbearing — could forestall certain apocalypse. Now, at least some signs are emerging that both the broader public and leading liberal voices may be recoiling from the doom and gloom.

By Felix Miller, Catholic Vote – After half a decade of legal battles, 18 students and employees of the University of Colorado’s Anschutz School of Medicine will be awarded $10.3 million in damages, tuition, and lawyers’ fees after they were denied religious accommodations to mandatory vaccination for COVID-19… This payout follows a 2024 decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. The decision ruled that the university’s medical school had violated the plaintiff’s First Amendment rights. …

By Kennedy Hall, Crisis Magazine – In my last article on the subject of Groypers and Groyperism, I focused on the concept of race in the Groyper worldview. In this article, we will discuss the public behavior made manifest in Groyperism and why it represents a deeper problem. I did my best to be constructively critical in the last piece, and I still hold to the same opinion about what the Groypers generally get right. It is not my intention to “pile on” or unnecessarily alienate its proponents, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t sharp criticisms that are warranted.

By Steven Ertelt, LifeNews – Pro-life advocates are bracing for a pivotal battle in 2026 as voters in seven states prepare to weigh in on ballot measures that could either safeguard legal protections for the unborn or create a fake right to kill babies in abortions… With two measures already certified for the November 3 election and five others possibly advancing toward ballots, the elections represent a critical front in the fight to protect babies from abortions… These initiatives, particularly those backed by abortion groups, threaten to undermine parental rights, medical ethics and the moral fabric of communities by prioritizing killing babies …