By Suzan Sammons, Crisis Magazine – Everyone knows that St. Augustine speaks of “restless hearts,” but he also points the way to finding rest… A few years before Peter Jackson’s film adaptation of The Fellowship of the Ring came out, I read the whole trilogy for the first time. Many striking aphorisms stuck with me afterwards, among them “Not all who wander are lost.”… Of course, the release of the films resulted in an enormous wave of interest in the story of The Ring, with the result that “Not all who wander are lost” started appearing on bumper stickers …
By Father Jerry J. Pokorsky, Catholic World Report – Rather than investing primarily in sociological programs, we might more fruitfully emphasize integral confession, frequent reception of the sacraments, and faithful participation in Sunday Mass. Authentic conversion of heart, not ideological formation, is the Church’s most effective response to sin… A renewed understanding of sin, sinful inclinations, and the effects of Original Sin would dispel much of the confusion and dishonesty in contemporary moral discourse. “There, but for the grace of God, goes I.” I acknowledge my own tendencies toward pride and racial bigotry, as all fallen human beings do, and I strive to identify them, resist them, and refuse to act upon them.
By Fr. Francesco Giordano, STD, Catholic Exchange – In a conversation with a friend this last Octave of Christmas, a story by Italian philosopher Marcello Veneziani came to mind, since the two of us have been reading his latest book. The episode is recounted by the philosopher as he considers Friedrich Nietzsche, together with Karl Marx, among the thinkers who have most decisively shaped the modern world.
NEWS
The Perpetual Climate Panic Machine ‘Collapses’, by Tim Graham
By Tim Graham, The Daily Signal – Global warming has gone cold as an issue. Despite decades of panicked predictions of doom, it’s never been a high priority for voters, and President Donald Trump’s bold expressions of “climate denial” went unpunished by voters… The media still sound allied with the Green New Deal pushers, but the thrill is gone. Last November, leftists blasted ABC, CBS and NBC for barely touching the COP30 global climate summit in Brazil. ….
Trump Has A Real Insurrection On His Hands In Minnesota, by Breccan F. Thies
By Breccan F. Thies, The Federalist – The American people are once again witnessing Minneapolis descend into chaos, as left-wing militants hold the city hostage to obstruct law enforcement primarily on behalf of illegal aliens and criminal scammers who have culturally decimated the city… Amid the rioting and destruction of vehicles and property of ICE and other law enforcement, a suspected Latin Kings gang member allegedly stole an M16A1 rifle and a suppressor from a (FBI) vehicle …
Virginia Democrats Pass Amendment for Abortions Up to Birth, by Steven Ertelt
By Steven Ertelt, LifeNews – Virginia Democrats have pushed through a radical constitutional amendment to enshrine abortions up to birth in the state constitution, sending the measure to voters in a November referendum after party-line votes in the General Assembly… The amendment, which would establish a so-called “fundamental right to reproductive freedom,” advanced quickly in the Democrat-controlled legislature. It cleared the House on party-line votes after committee action on January 14, and the Senate followed suit.
The Reversal of Roe v. Wade is Not Enough, by Jason Jones
By Jason Jones, Substack, The Jason Jones Show – Are You Still Pro-Life?… I didn’t know it at first, but my years of pro-life advocacy taught me something. The pro-life movement was never just a political campaign to overturn Roe v. Wade. It was bigger than that. The pro-life movement was an irrepressible popular expression of the wisdom of the ages – a wisdom known through some mysterious intuition by many who would never claim the Christian faith… It’s a wisdom founded on the revealed truth about the incomparable dignity and worth of every human person, made in the image of God. A God Who became man, walked our Earth, and died for us. …
In Somali Fraud Scandal, Republicans Probe Evidence of a Blue State Election Scheme, by John Solomon
By John Solomon, Just the News – Republicans are now on the investigative prowl and sounding increasingly confident they can find and prove there was an intentional strategy by Democrats to hijack elections and manipulate apportionment in deep blue states like Minnesota… As the magnitude and complexity of Minnesota’s Somali immigrant welfare fraud scandal come into clearer focus, Republicans in Congress are more boldly talking about it being part of a larger scheme by Democrats to use illegal immigrants and purported refugees to hijack federal elections …
Anti-ICE Civil Disobedience is Not Catholic Civil Disobedience, by Peter Wolfgang
By Peter Wolfgang, Catholic Culture – Simcha Fisher may not be as familiar to Catholic Culture readers as she would have been a decade ago. Like other writers whom I’ve dubbed the “Catholic New Left,” Simcha’s career has taken her from orthodox publications like the National Catholic Register to heterodox ones like America Magazine, where she is now a regular columnist. In my Catholic New Left column, I described them thusly: The Catholic New Left…[is] not on a crusade to change the Church but to disinfect it. From what, you ask? From, well, people like me….Catholic support for President Trump, is the bête noire of the Catholic New Left. ….
Msgr. Roger Landry: The Unity for Which Jesus Prayed
By Msgr. Roger Landry, National Catholic Register – The Church looks to St. Paul during this octave asking not just his intercession but seeking to imitate his faith and fight for Christian unity… To be a Christian is to seek unity because that’s what Jesus himself seeks… (Jesus prayed) “That they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us” (John 17:20-21)… Jesus prayed that our unity with each other be as complete as the perfect unity that exists between the persons of the Blessed Trinity. …
Fraud and the ‘Fundamental Transformation’ of America, by Laura Hollis
By Laura Hollis, Patriot Post – Just five days before the election of 2008, which would catapult him into the presidency, candidate Barack Obama gave a speech in which he made what is now one of his infamous statements: “We are just five days away from fundamentally transforming the United States of America.”.. In the eight years that followed, America got a taste of what Obama had in mind. His pernicious legacy includes inflamed racial hatreds, a disastrous rollout of kinda-sorta single-payer health care… an apology tour to the Middle East, the attack on the American consulate in Benghazi, Libya, that killed four Americans… and funding terrorism by sending $400 million in cash on pallets to Iran.
There Is No ‘Nice’ Way to Do Mass Deportations, by Scott Greer
By Scott Greer, Chronicles – Predictably, a fresh wave of outrage against President Donald Trump and his administration’s immigration policies followed the shooting in Minnesota of anti-ICE activist Renee Good. Viral videos of alleged outrages committed by ICE agents are bolstering the case against the ongoing raids and deportations. While the majority of those speaking out against them are on the left, some on the right are also falling prey to this pressure campaign. …
Vice President J.D. Vance Will Headline March for Life, by Steven Ertelt
By Steven Ertelt, LifeNews – Vice President J.D. Vance will headline the March for Life next Friday in Washington, D.C., continuing his support for the pro-life cause in his second consecutive year addressing the annual event… The March for Life, one of the largest human rights demonstrations in the world, is scheduled for Friday, January 23… Held each year near the anniversary of the infamous Roe v. Wade decision, the event defends unborn children from abortion.
Exclusive: Child Abusers Top ICE’s Latest List Of ‘Worst Of The Worst’ Illegal Aliens, by M.D. Kittle
By M.D. Kittle, The Federalist – On Thursday, the roundup included perps convicted of sexual abuse of children, sexual exploitation of a minor, and aggravated assault, according to the latest Department of Homeland Security report exclusively provided to The Federalist… “Yesterday, our law enforcement arrested monsters who sexually abused and raped children. These are the type of sickos we are getting OUT of our neighborhoods,” said DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin in a statement to The Federalist.
Becket Report Finds Increases in Support for Religious Liberty in the Public Square, by Tessa Gervasini
By Tessa Gervasini, EWTN News – The annual Religious Freedom Index (RFI) by the Becket Fund found increases in support for religious liberty, including instances of school choice and protections of Catholic priests in confession… An online poll surveyed 1,002 U.S. adults. The survey screened a sample that is representative by gender, age, ethnicity, race, and region matching U.S. Census figures, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1%, researchers said… In 2024, about 54% of Catholics reported they felt accepted as people of faith, specifically 19% said they feel “completely” accepted …
Senate Committee Hearing Highlights Women’s Injuries From Abortion Pill, by Nancy Flanders
By Nancy Flanders, Live Action News – Key Takeaways: The Senate HELP Committee met on Wednesday to discuss the regulation of mifepristone, the first drug of the abortion pill regimen… Sen. Bill Cassidy, committee chair, opened the hearing with statistics on injuries caused by mifepristone as well as stories of the traumatic experiences of women who took the drug… Pro-abortion witness, Dr. Nisha Verma, claimed that injuries are the result of pro-life laws, not the drug… The hearing ended similarly to how it began. Pro-lifers continue to push for stricter regulations on telehealth and online abortion pill access. …
Somalia’s ‘Temporary’ Protection Lasted 35 Years, by Brandy Perez
By Brandy Perez, The Daily Signal – As of January 2025, approximately 1.4 million foreign nationals in the United States were shielded from removal under the program… The Trump administration decided to terminate TPS for several countries, with Somalia as the most recent. That choice is the right step in a long-overdue course correction for an immigration program that previous administrations exploited far past its statutory purpose.
Founder’s Quote
Patriot Post – “It behooves you, therefore, to think and act for yourself and your people. The great principles of right and wrong are legible to every reader; to pursue them requires not the aid of many counselors. The whole art of government consists in the art of being honest. Only aim to do your duty, and mankind will give you credit where you fail.” —Thomas Jefferson (1775)
Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations: Many Sinners Were Sitting with Jesus
Author Don Schwager, Servants of the Word – Mark 2:13-17 – 13 He went out again beside the sea; and all the crowd gathered about him, and he taught them. 14 And as he passed on, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax office, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose and followed him. 15 And as he sat at table in his house, many tax collectors and sinners were sitting with Jesus and his disciples; for there were many who followed him. …
Founder’s Quote
Patriot Post – “It behooves you, therefore, to think and act for yourself and your people. The great principles of right and wrong are legible to every reader; to pursue them requires not the aid of many counselors. The whole art of government consists in the art of being honest. Only aim to do your duty, and mankind will give you credit where you fail.” —Thomas Jefferson (1775)
Saint of the Day for January 17: Saint Anthony of Egypt (251 – 356)
By Franciscan Medi, January 17 – The life of Saint Anthony of Egypt will remind many people of Saint Francis of Assisi. At 20, Anthony was so moved by the Gospel message, “Go, sell what you have, and give to [the] poor” (Mark 10:21b), that he actually did just that with his large inheritance. He is different from Francis in that most of Anthony’s life was spent in solitude.
