By Brianna Lyman, The Federalist – At least 15 people were murdered at a Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach in Australia on Sunday after two alleged Islamic terrorists opened fire… One of the suspects, Sajid Akram, moved to Australia in 1998 on a student visa before becoming a permanent resident, while his son, Naveed Akram, was born in Australia, according to Sky News. Authorities previously investigated the son “on the basis of being associated with” alleged terrorists, but authorities ultimately determined “there was no indication of any ongoing threat or threat of him engaging in violence,” according to the report. …

By Randall Smith,  The Catholic Thing – I am often annoyed and frustrated at Mass. Not with the Mass, mind you. I used to get annoyed and frustrated a lot with the way Mass was done when I first became Catholic. But some of that craziness from earlier years seems to have subsided somewhat. Or maybe it’s just that I’m fortunate in the places I go to Mass these days. Mostly, I’m just grateful to be going to Mass at all.  A lot of people don’t have that luxury, or they risk their lives to go.

By Lloyd Billingsley, The American Spectator – At Branham High School in San Jose this month, eight students formed a human swastika on the football field. A photo of the formation was posted online with a quote from Adolf Hitler: I want to be a prophet again today. If international financial Jews inside and outside Europe were to succeed in plunging nations into a world war once again, the result will not be Bolshevization of the earth and thus a victory for Judaism, but the annihilation of the Jewish race in Europe. ….

By Jonathan Liedl, National Catholic Register – Another criticism is that the bishops do not acknowledge the impact that historically unprecedented levels of undocumented immigration are having on members of American society, including the less privileged. As one commenter on a recent article said, “Where is the equal compassion and consideration for all the millions of legal citizens whose health care, social security benefits, schools, housing, personal safety, etc. have been vitally impacted by the sudden influx?” What is your response to this kind of critique? Should these kinds of considerations be factored into immigration policy?

Author Don Schwager, Servants of the Word – Matthew 21:28-32 – 28 “What do you think? A man had two sons; and he went to the first and said, `Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’ 29 And he answered, `I will not’; but afterward he repented and went. 30 And he went to the second and said the same; and he answered, `I go, sir,’ but did not go. 31 Which of the two did the will of his father?” ….

By Anthony Stine, Return to Tradition, (Complicit Clergy) – Here’s a link to the story. Sister Kari Pohl is a member of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Baden, Pennsylvania, and currently serves as her congregation’s coordinator of justice and peace. She also has the privilege of working as a registered nurse at a federally qualified health center. Here’s Sister Pohl’s contact information for those who would like to comment on her proposal. …

By Greg Piper, Just the News – Citing the unanimous SCOTUS ruling against Wisconsin in the Catholic Charities tax fight, the brief says the contraceptive mandate makes distinctions between religious groups based on “theological lines” and thus constitutes a “paradigmatic form of denominational discrimination.” Both involve governments requiring “exclusively religious” activities for exemptions… The mandate also violates the nondelegation doctrine because Obamacare does not limit or inform “how the HRSA is to exercise its plenary delegated authority to decide what services are covered under the ACA,” the nuns’ lawyers said.

By Angeline Tan, Live Action News – New reproductive technology is again highlighting the eugenics-based mindset prevalent within the fertility industry… In 1978, the first baby conceived through in vitro fertilization (IVF) was born… Millions more have been born since then, though countless millions more have been created and then destroyed… IVF often leads to the commodification of children, with would-be parents choosing embryos based on various characteristics and traits. ….

By George Caldwell, The Daily Signal – The Republican bill is not a highly ambitious repeal, reform, or restructuring of Obamacare. Rather, it is a bundle of focused tweaks to the health insurance system that aims to lower health care costs, instead of the government’s current strategy, which has been to have government subsidize an increasingly unaffordable health care system… The bill’s lack of highly controversial provisions is by design, as Republicans will need to rally their narrow majority in the House and pick up at least seven Democrat votes in the Senate to have any chance of the bill reaching the president’s desk before the credit expiration date. …

By David G. Bonagura, Jr., Catholic Culture – Sure enough, in the century-long crescendo to the liturgical reforms initiated by the Second Vatican Council, liturgists became enamored with ancient forms of the Mass and desired a return to them. After the council, a committee commissioned by the pope—this time, without his direct involvement—scrapped the Roman Rite codified over a millennium earlier in favor of a new order of the Mass that was allegedly closer to the original. Once again, some Catholics did not receive the new version with joy, though, unlike in the seventeenth century, Rome was keen to see nearly every church and monastery adopt the new order.

By Franciscan Media – Wenceslaus Kozminski was born in Biala Podlaska in 1829. By the age of 11 he had lost his faith. By the age of 16 his father had died. He studied architecture at the School of Fine Arts in Warsaw. Suspected of participating in a rebellious conspiracy against the Czarists in Poland, he was imprisoned from April 1846 until March of 1847.

By Msgr. Roger Landry, National Catholic Register – On Gaudete Sunday, we have another reason to rejoice this year: 2025 marks the 50th anniversary of St. Paul VI’s apostolic exhortation on Christian joy, Gaudete in Domino (“Rejoice in the Lord always”) from Philippians 4:4, the same expression from which the Third Sunday of Advent gets its nickname… While we sing of joy throughout the Advent season — “Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel!” — this Sunday’s Mass begins with a special imperative taken from St. Paul’s charge to the first Christians in Philippi: Gaudete semper in Domino. Iterum dico: Gaudete! (“Rejoice in the Lord always. …

By Daniel B. Gallagher, Catholic Exchange – My family still celebrates St. Nicholas day on December 6th, a tradition my wife and I inherited from our parents. Our kids wake up to shoes stuffed with goodies brought by the holy 4th-century bishop. As they grow older, they will begin to understand the reason Nicholas practiced such generosity towards children and the poor: his belief that Jesus is one-in-substance with the Father, a truth Nicholas vigorously defended at the Council of Nicaea—the anniversary of which Pope Leo just commemorated in Turkey.

By McKenna Snow, Catholic Vote – A Dec. 20 breakout session at a conservative organization’s sold-out annual conference in Phoenix, Arizona, is set to include a period of Eucharistic adoration — an act of devotion one advocate says is key to renewal in the country… “Though our hearts are heavy, we do not grieve as those without hope,” TPUSA states on AmFest’s website. “Charlie’s legacy endures in his family, in Turning Point USA and Turning Point Action, and in every person he inspired to live with conviction.”

By Christine Chen, Scott Murdoch, Renju Jose, The Daily Signal – Two alleged gunmen who killed 15 people at a Jewish celebration at Sydney’s Bondi Beach were a father and son, police said on Monday… The father, a 50-year-old, was killed at the scene, taking the number of dead to 16, while his 24-year-old son was in a critical condition in hospital, police said at a press conference on Monday. Officials have described Sunday’s shooting as a targeted antisemitic attack.