By Jules Gomes, The Stream – “If Bach is not in Heaven, I am not going,” William F. Buckley, the iconic conservative writer, political commentator, and host of the talk show Firing Line once said… Is there a more quintessentially Buckleian paradox than this? William Frank Buckley, a devout Catholic, beatifying Johann Sebastian Bach, a dyed-in-the-wool Lutheran?…

By Steven Ertelt, LifeNews – America is aborting away its future. There’s no more glaring example of that than the fact that the fertility in the United States has hit a record low… According to newly-released data from the Centers for Disease Control, America’s total fertility rate dropped to 1.62 births per woman last year, a 2% decline from the year before. That figure is below replacement rate, which means that Americans are not having enough children to replace people who are dying.

By Robert Lazu Kmita, Remnant Columnist, The Remnant – On the evening of Saturday, September 9, 1846, two young shepherds, Mélanie Calvat (14 years old) and Maximin Giraud (11 years old), encountered a wondrous and luminous Lady in tears: the Holy Virgin Mary. Deeply saddened, the Queen of the Universe conveyed a message to them addressed to all. Her unforgettable words mentioned the “strong and heavy” hand of her Son that she could no longer hold back. The cause was the sins of humanity: the violation of the commandment to attend Sunday and holy day Mass ….

By Oliver Oliveros, Catholic Exchange – Admittedly, it will take more than a moral attitude to prevail over lust. It is a mistake to look at it solely as a flaw in human behavior. One must also see that there is an adversary who plans for our demise… Growing up in Catholic school, the concept of spiritual warfare was treated as an afterthought. Yet, many saints and the church fathers discussed it, and it was certainly an important part of our Savior’s ministry. But because of the oversight, I had the naïve idea that as long as you were not possessed, you did not have to worry about the demonic realm.

By Michael Haynes, PerMariam – Giving forthright comments on a number of current issues in the Catholic Church, Cardinal Raymond Burke condemned the practice of giving Holy Communion to pro-abortion politicians, as well as noting that the traditional Mass is in a state of “persecution.”… “This is what is referred to as scandal,” he said April 23, commenting on the practice of pro-abortion politicians receiving Holy Communion.

By Michael Warsaw, EWTN News – Another Tax Day has come and gone, but a big taxation question in Wisconsin remains unresolved, in the wake of a recent ruling that Catholic Charities in the Diocese of Superior isn’t religious enough in the eyes of the state’s Supreme Court to qualify for a religious tax exemption… The nonprofit organization, called Catholic Charities Bureau (CCB), provides a host of social services, including job training and housing support for people with mental and physical disabilities.

By Eddie Scarry, The Federalist – Marc Santora, a NY Times reporter based in Kyiv, did a decent job admitting this little problem on Wednesday’s episode of “The Daily” podcast: “What this package doesn’t do,” he said, “is tell us the path forward for how Ukraine can achieve what they really want, their ultimate goal, which is driving the Russians from their land and securing the kind of victory that is both lasting and just in their minds.”… As of just a few weeks ago, the U.S. had dedicated nearly $115 billion to Ukraine. Now, following Speaker Mike Johnson’s little chat with Biden White House officials … that number has ballooned to around $175 billion — and counting!

By Kennedy Hall, Crisis Magazine – Why is this the case? Why would someone like Candace Owens convert to Catholicism, and in such a public way? Of course, I do not know Owens, and I will not pretend here to psychologize or offer any insight into her personal reasons. However, I believe her religious trajectory—something she has been public about—offers some insight into why someone like her, or anyone for that matter, would convert to the Church of Rome despite the myriad problems in the Church today. …

By Susan Ciancio, Catholic World Report – We live in a “you do you” world in which fewer and fewer people have the courage to stand up for anything they believe. And society has us thinking that this selfish mentality is a good thing… Merriam-Webster defines scandal as “malicious or defamatory gossip,” a “disgrace,” or “a circumstance or action that offends propriety or established moral conceptions.”… “Scandal is an attitude or behavior which leads another to do evil,” states the Catechism of the Catholic Church, “The person who gives scandal becomes his neighbor’s tempter. He damages virtue and integrity; he may even draw his brother into spiritual death.”

By Franciscan Media – Central America claimed its first saint with the canonization of Pedro de San José Betancur. Known as the “Saint Francis of the Americas,” Pedro de Betancur is the first saint to have worked and died in Guatemala… Pedro very much wanted to become a priest, but God had other plans for the young man born into a poor family on Tenerife in the Canary Islands. ..

By Gene Gomulka, Complicit Clergy – Similar to World War II Germany when so many members of the clergy – bishops, priests, pastors – were silent amidst the atrocities committed by Hitler and the National Socialist German Workers’ Party (Nazi), so too today are many bishops and priests silent in denouncing Biden and the Democratic Party for its support of practices condemned by the Catholic Church.

Written by Deacon Joey Carrion, Retired from active ministry in the Archdiocese of Miami – Dear Bishops: We’re tired! .. We’re tired… of going to Mass each Sunday yearning for the Word of God, and returning home emptier than we left. .. We’re tired… of hearing you preach about the need for a Eucharistic Renewal, and yet you can’t agree amongst yourselves that giving Holy Communion to openly pro-abortion politicians is a sin. ….

Author Don Schwager, Servants of the Word – John 13:16-20 – Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them. I am not speaking of you all; I know whom I have chosen; it is that the scripture may be fulfilled, `He who ate my bread has lifted his heel against me.’ ….

Happy Thursday!.. Today’s Brew starts off with a massive day for the Supreme Court, as justices are set to hear arguments in a case that will directly affect the 2024 election… SCOTUS Hearing Arguments on Trump Presidential Immunity… All eyes are trained toward the District of Columbia this morning as the High Court hears arguments over whether former President Donald Trump had presidential immunity for his actions questioning the integrity of the 2020 Election. ….

By Michael Pakaluk, The Catholic Thing – When the eclipse of the sun coincided with the Annunciation on April 8, many Catholics rightly recalled that Mary is traditionally likened to the moon, an image well expressed by Fulton Sheen (The World’s First Love): God, Who made the sun, also made the moon. The moon does not take away from the brilliance of the sun. The moon would be only a burnt-out cinder floating in the immensity of space were it not for the sun. All its light is reflected from the sun. The Blessed Mother reflects her Divine Son; without Him, she is nothing. With Him, she is the Mother of Men.