By Thaddeus G. McCotter, Chronicles – With so much of their dark money and Big Tech contributions gone, Democrats—who eschew thoughts and prayers—can only cling to hope. Beyond that, expect no detours from the old strategy of deflection, projection, twisting and redefining language and standards, and, of course, blaming Trump.

By Shawn Fleetwood, The Federalist – Associate Justice Neil Gorsuch got a lawyer for the NAACP Legal Defense Fund to all but admit support for states intentionally discriminating on the basis of race in the redistricting process… The moment came during (SCOTUS’) Wednesday oral arguments for a pair of cases known as Louisiana v. Callais and Robinson v. Callais, which center on the Louisiana Legislature’s use of race when creating its recent congressional map… the matter first arose “following ‘a previous lawsuit … where plaintiffs argued that the prior map’ put forward by the state ‘violated Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act by diluting minority votes,’ according to Oyez.”

By Dan Hart, LifeNews – As the federal government shutdown stretches into its 14th day, reports from Capitol Hill and the White House suggest that the impasse won’t end anytime soon, with the Trump administration refusing to budge on the Democrats’ demands of expanding COVID-era Obamacare subsidies and other spending by $1.5 trillion. … One Office of Management and Budget (OMB) official told Punchbowl that the agency is “making every preparation to batten down the hatches and ride out the Democrats’ intransigence. Pay the troops, pay law enforcement, continue the RIFs [reduction in force], and wait.”

Author Don SchwagerServants of the Word – Luke 11:47-54 – 47 Woe to you! for you build the tombs of the prophets whom your fathers killed. 48 So you are witnesses and consent to the deeds of your fathers; for they killed them, and you build their tombs. 49 Therefore also the Wisdom of God said, `I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and persecute,’ 50 that the blood of all the prophets, shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation, 51 from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who perished between the altar and the sanctuary. ….

By John M. Grondelski, The Catholic Thing – As (Pope Leo XIV’s) predecessor, St. John Paul II (elected 47 years ago today), observed, culture lies upstream from both politics and economics. And our “blessed barrenness” is a cultural problem – both in the larger society and within the Catholic Church… “Neither in the man nor in the woman can affirmation of the value of the person be divorced from awareness and willing acceptance that he may become a father and she may become a mother. . . .If the possibility of parenthood is deliberately excluded from marital relations, the character of the relationship between the partners automatically changes. The change is away from unification in love and in the direction of mutual, or rather, bilateral “enjoyment.”

By Hector O. Chapa, M.D., Live Action – A recent commentary written by a psychiatry resident-in-training and published on October 11, 2025, in MedPage Today, paints natalism (the belief that human reproduction is essential for the continuation and flourishing of society) as “incompatible” with public health… This perspective overlooks a fundamental truth: without natalism, there would be no public at all. The very existence and continuation of society depend on birth rates that sustain or grow the population.

By Kevin Wells, Crisis Magazine – Crisis editor Eric Sammons​ has made written ​and spoken pleas for laity calm in the aftermath of Pope Leo XIV’s odd ice-block blessing and refusal to condemn Cardinal ​Blase Cupich’s decision to award a pro-abortion politician with a lifetime achievement honor. ​Even on gasket-blowing days like yesterday, when the Chicago-native pontiff promoted his fellow Chicagoan Cupich to the Pontifical Commission for the Vatican City State​, Sammons’ call for calm is as wise as it is necessary… But why?… The Roman Catholic Church is facing a spiritual epidemic unlike any it has ever known; it is as large—and mostly unrecognized —as any crisis in today’s American Catholic Church …..

By Constance T. Hull, Catholic Exchange – In the spiritual life, the Lord calls us to mortification. There are entire programs, such as Exodus 90, designed to help Catholics learn more about the ascetical life in an age of hedonism and spiritually destructive abundance. These are all well and good. They serve an important purpose in helping us strip away that which keeps us from God. They lead to a necessary poverty that allows us to be filled by God. However, they are not the most effective means of growth; the saints understood that it is unwilled suffering that is the most effective.

Franciscan Media – Margaret Mary was chosen by Christ to arouse the Church to a realization of the love of God symbolized by the heart of Jesus… Her early years were marked by sickness and a painful home situation. “The heaviest of my crosses was that I could do nothing to lighten the cross my mother was suffering.” After considering marriage for some time, Margaret Mary entered the Order of the Visitation nuns at the age of 24.

By Fr. Shenan J. Boquet, Human Life International – In Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship, the U.S. bishops provide ethical guidance on the political responsibilities of Catholics. It assists Catholics, in light of the Church’s teaching, to form their consciences and to learn about Catholic social doctrine on fundamental moral issues, which give shape to political, cultural, and social issues… As a pro-life leader, I am delighted with the strong language in the guide on the topic of abortion. “The threat of abortion remains our pre-eminent priority,” the introduction to the most recent version of the guide states, “because it directly attacks our most vulnerable and voiceless brothers and sisters and destroys more than a million lives per year in our country alone.”

By Sophie Starkova, Patriot Post – Radical Islamist violence in Nigeria is getting renewed attention from the West as more reports come out. As World magazine’s article on the plight of Christians in that country recounts, “This year, Nigerian Christians have faced increasing attacks from jihadist groups. According to the Nigeria-based nonprofit InterSociety, Islamists murdered more than 7,000 Christians — and kidnapped 7,800 — in the country between January and August. This latest violence has refocused international attention on Nigeria over the ongoing attacks and persecution.”

Author Don Schwager, Servants of the Word – Luke 11:42-46 – 42 “But woe to you Pharisees! for you tithe mint and rue and every herb, and neglect justice and the love of God; these you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. 43 Woe to you Pharisees! for you love the best seat in the synagogues and salutations in the market places. 44 Woe to you! for you are like graves which are not seen, and men walk over them without knowing it.”

By Tyler O’Neil, The Stream – The Left has abetted a massive lawlessness crisis that has divided and likely radicalized Americans… Democrats may want us to throw the George Floyd riots of 2020 down the memory hole, but we should remember that those riots cost more than $2 billion in damage and took the lives of at least 26 Americans. The left-leaning media described the riots as “mostly peaceful,” while Democrats demonized even calls for law and order from the president.

By Casey Chalk, Catholic World Report – Prominent Catholics such as Secretary of State Marco Rubio profess “unwavering support” for Israel, while ecumenical (but mostly Catholic) First Things publishes content largely defending Israel. Alternatively, at Crisis Magazine, we read titles such as “America First Does Not Mean Unlimited Support for Israel,” and “Against Catholic Zionism.” In turn, Joe Heschmeyer at Catholic Answers asks: “Is Genesis 12 really saying that we’re to ‘the modern nation of Israel with military aid in its wars?” His answer: “Not according to St. Paul.”

The Editors, National Catholic Register – When the president of the United States says he doesn’t think ‘anything’ can get him into heaven, it’s a teachable moment — a chance to remind him, and ourselves, that Divine Mercy is greater than any human achievement… Trump possesses such heaping reserves of self-confidence that there isn’t a skyscraper on the planet tall enough to contain it. This exasperates his critics, of course. Even some of his most ardent supporters occasionally cringe at his braggadocio… There is, to cite one example, his expressed wish to have his likeness added to Mount Rushmore. “Outrageous!” we might think. …