By Alexandra Greeley, National Catholic Register – Long associated with family gatherings and shared labor, tamales continue to anchor Christmas celebrations across cultures… Celebrating the Christmas season should be filled with good cheer, family gatherings, special events and, of course, a memorable holiday dinner. Forget serving roast turkey, glazed ham or prime rib of beef. Instead, introduce family and friends to a Latino Christmas dish that dates back thousands of years.

By Bring Me The News, (Complicit Clergy) – Archbishop Hebda just directly associated himself with arguably the most radical, corrupt Governor in the nation… Joined by faith leaders and Twin Cities mayors, Governor Tim Walz addressed ongoing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations and federal immigration enforcement across the Twin Cities at a joint news conference on Tuesday… Federal officials began “Operation Metro Surge” on Dec. 1, with the Department of Homeland Security claiming they have arrested “the worst criminal illegal aliens, including child sex offenders, domestic abusers, and violent gang members” across Minnesota.

By S.A. McCarthy, The Daily Signal – Hundreds of Christians in China will likely spend Christmas in jail this year, according to a recent report. Starting on Dec. 13, the Chinese Communist Party mobilized “more than a thousand police officers, SWAT units, anti-riot forces, and firefighters” in the Zhejiang Province’s Yayang Town in Wenzhou City, raiding churches and conducting mass arrests of Christians, ChinaAid reported Friday… “Belongings of relevant individuals were illegally confiscated, roads leading to the church were completely blocked by police, and Christians in Yayang Town were unable to enter the Yayang church.

By Phil Lawler, Catholic Culture – Edna Costello was one of those irreplaceable women who seem to appear in every healthy parish. She was the most active member of the altar guild, the Rosary circle, the parish council, the Bible study, marriage preparation classes, the pro-life league, and the ladies’ sodality. You could find her in church every morning, a half-hour before the early Mass. She would still be there for another hour after the Mass was over: making her thanksgiving, tidying up the pews, saying her Rosary, arranging flowers, making the Stations of the Cross. …

By Salena Zito, Patriot Post – After surviving two assassination attempts, one of which nearly killed him, and seeing the brutal murder of his friend Charlie Kirk, Trump recognizes that returning to huge outdoor rallies is impossible. Kirk’s death, he says, has changed him, shaping not only how he thinks about security but affecting him personally as well… After surviving two assassination attempts, one of which nearly killed him, and seeing the brutal murder of his friend Charlie Kirk, Trump recognizes that returning to huge outdoor rallies is impossible. Kirk’s death, he says, has changed him, shaping not only how he thinks about security but affecting him personally as well.

By Kim Hayes, LifeNews – “Women considering abortion should be informed of the possibility that they may experience persistent emotional distress,” Paul Sullins, Ruth Institute senior research associate concluded in a report published in the International Journal of Women’s Health Care… Most women seeking help are at a minimum five years removed from the abortion experience with one, two or even as much as three decades passing before women (and even men) seek healing through these ministries. …

By Derek Rotty, Catholic Exchange – Christmas is quickly approaching, and remembering to recognize it as a season offers an opportunity to extend its graces and lessons further into our lives… Venerable Fulton Sheen helps us to understand this reality well. Each year, in his syndicated newspaper column published close to Christmas day, he provided rich teaching, application to everyday life, and memorable turns of phrase that help deepen our insight into the Christmas mystery and apply it to our lives beyond December 25th.

By Fr. John A. Perricone, Crisis Magazine – One by one, as though on a conga line for the Democratic National Committee, our bishops last November recited a scripted Instagram paean to illegal immigration. Moreover, at the end of their recent November meeting, it was reported that they also, by overwhelming majority, huffed and puffed: “We oppose the indiscriminate mass deportation of peoples.”… For greater effect, they should have hired a better costume director. Except for one or two, they looked like unmade beds. Of course, this is part of the episcopal Spirit-of-Vatican-II look: casual, unkempt, pedestrian.

By Patti Maguire Armstrong, National Catholic Register – A woman, tired from Christmas shopping and carrying a large number of bags, pushed the button for the elevator. When the door opened it appeared at capacity with other tired, package-laden shoppers, but they squeezed together to make enough room. “Whoever came up with all this ought to be put in jail,” she exclaimed. Others agreed… And then a voice from the back of the elevator said, “Don’t worry. He already was put in jail and crucified.”

Author Don Schwager, Servants of the Word – Luke 1:57-66 – 57 Now the time came for Elizabeth to be delivered, and she gave birth to a son. 58 And her neighbors and kinsfolk heard that the Lord had shown great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her. 59 And on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child; and they would have named him Zechariah after his father, 60 but his mother said, “Not so; he shall be called John.” …

By Elizabeth Troutman Mitchell, The Daily Signal – The Department of Justice has reversed the Biden administration’s decision to allow Department of Veterans Affairs doctors to perform abortions on the taxpayers’ dime… After the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, the Biden administration told Veterans Affairs doctors that they could perform abortions, even though federal law prohibits taxpayers from funding abortion… In 2022, the DOJ’s Office of Legal Counsel advised that federal law authorizes the Department of Veterans Affairs and its employees to provide abortion services.

By Brad Miner, The Catholic Thing – There’s a story (likely a legend echoing the earlier Roman tale of Androcles and the lion) that one day in his study, St. Jerome (c. 342-420), hard at work translating the Holy Bible into Latin, had a visit from a lion. The lion had a splinter in its paw and begged the saint to remove it, which Jerome did, after which man and beast became inseparable… Being a cat lover, I would very much like to have a lion as a friend, although not as a pet. I’ve seen videos of a South African “lion whisperer,” who raised some abandoned lion cubs and stayed friends with them over the years ….

By Alex Nitzberg Fox News – The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is offering to pay illegal aliens $3,000 and provide a free plane ticket out of the U.S. if they register by the end of the year for self-deportation on the CBP One app…. “Self-deportation through the CBP Home app is the best gift that an illegal alien can give themselves and their families this holiday season,” the release asserts. “Those illegal aliens who don’t take advantage of this special offer today have only one alternative: They will be arrested, deported, and they will never be able to return to the United States.”

By Tessa Gervasini, CNA – Abp. Paul Coakley said this week he is looking forward to speaking with Pres. Donald Trump in “the near future.”… Abp. Coakley, who was elected president of the USCCB in November, said he has “not had any personal conversations” with Trump or VP JD Vance but anticipates “engaging with them over matters of mutual concern.”… When Abp. Coakley meets with the administration, “undoubtedly, the question of immigration is going to come up,” he said in an interview on CBS News’ Face the Nation on Dec. 21. “I think we have opportunities to work together. We have opportunities to speak frankly with one another.”

The Pillar, by Staff, (Complicit Clergy) – The U.S. bishops’ conference is at the start of a restructuring process that could see its Washington, D.C. headquarters sold or leased, as the conference faces ongoing financial challenges and a recent round of layoffs… A task force of bishops was charged last month with leading a process to review the USCCB’s priorities and operations, in order to make concrete decisions about asset and resource allocation in future budget cycles… While conference leaders say that USCCB finances are healthy, the task force approaches its work after a significant loss of federal funds, and personnel cuts across several departments in recent years.