By Dawn Beutner, Catholic World Report – While Pope Saint John Paul II made the promotion of canonizations a hallmark of his pontificate, it is more common in Church history for canonizations to proceed very slowly. The Church has generally been willing to wait for many years for God to make known His will about the sanctity of a deceased Catholic. On the other hand, sometimes the Vatican chooses to delay canonizations for the sake of peace in international politics. For example, now would not be a propitious moment for the Vatican to honor the many Catholics who have died as martyrs in communist China

Robert Royal, The Catholic Thing – When great people you have known are dead, their influence on you takes a different form. Parents and extended family and even their friends – if you’ve been lucky enough to have had them in these troubled days – assume an almost mythological status.  We didn’t need Freud or Jung to spell this out. Most of us already knew it in our bones. Much of later life, then, becomes a series of starts and stops in conversation with persons dead and forgotten, then remembered, again and again, as we make our way through our own dusty days.

By Katherine Matt, The Daily Signal – President Donald Trump announced Thursday that on May 17, in conjunction with America’s 250 birthday celebration, a prayer event will be held on the National Mall to “rededicate America as one nation under God.”… But who’s going to show up?… For much of the modern era, religious identification in the United States and other Western nations has steadily declined. Pew Research Center data show that the percentage of adults identifying as Christian dropped from 78% in 2007 to roughly 62% by 2025.

By Bishop Joseph Strickland, Pillars of Faith – There is a question in the Gospel that is not asked gently. It is not asked in safety. It is asked when truth demands a decision… Our Lord has just taught the truth about His Body and His Blood. He has spoken plainly. He has not softened His words. He has not explained them away. And many who had followed Him decide they can no longer stay. They walk away… And then Jesus turns to the Twelve – not to rebuke them, not to reassure them – but to ask a question that every generation of the Church must answer again for itself. “Will you also go away?”

By Victoria Cardona, Catholic Exchange – In the Catholic tradition, life and death are companions on a shared journey toward a final encounter with Love. If we understand the human and the Divine as collaborators in our sanctification from the moment of Baptism, then death represents the moment where this collaboration reaches its peak (CCC 1026). In dying, the imperfections of our lives are gathered in Christ; the virtues we practice, even when clouded by weakness, are crowned by God’s mercy (CCC 1022).

By Nicholas Ballasy, Just the News – “This ‘Show’ is just a ‘slap in the face’ to our Country, which is setting new standards and records every single day — including the Best Stock Market and 401(k)s in History!” Trump wrote on Truth Social… “The Super Bowl Halftime Show is absolutely terrible, one of the worst, EVER! It makes no sense, is an affront to the Greatness of America, and doesn’t represent our standards of Success, Creativity, or Excellence. Nobody understands a word this guy is saying, and the dancing is disgusting, especially for young children that are watching from throughout the U.S.A., and all over the World.” …

By Darrick Taylor, Crisis Magazine – The Church of Rome is the head and mother of all the churches, and the pope in Rome is the primate of the Church universal. We who commune with her do so because we believe in her authority, as we believe in the authority of the Church universal, because of the testimony of her founder, Jesus Christ. We believe this on the basis of the written testimony of Sacred Scripture and the witness of apostolic tradition. This much is uncontroversial, I think, for those in communion with Rome.

By Craig Bannister, Newsbusters – 111,620 California borrowers suspected of committing $8.6 billion of pandemic-era fraud have been suspended by the U.S. Small Business Administration, SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler announced Friday… “I’m here in San Diego, standing at an address that is registered to 14 businesses that took $2 million in pandemic-era loans Those loans haven’t been paid back,” Administrator Loeffler says in a social media video reporting the suspensions….

By Kate Quiñones, EWTN News – An Irish bishop has observed that the nation has lost the equivalent of 300 primary school classes of children to abortion in one year… Bishop Kevin Doran of Achonry and Elphin drew attention to the impact of abortion on population, citing a recent figure that found that 10,852 unborn babies were aborted in Ireland in 2024, The Irish Catholic reported… “The closure of primary schools across Ireland, and especially in rural communities, has surfaced as a major cause of concern in recent weeks,” Doran said. “There are complex reasons for this, but the impact of abortion on population is becoming increasingly clear.” …

Author Don Schwager, Servants of the Word – Mark 6:30-34 – 30 The apostles returned to Jesus, and told him all that they had done and taught. 31 And he said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a lonely place, and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. 32 And they went away in the boat to a lonely place by themselves. 33 Now many saw them going, and knew them, and they ran there on foot from all the towns, and got there ahead of them. …

By John Derbyshire, Chronicle – So it was in mid-January, as I was scrolling through X over my morning coffee. A tweet from the Department of Homeland Security scolded Minnesota Governor Tim Walz for having released 470 criminal illegal aliens back onto the streets of his state instead of helping ICE detain them. “It is common sense,” said DHS. “Criminal illegal aliens should not be released back onto our streets.”… Of course not, but the phrase “common sense” snagged my attention. I am a big fan of common sense and too frequently find myself lamenting its paucity in today’s social and political discourse.

By Victor Davis Hanson,  American Greatness – Democrats, lacking a positive agenda, bet on chaos, Trump hysteria, and media allies to spark a midterm backlash as Trump’s economic rebound gains steam… Recent regional special elections have seen Democratic candidates win a number of special election races… Now energized left-wing politicos remind the nation daily that every incumbent president, except three over the last century, has suffered substantial midterm losses in Congress.

By Saverio Perugini, National Catholic Register – Since ChatGPT’s release in November 2022, headlines about artificial intelligence (AI) have been sensational. AI is being touted as a panacea for everything from educating our youth to curing cancer… As pressure mounts to fundamentally change the way we do everything, so does anxiety. While some are bullishly enthusiastic about AI and others find the hype nauseating, AI is affecting an ever-increasing segment of the population, including Catholics.

Saint of the Day for February 7: Bl. Pope Pius IX – Blessed Pope Pius IX, born Giovanni Ferretti, was one of the longest reigning popes. During his 31 year papacy, he dealt with Church controversies, external turmoil, and the dissolution of the Papal States. Even though he faced many difficulties and medical aliments in his lifetime, he persevered from a very young age and after being rejected as a cadet for the Noble Guard, he became a priest. He was elected Pope in 1846, and took the name Pius IX in honor of Pope Pius VII. …

By Bridget Sielicki, Live Action New – SB 359 would allow doctors to prescribe lethal medication to patients who have been given a terminal diagnosis of six months or less to live. As written, the law would only apply to Virginia residents age 18 or older, and in order to qualify patients would need to make two oral requests at least 15 days apart. The doctor would also be required to have a one-on-one conversation with the patient to ensure the patient is not being coerced. In the committee hearing this week, Sen. Barbara Favola (D-Arlington) maintained that these were “enough guardrails,” to protect against any abuse.