By Eric Sammons, Crisis Magazine – During the past 60 years progressive Catholics have been engaged in an intense effort to remove from the Deposit of Faith beliefs and practices they find distasteful. Whether it be a rejection of the Real Presence or attempts to drop the teaching against artificial contraception, these Catholics have been hell-bent (literally) on transforming our faith into something more palatable to the modern zeitgeist by clearing away anything offensive to modern ears.

By Scott McKay, The American Spectator – Trump’s inaugural speech, followed by the most aggressive one-day turnaround in American policy with the signing of 200 executive orders, is emblematic of the American people’s repudiation of the elites’ machinations… During a very high-octane inaugural speech, President Donald Trump yesterday said that January 20, 2025, will forever be looked upon as Liberation Day… If you thought this was a normal transfer of power to come, and a whole lot of the elite opinionmakers did what they could to present Trump’s return to the White House as that, you were wrong.

By R. Jared Staudt, Catholic Exchange – St. Thomas Aquinas’s feast day (January 28th) is the octave day of the feast of St. Agnes (January 21st). While this may seem inconsequential, there are many points of connection between these two great saints… First, they are both from central Italy: St. Agnes from Rome and St. Thomas from just south, Aquino, between Rome and Naples. Second, they both were from influential aristocratic families, Agnes from a noble Roman family and Aquinas from a mixed Germanic and Italian family related to the Holy Roman Emperor. …

By Craig Bannister, MRC TV – In his inaugural address on Monday, President Donald Trump announced that, under his administration, the U.S. government will abandon social engineering and recognize the existence of only two genders: those dictated by biology… After promising to put an end to the previous administration’s weaponization of government and political persecutions, the newly-inaugurated president said the federal government will now stop imposing gender ideology on Americans: “This week, I will also end the government policy of trying to socially engineer race and gender into every aspect of public and private life.” …

By Jules Gomes, The Stream – Bishops sell churches to pay settlements as insurance companies meet less than one-fifth of the expenses… The U.S. Catholic Church spent over $5 billion on victim compensation and attorneys’ fees in cases of clerical sex abuse of minors between 2004 and 2023 (according to new study) Released on January 15, the 106-page study records a total of 16,276 “credible allegations” of abuse of minors by priests, deacons, and religious brothers, which were reported by dioceses, eparchies, and men’s religious communities in the U.S. over the last two decades. …

By Fr. Jerry Pokorsky, Catholic Culture – The account of the Wedding Feast at Cana (cf. Jn. 2) has various layers of meaning, including a glimpse (but only a glimpse) of the social life of Jesus, the institution of the sacrament of Matrimony by the sacred presence of Jesus, Mary as intercessor, and the significance of Mary’s last recorded words. The account teaches us how to formulate our prayers of petition, deal with our superiors, and seek the peace of Christ.

By Tom Kington, The Sunday Times – The Pope says conservative bishops and cardinals who rage against his liberal leanings may be mentally unstable, and this is seen in the pompous way they dress. In his autobiography, Hope, he doubled down on criticizing traditional prelates who resent his tolerance for gay people and divorcees. Their “rigidity,” he asserts, “is often accompanied by elegant and costly tailoring, lace, fancy trimmings, rochets” …

By Matt Lamb, LifeSiteNews – Trump reiterated successful talking points from his stump speech during his victory rally last night… He criticized “men playing in women’s sports” and “transgender for everyone.” He also promised to “get critical race theory and transgender insanity … out of our schools.”… Trump also promised to get rid of “diversity, equity, and inclusion” in the government as well as “radical, Left, woke ideologies.” …

By Steven Ertelt, Grace Porto, LifeNews – President Donald Trump will be pardoning pro-life advocate Bevelyn Williams, who Joe Biden put in federal prison for 3 years for protesting abortion… Williams, who was found guilty of violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act for blocking access to an abortion clinic in 2020, was in the process of appealing appealing her sentence of 41 months in prison… Williams was specifically accused of blocking entrance to an abortion business and preventing a volunteer from entering.

Franciscan Media – Almost nothing is known of this saint except that she was very young—12 or 13—when she was martyred in the last half of the third century. Various modes of death have been suggested—beheading, burning, strangling… Legend has it that Agnes was a beautiful girl whom many young men wanted to marry. Among those she refused, one reported her to the authorities for being a Christian. …

By McKenna Snow, Catholic Vote – Several years ago while visiting a Queens cemetery, Fr. Mann encountered the gravesite of Trump’s parents and grandparents. Seeing that it had overgrowth on it, he returned later to restore it out of respect for the historic place. After this, Fr. Mann sent a picture of the restored and decorated gravesite to President Trump… A few weeks later, Trump called Fr. Mann, asking why he decorated the gravesite. Upon the priest’s explanation, Trump “sounded amazed,” the Tablet reported, and he invited Fr. Mann to meet with him… Fr. Mann told the Tablet, “I think he sees the hand of God in all this.”

By Margot Cleveland, The Federalist – The TikTok case is only one of several that will be impacted by the incoming Trump Administration… With all eyes on the Capitol since Friday when the various celebratory balls began, five significant court cases slipped by the public’s notice. That number excludes the Supreme Court’s unanimous decision in TikTok v. Garland, which upheld The Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act’s mandate that China divest from the popular social media platform.

Author Don Schwager, Servants of the Word – Mark 2:18-22 – 18 Now John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting; and people came and said to him, “Why do John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?” 19 And Jesus said to them, “Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. 20 The days will come, when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in that day. ….

By Joseph D’Hippolito, The Stream – The House Committee on Homeland Security reported that from Fiscal Year 2021 to Fiscal Year 2024, about 10.8 million migrants entered the United States illegally, including more than 8.72 million at the Mexican border… Among them are roughly 65,000 Chinese nationals, an increase of more than 1,000% from the three previous fiscal years. Some have connections to the Chinese Communist Party or the People’s Liberation Army, the committee reported… Middle Eastern terrorists also have exploited Biden’s open-border policies. Sarah Adams, a former CIA targeting officer, described how they gain entry.

By Msgr. Charles Pope, Sunday – In this Sunday’s Gospel passage of the wedding feast at Cana, there is a theological portrait of both Mother Mary and prayer. Let’s look at the Gospel along five lines: I. The place that Mary has – The text says, There was a wedding at Cana in Galilee and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the wedding… A fascinating thing about these opening verses is that Mary almost seems to dominate the scene; the presence of Jesus is mentioned only secondarily. St. Thomas Aquinas notes that at Cana, Mary acts as the “go-between” in arranging a mystical marriage. … Once the marriage is arranged, she steps back; her final words to are these: “Do whatever he tells you.”