SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 26 100th EDITION OF LOOP WEEKEND...Saboteurs have already entered Kyiv,” said the mayor. “The enemy wants to put the capital on its knees and destroy us.”

 

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 26 - 100th EDITION OF LOOP WEEKEND   RUSSIANS APPROACH KYIV  Russian troops reached the outskirts of Kyiv Friday as Russian leader Vladimir Putin demanded Ukrainian troops lay down their arms. Residents of the capital city heard explosions starting before dawn and gunfire was reported in several areas. “Shots and explosions are ringing out in some neighborhoods. Saboteurs have already entered Kyiv,” said the mayor. “The enemy wants to put the capital on its knees and destroy us.”  READ      NATO FORCES MOBILIZED  NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg announced Friday that the alliance has activated elements of the 40,000-troop NATO Response Force (NRF) for the first time. “The Kremlin's objectives are not limited to Ukraine,” Stoltenberg said. “We are deploying [the NRF] to ... prevent any miscalculations, any misunderstandings that we are not ready to protect and defend all our allies.”  READ      POPE VISITS RUSSIAN EMBASSY  Pope Francis visited the Russian embassy to the Holy See Friday morning, in a rare move that breached protocols. He went to the embassy “to show his concern for the war,” the Vatican explained. The pope made the intervention despite having been advised to cancel events and trips due to severe knee pain.  READ       BIDEN'S SCOTUS PICK  President Biden nominated Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia to replace retiring Justice Stephen Breyer on the Supreme Court. Brian Burch, president of CatholicVote, said: “Judge Jackson is the choice of the radical Left. By all indications, she will be a rubber stamp for Left-wing judicial activism that will continue to punish and penalize Catholic beliefs in the public square. ...When judges become legislators, among those that stand to lose the most are Catholic hospitals, schools, charities, and families.”  READ       NOMINEE AND FORMER SPEAKER RYAN  Former House Speaker Paul Ryan, a Republican, offered his "praise" to Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson in a tweet Friday, vouching for her character on a personal level. Ryan was clear that he and Jackson are not politically aligned, but some onlookers were perplexed that he would go out of his way to congratulate her. What many may not have realized, however, is that Ryan is actually related to Jackson by marriage.  READ           MAJORITY OF ABORTIONS NOW VIA PILL  According to a new report by the Guttmacher Institute, a majority of U.S. abortions are now committed by abortion-inducing pills rather than surgical procedures. “Specifically, preliminary data from the Guttmacher Institute’s periodic census of all known abortion providers show that in 2020, medication abortion accounted for 54% of US abortions. That year is the first time medication abortion crossed the threshold to become the majority of all abortions and it is a significant jump from 39% in 2017, when Guttmacher last reported these data,” the report noted.  READ       TRUMP VS. BIDEN ON UKRAINE  A new Harvard Center for American Political Studies (CAPS)-Harris Poll released Friday found that a strong majority of Americans – 62% – believe Putin would not be moving against Ukraine if Trump were still president. A majority of 59% also said they believe Putin invaded Ukraine because he saw weakness in President Biden.  READ       CDC WITHHELD DATA  House Republicans sent a letter on Friday to Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Rochelle Walensky. The letter, led by House Minority Whip Steve Scalise, R-LA, and Rep. James Comer, R-KY, cited a New York Times report about the CDC withholding COVID-19 data from the public, and argued that the information could have helped states deliberate their responses to the virus. “This failure to be transparent further erodes the public’s trust in the CDC,” the letter said.  READ       DAD SUES SCHOOL  Wendell Perez, a Catholic father in Florida, is suing a local school district after his 12-year-old daughter attempted suicide by hanging herself in a school bathroom. A school counselor held weekly meetings with his daughter to discuss her “gender identity,” while other school administrators encouraged students and staff to refer to the 12-year-old as a boy and even gave her a new name, the federal lawsuit complains. The suit was filed Monday by the Child & Parental Rights Campaign against several school district members including the superintendent, the school principal, and the school counselor.  READ       SOCIAL MEDIA NUN  People from around the world are remembering and praying for the repose of the soul of Sr. Catherine Wybourne, known as “Digitalnun.” She gained a large following on social media with her daily tweets requesting to know the prayer intentions of her “tweeps.” She also embraced her suffering and death with joy. “Catholicism can be a hard religion to live by but is a beautiful religion in which to die,” she said. Sr. Catherine died of cancer on Feb. 24 at the age of 68.  READ       HEROES & ZEROES  Which Catholics were heroes in February? And which Catholics in public life exhibited zero courage (or caused scandal) this month? Send us your suggestions!  EMAIL       INTERVIEW  Writer Arthur Brooks speaks with the Napa Institute about what he called "the second curve” – which he describes as a unique set of gifts that people have in the second half of life. Listen to what he has to say about your “great sage / master-teacher” phase of life.  WATCH         PRAYING FOR YOUR SPOUSE  For you married Loopers, you probably pray often for your marriage, but how often do you pray for your spouse as an individual? Praying for your husband or your wife in contrast with (and, of course, in addition to) praying for your relationship has unique positive effects. This writer describes three distinct benefits that she experienced from doing it herself.  READ       SPORTS AND FAMILY  Many of our kids play sports, but how often do we really think about how athletic events are integrated into the lives of our children? Sports is a fantastic way to grow in body and character, achieve greatness, and enjoy life. However, it can also be integrated in a destructive way, causing undue pressure, unsportsmanlike competition, and even bodily harm. So read on to learn more about a successful integration of sports, including some advice from St. John Paul II, a great sportsman himself.  READ       LENT RECIPES  The time is upon us. Ash Wednesday is less than a week away, if you can believe it. And that means we need to start whipping up some meatless meals. The obvious Friday-in-Lent meal is fish. Fish fry, fish sticks, you know what to do. But you don’t need to have that every time. And besides, fish is not appetizing to… a lot of people. So instead, we are offering you a list of Lenten recipes that are not fish. Keep a bookmark on this link and spend your Lent focused on the things that really matter.  READ       ALTERNATIVE TO ROAD RAGE  Many people consider road rage to be a fact of life—that is, being the one who is raging. It’s too easy to throw abuse from the privacy of your own car. And no one is happy to sit in traffic. But the truth is, while it may feel like road rage is directed toward “a car," it really is directed toward the human being inside that car. And that person has just as much dignity, feeling, and God-likeness as yourself. So here is an alternative to road rage that we can all put into practice.  READ             CATHOLIC 101  There would be no modern science if not for the Catholic Church. Check out the Society for Catholic Scientists' wonderful list of influential scientists from throughout history.  READ       SATURDAY'S SAINT  St. Porphyrius was a wealthy Greek who became a hermit first in the desert of Skete in Egypt and then in Palestine on the banks of the Jordan. Much against his will, he was raised to the See of Gaza, which he ruled with extraordinary energy, ability and success. He almost completely uprooted the remnants of paganism in his diocese.  READ       SATURDAY'S PSALM  “Let my prayer come like incense before you.” (Psalm 141:1)  READ   SATURDAY'S READINGS  Today's Mass readings.  READ   SUNDAY’S PSALM  "Lord, it is good to give thanks to you.” (Psalm 92:2)   READ SUNDAY’S READINGS  Sunday's Mass readings  READ ANSWER TO THE TRIVIA  Lent derives from the Old English word "lencten," which means “spring.”  HAVE A TIP?  Send us your news for the Weekend Loop.  EMAIL          ARTWORK  Mary Untier of Knots, pray for the people of Ukraine! Painting by Johann Georg Melchior Schmidtner (1625-1705)  SHARE         INVITE FRIENDS   You got 0 friends to sign up for the Loop! When you reach 10, you receive a free Loop coffee mug!    CATHOLICVOTE   |   P.O. BOX 3310   |   CARMEL, IN 46082   |   (317) 669-6127