THURSDAY, JANUARY 25

TEXAS GUV ISSUES STUNNING STATEMENT ASSERTING STATE’S RIGHTS Amidst an ongoing dispute with the Biden administration over his state’s enforcement of immigration laws, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott issued a “statement on Texas’ constitutional right to self-defense,” arguing: "The federal government has broken the compact between the United States and the states.” READ

OHIO NIXES DeWINE'S VETO, PROTECTS KIDS Ohio on Wednesday became the latest state to adopt legislation protecting minors from being subjected to so-called “gender-affirming care” after the state Senate overrode a veto issued by Republican Gov. Mike DeWine. The comprehensive new measure will now go into effect in 90 days. READ

70% OF NH HALEY VOTERS WERE NOT REGISTERED REPUBLICANS According to exit poll data, 70% of New Hampshire primary voters who backed former Ambassador Nikki Haley were not registered Republicans. Only 27% of Haley voters were registered Republicans, 70% percent were registered as “undeclared,” and 3% were unregistered before the Tuesday primary. Meanwhile, 70% of Trump voters were registered Republicans. READ

SOUTH CAROLINA REPUBLICANS PUSH TO SEAT DEM JUDGE Conservatives slammed South Carolina Republican lawmakers for their ongoing attempt to place 2018 Democratic Gubernatorial nominee James Smith into a state circuit court judgeship. Smith is a longtime friend of President Joe Biden’s and an advocate for the abortion lobby. READ

BISHOP: ABORTION IS ‘CENTERPIECE’ OF BIDEN CAMPAIGN Bishop Michael Burbidge of Arlington blasted Biden for the pro-abortion rally he held in Virginia this week, calling it “incredibly devastating” that “Biden would place ‘choice’ over his sacred duty to protect life.” “President Biden has made abortion the centerpiece of his campaign,” Burbidge wrote. “At a rally in Manassas, VA, he advocated for codifying  Roe v. Wade into law.” READ

SENATOR TELLS HORRIFIC STORIES OF BORDER CRISIS Sen. Roger Marshall, R-KS, on Tuesday told 12 stories of violent crimes committed by migrants who entered the country under the presidency of Joe Biden. “As Biden downplays the severity of this crisis, we will bring awareness to the violent crime happening across America [and] we will not stop until we secure our borders,” Marshall wrote. READ

SENATE REPUBLICANS CONFRONT PAROLE POLICY Senate Republicans are calling for the immediate restriction of a Biden administration parole policy that has reportedly allowed over a million migrants to flood into the country. “This open-borders Biden policy has overwhelmed the social safety net all across the country and diverted public resources away from needy, low-income Americans,” said former Congressman Tim Huelskamp, Ph.D., senior advisor to CatholicVote. READ

LOOPcast With Trump on the ticket, LOOPcast explores your reactions to the CatholicVote endorsement. SCOTUS leaves Texas to the coyotes, and globalists want your kids to know human rights are fake. Are MMA fighters the last authentic men in America? Say it ain’t so on this week’s episode of LOOPcast. LISTEN

NICHOLAS SANDMANN WILL NOT BACK DOWN Five years after the life-changing day when he encountered activist Nathan Phillips and became the target of a national frenzy, Nicholas Sandmann published an article explaining why he still refuses to capitulate to the massive media platforms that slandered him. “My Catholic faith has been present from the beginning of all that happened to me.” READ

SIX PRO-LIFERS FACE TRIAL UNDER BIDEN ADMIN The trial of six pro-life advocates is set to begin this week in Tennessee after the Biden Justice Department charged them under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act. If convicted, the six defendants could each face up to 11 years in federal prison and up to $250,000 in fines. READ

STOP SPEAKING CHRISTIANESE We are called to evangelize like St. Paul, and many of us would say we know the “right thing” to say in situations with non-Christians. “Christ died for you… God loves you… Jesus conquered sin and death… Confess your sins… Be reborn in baptism…” But this is Christianese. People outside the Church don’t know what these words mean. They’ve heard it all a million times and consider it cliché and canned. Colossians 4 has great advice for this situation – we must learn the art of communicating to “outsiders.” READ

CATHOLIC 101 Mother Teresa once said the greatest disease in the West is loneliness, to be without a friend or someone who really loves you. However, there is a cure of this disease and a friend waiting in the wings! The idea of “befriending the Holy Spirit” might sound abstract, but it’s something we can quite naturally knit into the fabric of our day! READ

SAINT OF THE DAY Today we celebrate the conversion of St. Paul, originally named Saul. He grew up as a devout Jew and Roman citizen and participated in the first persecution of Christians. On the road to Damascus, Saul was blinded and called by Christ to convert. Once his eyesight was restored, Saul changed his name to Paul and spent the rest of his life proclaiming the Good News, becoming the “Apostle to the Gentiles.” READ

DAILY PSALM “Go out to all the world and tell the Good News.” (Mark 16:15) READ

DAILY READINGS Today's Mass readings READ

BEAUTY Rose Church reflects on two masterworks by the Italian artist Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio: “The Conversion of St. Paul” and “The Conversion on the Way to Damascus.” SHARE