MALIBU, CA — In direct competition with President Trump’s new TrumpRx website, Hunter Biden announced the launch of HunterRx, a brand new low-price pharmacy he runs out of the back of his van.
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While the Summer Olympics are often lauded for their impressive displays of elite athletic prowess, the Winter Olympics are often (rightfully or wrongfully) seen as the "gay" version of the Olympic Games. Upon investigation, however, there may be a few not-quite-as-gay events.
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Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta) and Gadwall (Mareca strepera) in misty Taudaha Lake during winter, near Kathmandu, Nepal.
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The Holy Father accepted the resignation of Archbishop Samuel Aquila, the Holy See announced on Feb. 7.
Amid the freezing temperatures hitting many parts of the U.S., one Knights of Columbus council is providing warmth to children in need through an initiative called “Hoodies from Heaven.”
President Trump sparred with reporters during a press gaggle aboard Air Force One en route to Mar-a-Lago on Friday evening.
The post Trump Zings Washington Post Reporter During Press Gaggle Aboard Air Force One (VIDEO) appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
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In a message for the Church’s Feb. 8 World Day of Prayer and Awareness against Human Trafficking, the pope warns that conflict and inequality fuel exploitation.
Things might be about to get very serious for Michigan’s Democrat Rep.
The post Report From Watchdog Group Claims Rep. Rashida Tlaib Has Ties to Terrorist-Linked Organizations, Urges Investigation appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
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An American Bald Eagle, the symbol of our country, was recently killed by a ‘green energy’ wind turbine in Minnesota.
The post OUTRAGE: American Bald Eagle Killed in Minnesota by ‘Clean Energy’ Wind Turbine – The Details Are Horrific appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
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Addressing his new flock directly, Hicks said “I desire to follow the heart of Christ, to be a good shepherd. I come to walk with you, to serve you, and to proclaim Jesus Christ to you.”
At Araksa Tea Garden in Northern Thailand, guests are invited to learn the precise skill of tea-making in the most stunning of settings.
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Glorious Saint Joseph,
pattern of all who are devoted to toil,
obtain for me the grace to toil in the spirit of penance,
in order thereby to atone for my many sins;
to toil conscientiously,
putting devotion to duty before my own inclinations;
to labour with thankfulness and joy,
deeming it an honour to employ and to develop,
by my labour, the gifts that I have received from Almighty God;
to work with order, peace, moderation, and patience,
without ever shrinking …
The U.S. government announced it will send a new shipment of humanitarian aid to Cuba worth $6 million, which will be delivered directly to the population through the Catholic Church.
A reading from the First Bok of Kings
1 Kings 3:4-13
Solomon went to Gibeon to sacrifice there,
because that was the most renowned high place.
Upon its altar Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings.
In Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream at night.
God said, “Ask something of me and I will give it to you.”
Solomon answered:
“You have shown great favor to your servant, my father David,
because he behaved faithfully toward you,
with justice and an upright heart;
and you have continued this great favor toward him, even today,
seating a son of his on his throne.
O LORD, my God, you have made me, your servant,
king to succeed my father David;
but I am a mere youth, not knowing at all how to act.
I serve you in the midst of the people whom you have chosen,
a people so vast that it cannot be numbered or counted.
Give your servant, therefore, an understanding heart
to judge your people and to distinguish right from wrong.
For who is able to govern this vast people of yours?”
The LORD was pleased that Solomon made this request.
So God said to him: “Because you have asked for this–
not for a long life for yourself,
nor for riches, nor for the life of your enemies,
but for understanding so that you may know what is right–
I do as you requested.
I give you a heart so wise and understanding
that there has never been anyone like you up to now,
and after you there will come no one to equal you.
In addition, I give you what you have not asked for,
such riches and glory that among kings there is not your like.”
From the Gospel according to Mark
6:30-34
The Apostles gathered together with Jesus
and reported all they had done and taught.
He said to them,
“Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.”
People were coming and going in great numbers,
and they had no opportunity even to eat.
So they went off in the boat by themselves to a deserted place.
People saw them leaving and many came to know about it.
They hastened there on foot from all the towns
and arrived at the place before them.
When Jesus disembarked and saw the vast crowd,
his heart was moved with pity for them,
for they were like sheep without a shepherd;
and he began to teach them many things.
The rest proposed by Jesus is not an escape from the world, a retreat into a merely personal well-being. On the contrary, when he is confronted with the aimless people, he feels compassion. We thus learn from the Gospel that these two realities — rest and compassion — are linked: only if we learn how to rest can we have compassion. Indeed, it is possible to have a compassionate gaze that understands the needs of others, only if our heart is not consumed by the anxiety of doing, if we know how to stop and how to receive God’s grace, in the silence of adoration.
Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, we can ask ourselves: do I know how to pause throughout my day? Am I capable of taking a moment to be with myself and with the Lord, or am I always in a hurry, in a rush to get things done? Can we find some kind of “inner desert” in the midst of the din and activities of each day? (Pope Francis, Angelus, 21 July 2024)
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NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory captured this image of a solar flare — seen as the bright flash toward the upper middle — on Feb. 4, 2026. The image shows a subset of extreme ultraviolet light that highlights the extremely hot material in flares and which is colorized in blue and red.
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New York’s new archbishop ‘grounded’ by love of God, the poor and the people he serves #Catholic – 
CHICAGO (OSV News) — As a young man discerning a call to the priesthood in the late 1980s, Ronald Hicks took a year off from the seminary with the goal of learning Spanish.
He volunteered in an orphanage, Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos (“Our Little Brothers”) in Central Mexico, and from that moment on, “his connection to the poor and his priestly vocation grew together,” according to the Catholic Extension Society.
“He reentered the seminary and was ordained a priest in 1994, recalling that he couldn’t stop smiling that day.”
Chicago-based Catholic Extension posted a profile on now-Archbishop Hicks on its website. The prelate joined the organization’s board of governors in 2022 at the invitation of its president, Father Jack Wall. He has helped it build up the Church’s presence among the poor and in the poorest regions of the country — which has been Catholic Extension’s mission since its founding in 1905.
The profile urged the faithful to get to know the 58-year-old man appointed by Pope Leo XIV to lead 2.5 million Catholics as the new shepherd of the Archdiocese of New York, succeeding Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan.
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“New Yorkers will appreciate that he is driven by a sense of duty that fuels his remarkable work ethic,” it said. “He remains grounded by his tight-knit family, including his brother, his parents — both still living — and his extended family. All of them have stayed very connected to his ministry over the years.”
Of special note, the future archbishop and the future pope grew up in neighboring suburbs on Chicago’s South Side.
At a news conference Dec. 18, the day his appointment was announced, the former bishop of Joliet, Illinois, and former auxiliary of Chicago said he was raised “in the South suburbs of Chicago and South Holland,” and Pope Leo was raised in the neighboring suburb of Dolton. Their houses “were literally 14 blocks away from each other,” Archbishop Hicks added.
After his ordination as a priest for the Archdiocese of Chicago, then-Father Hicks served in parishes throughout the archdiocese. Later, he assisted in the archdiocese’s education of seminarians, eventually becoming dean of formation at Mundelein Seminary.
“One of things he modeled to the seminarians was that a diocesan priest’s vocation is formed not only in a book or in a classroom, but also by the people he serves and grows to love,” Catholic Extension said in its profile.
“Perhaps that is why in between stints at Mundelein he went back to Latin America for five years to reunite with the community that helped forge his priestly vocation,” it added.
In July 2005, with permission from Cardinal Francis E. George, then archbishop of Chicago, Archbishop Hicks moved from Chicago to El Salvador to begin a five-year term as regional director of Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos, or NPH, in Central America.
NPH is a home dedicated to caring for more than 3,400 orphaned and abandoned children in nine Latin American and Caribbean countries.
“His time in El Salvador was an influential period,” Catholic Extension said. When he became a bishop in 2018, ordained as a Chicago auxiliary, it noted, he included a sprig of rosemary in the middle of his coat of arms in homage to El Salvador’s St. Óscar Romero, whose last name translates into English as “rosemary.”
The archbishop of San Salvador, St. Romero, “was martyred in 1980 for his defense of the voiceless.”
The rosemary “signals that Hicks, too, wants to be a bishop that prioritizes the least of God’s people, no matter the importance of his day-to-day duties,” Catholic Extension said.
In a 2022 interview with reporter Rhina Guidos of Catholic News Service, then-Bishop Hicks said that anytime people visited him in El Salvador, he would take them to the “holy sites” — what he calls the places where priests, religious men or women, and laity were brutalized before and during the country’s civil war from 1980 to 1992.
During that time, he came to know of the life of St. Romero, who “quickly became one of my heroes,” and of the life of the country, particularly for the poor, during the war, he said.
“If I learned any lessons, it was mostly to not lose hope, to have faith, to never give up and to realize through everything, through the good and the bad, that we are not abandoned: God is with us,” he told CNS.
The bishop spoke to CNS in El Salvador. He was there for the beatifications that January of four martyrs: Franciscan Father Cosme Spessotto; Jesuit Father Rutilio Grande, who was martyred along with Manuel Solórzano, a sacristan in his 70s; and Nelson Rutilio Lemus, a boy in his teens.
“If we are truly followers of Jesus, then their beatification gives us a direct example of what it looks like to love without counting the costs,” he said.
He “came back from El Salvador an even stronger priest,” Catholic Extension’s profile said.
The day before his Feb. 6 installation, Archbishop Hicks told reporters, “I left my heart there in Central America.”
The archbishop “speaks Spanish effortlessly when in Latino parishes and out in the community,” said Catholic Extension, which also noted that he “is a masterful preacher, with homilies that reflect his relatability as a human being and man of faith.”
When he returned to Chicago from El Salvador, Cardinal George appointed him dean of formation at Mundelein.
Four years later, now-Cardinal Blase J. Cupich, Cardinal George’s successor, named him vicar general. In September 2018, the cardinal ordained him as an auxiliary bishop for the archdiocese. In September 2020, then-Bishop Hicks was installed to head the Diocese of Joliet, where he has served more than half a million Catholics.
“But his vocation as bishop was never separated from his foundational belief that a priest is shaped by his people,” Catholic Extension said.
With his Feb. 6 installation, “he steps into a massive new role leading 2.5 million Catholics in New York,” but “he will be a man grounded by his love of God, the poor and the people he serves,” it said.
– CHICAGO (OSV News) — As a young man discerning a call to the priesthood in the late 1980s, Ronald Hicks took a year off from the seminary with the goal of learning Spanish. He volunteered in an orphanage, Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos (“Our Little Brothers”) in Central Mexico, and from that moment on, “his connection to the poor and his priestly vocation grew together,” according to the Catholic Extension Society. “He reentered the seminary and was ordained a priest in 1994, recalling that he couldn’t stop smiling that day.” Chicago-based Catholic Extension posted a profile on now-Archbishop Hicks on its website.
A newly discovered comet has astronomers excited, with the potential to be a spectacular sight in early April. C/2026 A1 (MAPS) was spotted by a team of four amateur astronomers with a remotely operated telescope in the Atacama desert on January 13. It quickly became apparent the newly discovered object was a member of a group calledContinue reading “A new comet was just discovered. Will it be visible in broad daylight?”
The post A new comet was just discovered. Will it be visible in broad daylight? appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.
Read More![‘My Catholic faith guides me’: HHS assistant secretary speaks on policy, saints #Catholic Adm. Brian Christine, assistant secretary for health at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and a practicing Catholic, talked about the state of the pro-life movement as well as his own faith in an interview on “EWTN Pro-Life Weekly” on Wednesday.Christine, a practicing Catholic, said the HHS values religious freedom.“We are not going to allow health care practitioners to be disparaged or be discriminated against because of their faith,” he told host Abigail Galvan. “We faithful don’t have to check our faith at the door to practice medicine or science.”For his part, Christine said his faith and the example of the saints guides him.“My Catholic faith guides me,” he said. “Every decision that I make — I don’t set my faith aside at the door.”When asked if he had a particular devotion, Christine said he takes inspiration from many saints.“I don’t have a patron saint — I have a whole cloud of witnesses,” he said. “I have a whole cloud of saints because I need them. I’m really devoted to St. Peter the Apostle — I’ve made so many mistakes in my life. I’ve fallen so many times. But you get back up and St. Peter could deny the Lord, and yet there he is, the rock of the Church, the first pontiff, the first Holy Father.”“St. Thomas More, who really stood strong to serve in government and yet ultimately did what was right, and he paid the ultimate price,” Christine said.Christine said he also looks to a more recent blessed, Blessed Clemens August Graf von Galen, the archbishop of Münster in Germany in the 1930s and 1940s, and how he spoke out against euthanasia in his time.“He was known as the Lion of Münster because [of] his homilies against the Nazi T4 program, which was the euthanasia of those the Nazis considered undesirable for life or unworthy of life,” Christine said. “He preached such strong homilies against the T4 program that the Nazis ultimately stopped that program.”Abortion pillChemical abortions make up nearly two-thirds of U.S. abortions and are being mailed across state lines, even to states where unborn children are protected throughout pregnancy. Due to easy access to the abortion drug, mifepristone, abortion rates are climbing, making it a key issue in the pro-life movement.But action against chemical abortions has stalled in the Trump administration, which promised an investigation into the safety concerns for women surrounding the abortion pills.
Adm. Brian Christine, a practicing Catholic who serves as the assistant secretary for health at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, speaks with Abigail Galvan on “EWTN Pro-Life Weekly” on Feb. 4, 2026. | Credit: “EWTN Pro-Life Weekly” screenshot
When asked about this, Christine said that “data is being collected” and a review is “ongoing,” saying “the commissioner of the FDA [Food and Drug Administration], Dr. Marty Makary, has certainly committed to doing a review of the safety of mifepristone.”“That review is ongoing because we want to make sure we have the best data about the potential harm of mifepristone so that women can make truly informed-consent decisions,” Christine continued. “If women are considering using that drug, they need to understand what the implications may be.”Compassionate mental health careFor the HHS, “compassionate mental health care” for minors suffering from gender dysphoria “is incredibly important to the country,” Christine said.“It’s incredibly important to those most vulnerable, these minors who suffer from gender dysphoria, because gender dysphoria is a real condition, a mental health condition,” Christine said.Referring to an HHS study, Christine said that “using castrating chemicals — that is not the way to treat these vulnerable children.”“If you use the mental health support, the vast majority of these children are going to be very happy in their own skin,” he continued. “We don’t need to be cutting off body parts.”“We don’t need to be giving them chemicals that are going to cause irreversible harm for the rest of their life,” Christine said. “We have been very strong about this in the Trump administration. We have been led by [HHS] Secretary [Robert] Kennedy, and we’re never going to back away from these things.”](https://unitedyam.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/my-catholic-faith-guides-me-hhs-assistant-secretary-speaks-on-policy-saints-catholic-adm-brian-christine-assistant-secretary-for-health-at-the-department-of-health-and-human-ser-scaled.png)
Adm. Brian Christine, a practicing Catholic, talked about the state of the pro-life movement and how his faith guides him.
TUCSON, AZ — Local mom Ashley Marsten announced that she was glad to see the fruit she bought at the store earlier this week was finally ripe and ready to eat, and… oh wait… it’s rotten.
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MILAN — The most prestigious athletic event on the world stage issued a clear political statement this week, as the Winter Olympics announced it would be protesting U.S. President Donald Trump’s immigration policies by removing all ice from the skating rinks.
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Sunset over the ice of Brofjorden in Sandvik, Brastad, Lysekil Municipality, Sweden
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Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass is accused of making changes to a report by the LAFD following last year’s wildfires because she allegedly wanted to lessen the city’s liability over their response to the disaster.
The post Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass Accused of Altering LAFD Report on Wildfires to Lessen City’s Liability appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
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Democrats are completely opposed to voter ID, even though polling now shows it is supported by a majority of Americans of all races.
The post Greg Gutfeld Points Out Massive Contradiction for Democrats Who Oppose Voter ID (VIDEO) appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
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New Yorkers have been blasting Mayor Zohran Mamdani for days now as trash piles up and snow removal moves at a snail’s pace.
The post Mayor Mamdani Blasted as Tens of Thousands of New Yorkers Still Have No Heat While Garbage Piles Up Around City appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
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Most Holy and Adorable Trinity, one God in three Persons, I firmly believe that You are here present; I adore You with the most profound humility; I praise You and give You thanks with all my heart for the favors You have bestowed on me. Your Goodness has brought me safely to the beginning of this day. Behold, O Lord, I offer You my whole being and in particular all my thoughts, words and actions, together with such crosses and contradictions as I may meet with in the course of this day. Give …
Read MoreA reading from the Book of Sirach
47:2-11
Like the choice fat of the sacred offerings,
so was David in Israel.
He made sport of lions as though they were kids,
and of bears, like lambs of the flock.
As a youth he slew the giant
and wiped out the people’s disgrace,
When his hand let fly the slingstone
that crushed the pride of Goliath.
Since he called upon the Most High God,
who gave strength to his right arm
To defeat the skilled warrior
and raise up the might of his people,
Therefore the women sang his praises,
and ascribed to him tens of thousands
and praised him when they blessed the Lord.
When he assumed the royal crown, he battled
and subdued the enemy on every side.
He destroyed the hostile Philistines
and shattered their power till our own day.
With his every deed he offered thanks
to God Most High, in words of praise.
With his whole being he loved his Maker
and daily had his praises sung;
He set singers before the altar and by their voices
he made sweet melodies,
He added beauty to the feasts
and solemnized the seasons of each year
So that when the Holy Name was praised,
before daybreak the sanctuary would resound.
The Lord forgave him his sins
and exalted his strength forever;
He conferred on him the rights of royalty
and established his throne in Israel.
From the Gospel according to Mark
6:14-29
King Herod heard about Jesus, for his fame had become widespread,
and people were saying,
“John the Baptist has been raised from the dead;
that is why mighty powers are at work in him.”
Others were saying, “He is Elijah”;
still others, “He is a prophet like any of the prophets.”
But when Herod learned of it, he said,
“It is John whom I beheaded. He has been raised up.”
Herod was the one who had John arrested and bound in prison
on account of Herodias,
the wife of his brother Philip, whom he had married.
John had said to Herod,
“It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.”
Herodias harbored a grudge against him
and wanted to kill him but was unable to do so.
Herod feared John, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man,
and kept him in custody.
When he heard him speak he was very much perplexed,
yet he liked to listen to him.
Herodias had an opportunity one day when Herod, on his birthday,
gave a banquet for his courtiers, his military officers,
and the leading men of Galilee.
His own daughter came in and performed a dance
that delighted Herod and his guests.
The king said to the girl,
“Ask of me whatever you wish and I will grant it to you.”
He even swore many things to her,
“I will grant you whatever you ask of me,
even to half of my kingdom.”
She went out and said to her mother,
“What shall I ask for?”
Her mother replied, “The head of John the Baptist.”
The girl hurried back to the king’s presence and made her request,
“I want you to give me at once on a platter
the head of John the Baptist.”
The king was deeply distressed,
but because of his oaths and the guests
he did not wish to break his word to her.
So he promptly dispatched an executioner
with orders to bring back his head.
He went off and beheaded him in the prison.
He brought in the head on a platter
and gave it to the girl.
The girl in turn gave it to her mother.
When his disciples heard about it,
they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.
The martyrdom of St John the Baptist reminds us too, Christians of this time, that with love for Christ, for his words and for the Truth, we cannot stoop to compromises. The Truth is Truth; there are no compromises. Christian life demands, so to speak, the “martyrdom” of daily fidelity to the Gospel, the courage, that is, to let Christ grow within us and let him be the One who guides our thought and our actions. However, this can happen in our life only if we have a solid relationship with God. Prayer is not time wasted, it does not take away time from our activities, even apostolic activities, but exactly the opposite is true: only if we are able to have a faithful, constant and trusting life of prayer will God himself give us the ability and strength to live happily and serenely, to surmount difficulties and to witness courageously to him. St John the Baptist, intercede for us, that we may be ever able to preserve the primacy of God in our life. (Benedict XVI, General Audience, 29 August 2012)
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On May 17, an event on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., will rededicate the United States as “one nation under God,” Trump announced at the National Prayer Breakfast.
Linking Banff and Jasper in the Canadian Rockies, the Icefields Parkway makes for an unforgettable winter drive.
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Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel stated that his government is willing to engage in dialogue with the United States, but without pressure and without regime change.
All living creatures are affected by the cycles of celestial objects. Humans have always been locked into the rhythms of sunrise and sunset, the phases of the Moon, and the seasons. We left some of this behind by lighting the night and becoming urbanized. But astronomical clocks captured those rhythms by displaying the movements ofContinue reading “Tour Europe’s great celestial clocks”
The post Tour Europe’s great celestial clocks appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.
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This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image of NGC 7722, a lenticular galaxy located about 187 million light-years away, features concentric rings of dust and gas that appear to swirl around its bright nucleus.
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Beyond The Beacon Ep. 105: Priest, beggar, hero: Inside the world of Father Al and the Sisters of Mary #Catholic – 
Biographer Kevin Wells discusses “one of the greatest stories in the Church today,” the life and work of “Father Al” and the Sisters of Mary. He shares insights from his book, “Priest and Beggar: The Heroic Life of Venerable Aloysius Schwartz.” Hosted by the Diocese of Paterson’s Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney and Communications Director Jai Agnish.
Venerable Aloysius Philip Schwartz was a devoted Catholic priest known for his unwavering commitment to serving the poor. He founded the Sisters of Mary congregation and the World Villages for Children, focusing on providing education, shelter, and care for destitute children worldwide. Through his tireless efforts, Father Schwartz transformed countless lives, establishing Boystown and Girlstown programs that have helped over 170,000 children. His selfless work continues to inspire, and he was declared “Venerable” by Pope Francis in 2015.
Wells also details the special pilgrimage to Mexico with Bishop Sweeney in September to Our Lady of Guadalupe, and to spend some time with the Sisters of Mary at Girlstown.
Listen to the episode here, or on any major podcast platform, or watch it on Bishop Sweeney’s YouTube channel.
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– Biographer Kevin Wells discusses “one of the greatest stories in the Church today,” the life and work of “Father Al” and the Sisters of Mary. He shares insights from his book, “Priest and Beggar: The Heroic Life of Venerable Aloysius Schwartz.” Hosted by the Diocese of Paterson’s Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney and Communications Director Jai Agnish. Venerable Aloysius Philip Schwartz was a devoted Catholic priest known for his unwavering commitment to serving the poor. He founded the Sisters of Mary congregation and the World Villages for Children, focusing on providing education, shelter, and care for destitute children worldwide. Through his
Registration now open for NJCC conference on mental health crisis #Catholic – 
The New Jersey Catholic Conference, in partnership with New Jersey’s Catholic Dioceses, Catholic Charities agencies, and Catholic Healthcare Partnership of New Jersey, will host an informative one-day mental health conference on Saturday, May 2, which is aimed to increase awareness and understanding of the escalating crisis in mental illness affecting the U.S. and across the world.
The conference, titled “From Isolation to Belonging, Mental Health and the Catholic Church,” will feature leading Catholic voices in the mental health arena, including keynote speaker Bishop John P. Dolan of the Diocese of Phoenix, founder of the diocesan Office of Mental Health Ministry which became the first of its kind in the U.S.
The event will take place at the St. John Neumann Pastoral Center in Piscataway, N.J., and seeks to educate attendees on the scope of the mental health crisis, reduce stigma surrounding mental illness, and offer resources for sufferers and their families.
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With 1 in 10 adults in the U.S. and over 1 billion people worldwide affected by mental health issues according to the World Health Organization, everyone from clergy to ministerial volunteers to educators and lay faithful are encouraged to attend this event. One in four adults say they would seek help from the clergy first in the instance of mental health struggles, underscoring the significant role the Church can play in supporting victims and providing resources to direct them and their families.
The keynote address by Bishop Dolan will be followed by breakout sessions with speakers including: Beth Hlabse, program director, Notre Dame Fiat Program on Faith & Mental Health; Ben Wortham, vice president of Behavioral Health Integration, Catholic Charities USA; and Deacon Ed Shoener, founder, International Association of Catholic Mental Health Ministers.
Cardinal Joseph Tobin, C.Ss.R., Archdiocese of Newark, will serve as the principal celebrant and homilist for Mass.
The conference is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. Saturday, May 2. Registration is $40 and space is limited to the first 300 people. Go to njconf.com to register.
– The New Jersey Catholic Conference, in partnership with New Jersey’s Catholic Dioceses, Catholic Charities agencies, and Catholic Healthcare Partnership of New Jersey, will host an informative one-day mental health conference on Saturday, May 2, which is aimed to increase awareness and understanding of the escalating crisis in mental illness affecting the U.S. and across the world. The conference, titled “From Isolation to Belonging, Mental Health and the Catholic Church,” will feature leading Catholic voices in the mental health arena, including keynote speaker Bishop John P. Dolan of the Diocese of Phoenix, founder of the diocesan Office of Mental Health Ministry
![In Little Falls, thankful Bishop salutes knights ‘fidelity, support’ #Catholic - Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney thanked the Knights of Columbus Paterson Federation for their “generosity, fidelity, and support” to the Church of Paterson in New Jersey when he visited the federation’s meeting at Our Lady of the Holy Angels Parish in Little Falls, N.J., on Jan. 30.
Among those in attendance were representatives of 35 to 40 knights councils of the 55 in the Paterson Diocese and N.J. State Knights’ officers. Father Steven Shadwell, chaplain of the Paterson knights’ federation and pastor of Our Lady of the Magnificat Parish in Kinnelon, N.J., and Msgr. T. Mark Condon, diocesan vicar general and moderator of the Curia and Holy Angels’ pastor, also attended the event.
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“The gathering was a unique opportunity for representatives of the various councils in the diocese to build relationships with Bishop Sweeney,” said James Sweeney, state deputy of the N.J. State Council of the Knights of Columbus. A member of the Father Joseph A. Cassidy Council 6100 associated with St. Jude Parish in the Budd Lake neighborhood of Mount Olive Township, N.J., he represents the Paterson Diocese.
In his address, Bishop Sweeney thanked the knights for “all you do for our Church here in Paterson.” He said the knights’ work assists in so many different areas, including families, Catholic schools, vocations, the priesthood, and Respect for Life.
“When you do little things with great love, you respond to God day by day, each according to your own vocation, my brother knights, in all you do. You each bring a gift to the altar, and Jesus unites that gift and multiples it,” Bishop Sweeney told the knights.
During the meeting, representatives of each knights’ council also presented Bishop Sweeney with a financial gift. The Fourth Degree Color Corps Honor Guard for the bishop also participated in the event.
BEACON PHOTOS | JOE GIGLI
[See image gallery at beaconnj.org]](https://unitedyam.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/in-little-falls-thankful-bishop-salutes-knights-fidelity-support-catholic-bishop-kevin-j-sweeney-thanked-the-knights-of-columbus-paterson-federation-for-their-generosi.jpg)
In Little Falls, thankful Bishop salutes knights ‘fidelity, support’ #Catholic – 
Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney thanked the Knights of Columbus Paterson Federation for their “generosity, fidelity, and support” to the Church of Paterson in New Jersey when he visited the federation’s meeting at Our Lady of the Holy Angels Parish in Little Falls, N.J., on Jan. 30.
Among those in attendance were representatives of 35 to 40 knights councils of the 55 in the Paterson Diocese and N.J. State Knights’ officers. Father Steven Shadwell, chaplain of the Paterson knights’ federation and pastor of Our Lady of the Magnificat Parish in Kinnelon, N.J., and Msgr. T. Mark Condon, diocesan vicar general and moderator of the Curia and Holy Angels’ pastor, also attended the event.
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“The gathering was a unique opportunity for representatives of the various councils in the diocese to build relationships with Bishop Sweeney,” said James Sweeney, state deputy of the N.J. State Council of the Knights of Columbus. A member of the Father Joseph A. Cassidy Council 6100 associated with St. Jude Parish in the Budd Lake neighborhood of Mount Olive Township, N.J., he represents the Paterson Diocese.
In his address, Bishop Sweeney thanked the knights for “all you do for our Church here in Paterson.” He said the knights’ work assists in so many different areas, including families, Catholic schools, vocations, the priesthood, and Respect for Life.
“When you do little things with great love, you respond to God day by day, each according to your own vocation, my brother knights, in all you do. You each bring a gift to the altar, and Jesus unites that gift and multiples it,” Bishop Sweeney told the knights.
During the meeting, representatives of each knights’ council also presented Bishop Sweeney with a financial gift. The Fourth Degree Color Corps Honor Guard for the bishop also participated in the event.
BEACON PHOTOS | JOE GIGLI
– Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney thanked the Knights of Columbus Paterson Federation for their “generosity, fidelity, and support” to the Church of Paterson in New Jersey when he visited the federation’s meeting at Our Lady of the Holy Angels Parish in Little Falls, N.J., on Jan. 30. Among those in attendance were representatives of 35 to 40 knights councils of the 55 in the Paterson Diocese and N.J. State Knights’ officers. Father Steven Shadwell, chaplain of the Paterson knights’ federation and pastor of Our Lady of the Magnificat Parish in Kinnelon, N.J., and Msgr. T. Mark Condon, diocesan vicar general and
![Paterson Mass celebrates and thanks members in consecrated life #Catholic - On Jan. 31, Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney led the Paterson Diocese in New Jersey in joining the Universal Church in celebrating the 30th World Day of Prayer for Consecrated Life during a Mass and lunch at St. Gerard Majella Church in Paterson, N.J.
That morning, 124 religious sisters, priests, brothers, and consecrated virgins from 13 communities in the diocese attended the Mass—four diocesan priests, including Msgr. George Hundt, pastor of St. Gerard’s and Our Lady of Pompei, also in Paterson, concelebrated the liturgy with Bishop Sweeney. The Mass was celebrated on the Feast of St. John Bosco, founder of the Salesian priests, brothers, sisters, and cooperators.
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In his homily during the Mass, Bishop Sweeney recognized the gift of the Salesian charism. He expressed his deep gratitude for all the charisms of the consecrated religious in the diocese, emphasizing unity and fruitfulness, results of attentiveness to the Spirit and the needs of society.
At the luncheon after the Mass, Sister Eleanor Goekler of the Missionary Sisters of the Immaculate Conception of the Mother of God (SMIC), Brother Teresiano Madrigal of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal (CFR) and Sister Patrice Owens of the Sisters of Christian Charity each shared briefly about their charism and apostolic ministries in immigration support, social justice advocacy, and care for the homeless and addicted.
On social media, Bishop Sweeney posted, “Thanks to [Salesian] Sr. Theresa Lee, our Chancellor and Diocesan Delegate for Religious, and all who made it a prayerful and joyful gathering. Let us pray for all women and men living a Vocation to Consecrated Life, especially those serving in our Diocese & let us continue praying for an increase in Vocations to the Consecrated/Religious Life.”
BEACON PHOTOS | JOE GIGLI
[See image gallery at beaconnj.org]](https://unitedyam.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/paterson-mass-celebrates-and-thanks-members-in-consecrated-life-catholic-on-jan-31-bishop-kevin-j-sweeney-led-the-paterson-diocese-in-new-jersey-in-joining-the-universal-church-in-celebrating-th.jpg)
Paterson Mass celebrates and thanks members in consecrated life #Catholic – 
On Jan. 31, Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney led the Paterson Diocese in New Jersey in joining the Universal Church in celebrating the 30th World Day of Prayer for Consecrated Life during a Mass and lunch at St. Gerard Majella Church in Paterson, N.J.
That morning, 124 religious sisters, priests, brothers, and consecrated virgins from 13 communities in the diocese attended the Mass—four diocesan priests, including Msgr. George Hundt, pastor of St. Gerard’s and Our Lady of Pompei, also in Paterson, concelebrated the liturgy with Bishop Sweeney. The Mass was celebrated on the Feast of St. John Bosco, founder of the Salesian priests, brothers, sisters, and cooperators.
Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
In his homily during the Mass, Bishop Sweeney recognized the gift of the Salesian charism. He expressed his deep gratitude for all the charisms of the consecrated religious in the diocese, emphasizing unity and fruitfulness, results of attentiveness to the Spirit and the needs of society.
At the luncheon after the Mass, Sister Eleanor Goekler of the Missionary Sisters of the Immaculate Conception of the Mother of God (SMIC), Brother Teresiano Madrigal of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal (CFR) and Sister Patrice Owens of the Sisters of Christian Charity each shared briefly about their charism and apostolic ministries in immigration support, social justice advocacy, and care for the homeless and addicted.
On social media, Bishop Sweeney posted, “Thanks to [Salesian] Sr. Theresa Lee, our Chancellor and Diocesan Delegate for Religious, and all who made it a prayerful and joyful gathering. Let us pray for all women and men living a Vocation to Consecrated Life, especially those serving in our Diocese & let us continue praying for an increase in Vocations to the Consecrated/Religious Life.”
BEACON PHOTOS | JOE GIGLI
– On Jan. 31, Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney led the Paterson Diocese in New Jersey in joining the Universal Church in celebrating the 30th World Day of Prayer for Consecrated Life during a Mass and lunch at St. Gerard Majella Church in Paterson, N.J. That morning, 124 religious sisters, priests, brothers, and consecrated virgins from 13 communities in the diocese attended the Mass—four diocesan priests, including Msgr. George Hundt, pastor of St. Gerard’s and Our Lady of Pompei, also in Paterson, concelebrated the liturgy with Bishop Sweeney. The Mass was celebrated on the Feast of St. John Bosco, founder of the
![Washington Township parish ministry cares for those in need #Catholic - Missy and her family were running a business that was doing so well that they had moved to Morris County in New Jersey. Then, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, the business retained its main residential clients, but lost almost all of its commercial clients.
“Everything was just changing so fast. I did not handle it mentally, emotionally or spiritually well. I did not have faith. I was still in our world, and I panicked,” Missy, who wished to remain anonymous, said.
Last year, Missy finally shared her struggles and received help from the Angels of the Mountain ministry of Our Lady of the Mountain (OLM) Parish in the Long Valley neighborhood of Washington Township, N.J. Carol Novrit, an OLM parishioner, founded and runs the outreach.
Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
“She [Novrit] was empathetic to everything. She helped me by first coming up with a plan, and then we stabilized. The biggest thing was that she helped with gift cards for food,” Missy said. “When you have a home and a car, you do not ever think that you are going to be in a position to need something. Not only did the ministry help us to get back on our feet, figuring things out, but it helped me to feel like I had value again by finally being able to help other people, too.”
Under the banner of “Living the Gospel — Neighbor Helping Neighbor,” the year-old ministry assists people who are in need by offering support services such as referrals and advocacy for community services, friendship, budgeting, housing-related issues, health-related referrals, food, employment assistance, and help with completing applications. All visits, including to clients’ homes, and interactions are managed with respect, dignity, confidentiality, and Catholic spiritual reverence.
Missy was available to return the help her family received by helping a woman clean her apartment and, eventually, became a companion to her.
Novrit once ran the Human Services Department in Morris County, then proceeded to Sussex County, where she is now retired as the administrator of Health and Human Services. She most enjoyed connecting people with services.
People would learn about Novrit’s background and approach her at OLM when they had needs, and she would help them. Then somebody said to her, “You have to start a ministry.” She did so last January, and in 2025, the ministry received the Vivere Christus Award from the Paterson Diocese in New Jersey for its efforts.
“Father Marcin [Michałowski, OLM’s pastor], our parishioners, and the Knights of Columbus have been wonderful,” Novrit said. “Recently, they helped with snow shoveling and volunteered to take a parishioner to Church weekly. When we ask for help, they always say, ‘Yes.’”
Father Michałowski said, “We are happy that we can help those who are in need — our parishioners, and sometimes non-parishioners. Some people say something, and some people don’t say anything, so we try to reach out to those who come to us and also those who do not come to us. The main focus is, of course, to look at our parishioners, but if we can go beyond the walls of the parish, then we try to do that as well.”
For information about the Angels of the Mountain ministry, call Carol Novrit at 908-797-0813.](https://unitedyam.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/washington-township-parish-ministry-cares-for-those-in-need-catholic-missy-and-her-family-were-running-a-business-that-was-doing-so-well-that-they-had-moved-to-morris-county-in-new-jersey-then-wh.jpg)
Washington Township parish ministry cares for those in need #Catholic – 
Missy and her family were running a business that was doing so well that they had moved to Morris County in New Jersey. Then, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, the business retained its main residential clients, but lost almost all of its commercial clients.
“Everything was just changing so fast. I did not handle it mentally, emotionally or spiritually well. I did not have faith. I was still in our world, and I panicked,” Missy, who wished to remain anonymous, said.
Last year, Missy finally shared her struggles and received help from the Angels of the Mountain ministry of Our Lady of the Mountain (OLM) Parish in the Long Valley neighborhood of Washington Township, N.J. Carol Novrit, an OLM parishioner, founded and runs the outreach.
Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
“She [Novrit] was empathetic to everything. She helped me by first coming up with a plan, and then we stabilized. The biggest thing was that she helped with gift cards for food,” Missy said. “When you have a home and a car, you do not ever think that you are going to be in a position to need something. Not only did the ministry help us to get back on our feet, figuring things out, but it helped me to feel like I had value again by finally being able to help other people, too.”
Under the banner of “Living the Gospel — Neighbor Helping Neighbor,” the year-old ministry assists people who are in need by offering support services such as referrals and advocacy for community services, friendship, budgeting, housing-related issues, health-related referrals, food, employment assistance, and help with completing applications. All visits, including to clients’ homes, and interactions are managed with respect, dignity, confidentiality, and Catholic spiritual reverence.
Missy was available to return the help her family received by helping a woman clean her apartment and, eventually, became a companion to her.
Novrit once ran the Human Services Department in Morris County, then proceeded to Sussex County, where she is now retired as the administrator of Health and Human Services. She most enjoyed connecting people with services.
People would learn about Novrit’s background and approach her at OLM when they had needs, and she would help them. Then somebody said to her, “You have to start a ministry.” She did so last January, and in 2025, the ministry received the Vivere Christus Award from the Paterson Diocese in New Jersey for its efforts.
“Father Marcin [Michałowski, OLM’s pastor], our parishioners, and the Knights of Columbus have been wonderful,” Novrit said. “Recently, they helped with snow shoveling and volunteered to take a parishioner to Church weekly. When we ask for help, they always say, ‘Yes.’”
Father Michałowski said, “We are happy that we can help those who are in need — our parishioners, and sometimes non-parishioners. Some people say something, and some people don’t say anything, so we try to reach out to those who come to us and also those who do not come to us. The main focus is, of course, to look at our parishioners, but if we can go beyond the walls of the parish, then we try to do that as well.”
For information about the Angels of the Mountain ministry, call Carol Novrit at 908-797-0813.
– Missy and her family were running a business that was doing so well that they had moved to Morris County in New Jersey. Then, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, the business retained its main residential clients, but lost almost all of its commercial clients. “Everything was just changing so fast. I did not handle it mentally, emotionally or spiritually well. I did not have faith. I was still in our world, and I panicked,” Missy, who wished to remain anonymous, said. Last year, Missy finally shared her struggles and received help from the Angels of the Mountain ministry
LOS ANGELES, CA — According to sources, American singer-songwriter Billie Eilish successfully defended her land from members of the Tongva Tribe, an indigenous people native to the LA basin, who claim her home is built on their land.
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Our current society can have trouble showing acceptance — especially to conservatives. If you’re a young conservative who has kept your political views a secret from your family, knowing how to tell your parents can be difficult.
Read More
| Picture of the day |
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“Selection” of Hungarian Jews on the ramp at Auschwitz-II-Birkenau in German-occupied Poland, May/June 1944, during the final phase of the Holocaust. Jews were sent either to forced labor or the gas chambers. 81 years ago today, on January 27, 1945, Auschwitz was liberated by the Red Army. Today is also International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
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Nike is under federal investigation for discriminating against White workers.
The post Nike Under Federal Investigation For Discriminating Against White Workers appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
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War Room host Steve Bannon has urged the Trump administration to have ICE agents “surround the polls” in November to prevent Democratic voter fraud.
The post War Room’s Steve Bannon Says ICE Must ‘Surround The Polls’ in November to Stop Election Fraud (VIDEO) appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
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A surprising turn of events has unfolded following a vicious fight at a Texas high school that went viral earlier this week.
The post Man Savagely Beaten By Texas High School Students at Anti-ICE Class Walkout Protest Is Arrested and Charged appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
Read MoreAlmighty and loving Father, I thank you for giving St. Gerard to us as a most appealing model and powerful friend. By his example, he showed us how to love and trust you. You have showered many blessings on those who call upon him. For your greater glory and my welfare, please grant me the favors which I ask in his name.
(Here mention them privately)
And you, my powerful patron, intercede for me before the throne of God. Draw near to that throne and do not leave it until you have been heard. …
A reading from the First Book of Kings
1 Kings 2:1-4, 10-12
When the time of David’s death drew near,
he gave these instructions to his son Solomon:
"I am going the way of all flesh.
Take courage and be a man.
Keep the mandate of the LORD, your God, following his ways
and observing his statutes, commands, ordinances, and decrees
as they are written in the law of Moses,
that you may succeed in whatever you do,
wherever you turn, and the LORD may fulfill
the promise he made on my behalf when he said,
‘If your sons so conduct themselves
that they remain faithful to me with their whole heart
and with their whole soul,
you shall always have someone of your line
on the throne of Israel.’"
David rested with his ancestors and was buried in the City of David.
The length of David’s reign over Israel was forty years:
he reigned seven years in Hebron
and thirty-three years in Jerusalem.
Solomon was seated on the throne of his father David,
with his sovereignty firmly established.
From the Gospel according to Mark
6:7-13
Jesus summoned the Twelve and began to send them out two by two
and gave them authority over unclean spirits.
He instructed them to take nothing for the journey but a walking stick
–no food, no sack, no money in their belts.
They were, however, to wear sandals but not a second tunic.
He said to them,
"Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave from there.
Whatever place does not welcome you or listen to you,
leave there and shake the dust off your feet
in testimony against them."
So they went off and preached repentance.
The Twelve drove out many demons,
and they anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.
It is very significant that Jesus wants to involve the Twelve in his action from the outset: it is a sort of “apprenticeship” with a view to the great responsibility that awaited them. The fact that Jesus calls certain disciples to collaborate directly in his mission demonstrates one aspect of his love, namely, he does not spurn the help that other people can contribute to his work; he knows their limitations, their weaknesses, but bears no contempt for them. On the contrary Jesus confers on them the dignity of being his envoys. He sends them out two by two and gives them instructions which the Evangelist sums up in a few sentences. The first concerns the spirit of detachment: the Apostles must not be attached to money or to other comforts. Then Jesus warns the disciples that they will not always receive a favourable welcome. Sometimes they will be rejected; they might even be persecuted. However this must not frighten them: they must speak in Jesus’ name and preach the Kingdom of God without being worried about whether or not they will succeed. Succeed — its success must be left to God. (Pope Benedict XVI, Homily, Pastoral visit to Frascati, Italy, 15 July 2012)
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February marks the 100th anniversary of Black History Month being commemorated in the U.S.
The restored fresco in an ancient church in Rome sparked controversy after one of the angels depicted in the restoration bore a striking resemblance to Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
U.S. bishops’ conference president Archbishop Paul Coakley called for keeping limitations of the 2010 New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, which is set to expire on Feb. 5.
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