A new documentary film that’s being released in December, examines the disaster of the wildfires in California a year ago and questions how and why it was handled so badly.
The post New Documentary Film Suggests Gavin Newsom and Karen Bass Did Nothing While L.A. Burned – Watch the Trailer (VIDEO) appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
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In the days following the bizarre, seditious video put out by Senate Democrats like Elissa Slotkin and Mark Kelly, Ruben Gallego, the junior senator from Arizona, put up a profanity laden rant video in which he lashed out at Trump and members of his administration.
The post Bill O’Reilly Rips Dem Senator Ruben Gallego Over His Defense of Senator Mark Kelly: ‘You’re a Moron’ (VIDEO) appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
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Following the shooting of two National Guard members in Washington, DC by an Afghan refugee, many people are asking how we ended up with so many refugees from Afghanistan and why we had so little intel about them.
The post Jen Psaki in 2021: ‘I Can Absolutely ASSURE You’ Afghan Refugees Are Being Thoroughly Vetted (VIDEO) appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
Read MoreO God, the Creator and Redeemer of all the faithful,
grant to the souls of Thy servants
departed the remission of their sins, that,
through pious supplications,
they may obtain the pardon
which they have always desired.
Who livest and reignest with God the Father,
in the unity of the Holy Ghost,
world without end.
Amen.
Read MoreA reading from the Book of Isaiah
2:1-5
This is what Isaiah, son of Amoz,
saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.
In days to come,
the mountain of the LORD’s house
shall be established as the highest mountain
and raised above the hills.
All nations shall stream toward it;
many peoples shall come and say:
"Come, let us climb the LORD’s mountain,
to the house of the God of Jacob,
that he may instruct us in his ways,
and we may walk in his paths."
For from Zion shall go forth instruction,
and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
He shall judge between the nations,
and impose terms on many peoples.
They shall beat their swords into plowshares
and their spears into pruning hooks;
one nation shall not raise the sword against another,
nor shall they train for war again.
O house of Jacob, come,
let us walk in the light of the Lord!
A reading from the Letter of St. Paul to the Romans
13:11-14
Brothers and sisters:
You know the time;
it is the hour now for you to awake from sleep.
For our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed;
the night is advanced, the day is at hand.
Let us then throw off the works of darkness
and put on the armor of light;
let us conduct ourselves properly as in the day,
not in orgies and drunkenness,
not in promiscuity and lust,
not in rivalry and jealousy.
But put on the Lord Jesus Christ,
and make no provision for the desires of the flesh.
From the Gospel according to Matthew
24:37-44
Jesus said to his disciples:
"As it was in the days of Noah,
so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.
In those days before the flood,
they were eating and drinking,
marrying and giving in marriage,
up to the day that Noah entered the ark.
They did not know until the flood came and carried them all away.
So will it be also at the coming of the Son of Man.
Two men will be out in the field;
one will be taken, and one will be left.
Two women will be grinding at the mill;
one will be taken, and one will be left.
Therefore, stay awake!
For you do not know on which day your Lord will come.
Be sure of this: if the master of the house
had known the hour of night when the thief was coming,
he would have stayed awake
and not let his house be broken into.
So too, you also must be prepared,
for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come."
Today Advent begins, the liturgical time which prepares us for Christmas, inviting us to lift our gaze and open our hearts to welcome Jesus. During Advent we do not just live in anticipation of Christmas; we are also called to rekindle the anticipation of the glorious return of Christ — when he will return at the end of time — preparing ourselves, with consistent and courageous choices, for the final encounter with him. We remember Christmas, we await the glorious return of Christ, and also our personal encounter: the day in which the Lord will call. During these four weeks we are called to leave behind a resigned and routine way of life and to go forth, nourishing hope, nourishing dreams for a new future. (…) This is a favourable time to open our hearts, to ask ourselves concrete questions about how and for whom we expend our lives. (Pope Francis, Angelus, 2 December 2018)
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SAN FRANCISCO, CA — New reports indicated that local homeless man John Brill politely yet firmly refused a passerby’s offer of free leftover marshmallow jello salad earlier today, despite having not eaten in several days.
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OXFORD — One of the most well-known stories from the biblical gospels took on a whole new meaning this week, as a team of scholars revealed that they now believe the young rich man went away sad when Jesus told him to sell all his possessions because he had the Nintendo Power Glove.
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Geological fieldworks, underground in the Estonian oil shale mine to study the variable mineralogical and chemical composition and microstructure in the different layers of the oil shale profile
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EWTN News, Nov 29, 2025 / 15:30 pm (CNA).
Rashida Begum still remembers the day her life changed forever: Feb. 2, 2000, when her husband, Mojid Kaguchi, went to catch crabs in the Sundarbans, a vast mangrove forest in southern Bangladesh. Hours later, she heard the news — a tiger had taken him.
“My husband and five others went deep into the forest,” Begum told Catholic News Agency. “A roaring tiger attacked one of them. Mojid tried to save his friend, hitting the tiger with a knife. The tiger let go of his friend and grabbed Mojid instead.”
The tiger dragged Mojid into the forest. His friends never found him alive.
“After searching, we found only his head and two legs,” Begum said. “The tiger ate the rest.”
Begum was just 25 then, a mother of two. Married at 20, she had shared only five years with her husband.
Her father-in-law blamed her for his death and refused to give her land. Humiliated, she left her in-laws’ home and returned to her father’s village.
Life was hard. She worked in fields and homes to feed her children. Today, her sons work in a brick kiln.
“I lost my husband in the Sundarbans,” she said. “I will starve if needed, but my sons will never go there.”
Begum learned to sew. Recently, Caritas Bangladesh, a social aid agency of the Catholic Church, gave her 10,000 taka (about $81). She bought a sewing machine and fabric.
“I will make clothes and sell them,” she said. “I can earn 3,000 taka (about $21) a month.”
Amerun Nesa Begum, 48, shares a similar story.
On March 26, 2012, her husband was fishing in the Sundarbans when a tiger attacked.
“There was bleeding from my husband’s neck,” she recalled. “The tiger was eating him. His friends made noise to scare it away, but my husband died there.”
Amerun Nesa, a mother of four, faced extreme poverty. She worked in fields and homes of others. Her sons later went to the Sundarbans to fish, risking their lives.
“The Sundarbans is our main source of income,” she said. “We know the risks, but we cannot leave it.”
She also received 10,000 taka from Caritas. She bought a sewing machine and fabric. She and her daughter-in-law now make clothes to sell in local markets.
On Nov. 15, Caritas Bangladesh helped 106 poor families, including 12 tiger widows like Rashida and Amerun Nesa. The aid came through the Community Managed Sustainable Livelihood and Resilience Project (CMLRP-II), supported by Caritas Australia.
“Tiger widows” are women whose husbands were killed by Bengal tigers in the Sundarbans mangrove forest while collecting honey, fishing, or cutting wood. These women face severe social stigma, branded as cursed and excluded from community life, alongside economic hardship and psychological trauma.
Santanu Roy, program officer for Caritas Khulna Region, said the widows’ lives are heartbreaking.
“They face humiliation and neglect,” Roy told Catholic News Agency. “Families slander them. We are happy to help them. This small support can improve their lives.”
The Sundarbans spans three districts: Khulna, Satkhira, and Bagerhat. At least 3,000 tiger widows live in villages near the forest.
Roy hopes Caritas can assist more widows.
Apart from tigers, crocodiles also attack men who enter the forest for honey, fish, and crabs.
Tiger widows suffer more than grief. They face stigma. Many are called “husband eaters” or cursed. They are excluded from society.
They also lose their main income source. Most receive no government compensation.
Caritas offers hope. With sewing machines and training, these women can earn a living.
The Catholic Church has long worked in remote areas of Bangladesh. Caritas, its social arm, runs programs for disaster relief, education, and poverty reduction. Helping tiger widows is part of its mission to serve the most vulnerable.
For Rashida Begum and Amerun Nesa, this help means dignity and survival.
“I will never forget my husband,” Rashida said. “But now I can dream again.”
Amerun Nesa agrees. “I want my children to live without fear,” she said. “I pray they never face what I faced.”
The Sundarbans is beautiful but dangerous. It is home to the Bengal tiger, a national symbol of Bangladesh. But for poor families, it is also a place of death.
Every year, men enter the forest to collect honey, fish, and crabs. Many go without permits. They risk tiger attacks because they feel they have no other choice.
When tragedy strikes, their families fall into despair. Widows lose income and face social rejection.
Caritas steps in where others do not. Its small grants give women a chance to start again.
The Church’s message is clear: every life matters. Every widow deserves hope.
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Denver, Colorado, Nov 29, 2025 / 12:36 pm (CNA).
The First Sunday of Advent 2025 is tomorrow, Nov. 30, less than four weeks before Christmas this year, and while the Church provides this time to allow you to be caught by the joy of the Incarnation, you can be easily caught by surprise that it is Christmas. To help remedy this surprise, the Church provides songs, signs, and symbols to enter into the season of Advent more fruitfully.
Here are three ways the Church teaches us about the meaning of the season:
Many of the customary hymns for Advent highlight the movement of the soul toward what Pope Francis termed in a homily on Advent as a “horizon of hope.” No hymn epitomizes this better than “O Come, O Come Emmanuel,” with its overtones of expectation and its mournful remorse over the state of man, captive to sin. The cultivation of hope and expectation is also seen in Advent hymns such as “O Come Divine Messiah” and “People Look East.”
The commingled darkness and hope that God will fulfill his promises, a theme characteristic of Advent, deepens with songs like the Spanish carol “Alepun.” The lyrics of “Alepun” move the faithful into an experience of waiting with a pregnant Blessed Virgin Mary while the rhythm and percussion evoke donkey hooves clattering across the plains of Israel to Bethlehem.
Advent is a season of penance marked by joy and, in many ways, a little Lent. This is why the colors of purple and pink — with their ties to penance and the Lord’s Passion, and the joy of Laetare Sunday when Lent is almost over — are the colors of Advent. But did you know that the deep purple of Advent has a blue hue to it to teach the faithful in symbol about the Marian heart of the season?
The lack of church decor also teaches about the penitential nature of the season. In the weeks leading up to Christmas, the lack of flowers on the altar, the restrained use of instruments, and the absence of the resounding and angelic Gloria all lead to a deliberate emptiness.
The emptiness will first be filled on the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, and, later, flowers will be allowed on Gaudete Sunday as the first expression of the festivity of the coming Christmas.
Following the solemnity of Christ the King, Advent begins with echoes of the power of Christ coming in glory before it stretches forward to the humble beginnings of the mystery of the Incarnation.
This means there is a certain focus the Church helps people enter into even in the way the liturgical calendar is marked by very few memorials of saints: just five in the course of the four weeks, most of whom are deeply embedded in the celebration of and preparation for Christmas in various countries.
St. Nicholas is the best known of the five: the generous bishop whose gifts inspired generations of lore and giving. St. Lucy, whose desire to give charity to prisoners in the catacombs meant she wore candles in her hair to free her hands, is another well-known saint with connections to Christmas whom we celebrate in Advent.
The Church also shows forth the importance of Mary during this season, which places her Immaculate Conception on Dec. 8, a solemnity and holy day of obligation, at the very beginning of the liturgical year. Combined with the feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe on Dec. 12, the Church shows forth what God has wrought in a soul full of grace — a foreshadowing of the entire mystery of salvation in one soul.
Though there are many more signs and symbols that communicate the meaning of Advent, these can assist you as you enter the season of expectation, building anticipation for the celebration of Christmas so it doesn’t catch you by surprise.
This article was first published on Nov. 28, 2022, and has been updated.
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Istanbul, Turkey, Nov 29, 2025 / 11:20 am (CNA).
Pope Leo XIV marked the start of Advent on Saturday with an appeal for unity and peace, telling thousands gathered for Mass in Istanbul that Christians “journey as if on a bridge that connects earth to Heaven,” keeping their eyes “fixed on both shores” until they are united “in the house of the Father.”
The pope celebrated Mass on Nov. 29 at the Volkswagen Arena, a large multipurpose venue within Istanbul’s Uniq cultural complex. The liturgy, held on the eve of the Feast of St. Andrew, patron of Turkey, took place during the third day of his first international apostolic trip, which has brought him to Turkey and will soon continue on to Lebanon.
In his homily, the pope reflected on the beginning of Advent, saying it prepares believers “to experience anew at Christmas the mystery of Jesus, the Son of God, begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father.” Drawing on the first reading from Isaiah (Is 2:1–5), he invited the faithful “to ascend the mountain of the Lord,” which he described as an image of divine light and peace.
Leo pointed to two key images in the reading. The first was the mountain “established as the highest of the mountains,” which he said reminds Christians that God’s gifts “are a gift not only for us, but for everyone.” He cited examples of evangelizing witness: St. Peter meeting Christ through St. Andrew’s enthusiasm, and St. Augustine coming to the faith through St. Ambrose. Recalling a line from St. John Chrysostom—“The miracle happens and passes, but the Christian life remains and continually edifies”—he urged the faithful to “keep watch” with prayer, charity, and spiritual vigilance.
The second image was the prophet’s vision of peace: “They shall beat their swords into plowshares… neither shall they learn war any more.” The pope said the message is especially urgent today, calling the Church to be a sign of reconciliation in a world marked by conflict.
Turning to the theme of bridges, Leo noted that the logo for his visit to Turkey features the Bosporus Bridge, which joins Asia and Europe. He said the image points to three essential “bridges of unity”: within the Catholic community, in relations with other Christians, and in dialogue with other religions.
The pope highlighted the four Catholic traditions present in Turkey—Latin, Armenian, Chaldean, and Syriac—calling them “a catholicity that unites.” Unity, he said, “needs care, attention, and maintenance.” Quoting Christ’s prayer “that they may all be one,” he appealed again for Christian unity and encouraged believers to be peacemakers.
The diversity of Turkey’s Catholic community was visible in the liturgy. A choir of about 200 members represented the country’s four rites. Scripture readings and prayer intentions were offered in Turkish, Aramaic, Syriac, English, Armenian, and Arabic, reflecting the multilingual and multicultural character of local Catholics.
On Sunday afternoon, the pope will depart Turkey for the second leg of his apostolic journey in Lebanon. Before leaving Istanbul, he is scheduled to participate in several ecumenical events in the morning.
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NASA’s Cassini spacecraft captured dramatic plumes, both large and small, spray water ice out from many locations along the famed ‘tiger stripes’ near the south pole of Saturn’s moon Enceladus.
Read More![Diversity celebrated at colorful Mass of Nations in Clifton #Catholic - St. Paul Parish in Clifton, one of the most culturally rich parishes in the Paterson Diocese in New Jersey, delighted in its diversity on Nov. 23 with a trilingual Mass of Nations for the Feast of the Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, also known as the Feast of Christ the King.
Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney celebrated the liturgy, which was said in English, Spanish, and Tagalog, the Filipino language. Father Leonardo Jaramillo, St. Paul’s pastor, who was born in Colombia, and Father Vic Karljohn R.R. Leviste, parochial vicar of St. Therese Parish in the Succasunna neighborhood of Roxbury Township, N.J., who was born in the Philippines, concelebrated the Mass. Deacon Hector Castellanos of St. Paul’s assisted with the Mass.
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Many in the congregation wore festive costumes from their native countries and heritages. The Mass began with the parish’s traditional flag procession of nations carried by families. Flags from dozens of countries were held, led by the United States flag, which served as the anchor of the procession.
As in years past, the readings for the Mass and the Prayers of the Faithful were also read in the different languages of the parish community. The parish motto is “Many cultures, many countries, many languages in one body: St. Paul’s Family.”
After the Mass, a reception was held with parishioners bringing dishes typical of their home country to share with others.
BEACON PHOTOS | JOE GIGLI
[See image gallery at beaconnj.org]](https://unitedyam.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/diversity-celebrated-at-colorful-mass-of-nations-in-clifton-catholic-st-paul-parish-in-clifton-one-of-the-most-culturally-rich-parishes-in-the-paterson-diocese-in-new-jersey-delighted-in-its-div.jpg)
Diversity celebrated at colorful Mass of Nations in Clifton #Catholic – 
St. Paul Parish in Clifton, one of the most culturally rich parishes in the Paterson Diocese in New Jersey, delighted in its diversity on Nov. 23 with a trilingual Mass of Nations for the Feast of the Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, also known as the Feast of Christ the King.
Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney celebrated the liturgy, which was said in English, Spanish, and Tagalog, the Filipino language. Father Leonardo Jaramillo, St. Paul’s pastor, who was born in Colombia, and Father Vic Karljohn R.R. Leviste, parochial vicar of St. Therese Parish in the Succasunna neighborhood of Roxbury Township, N.J., who was born in the Philippines, concelebrated the Mass. Deacon Hector Castellanos of St. Paul’s assisted with the Mass.
Many in the congregation wore festive costumes from their native countries and heritages. The Mass began with the parish’s traditional flag procession of nations carried by families. Flags from dozens of countries were held, led by the United States flag, which served as the anchor of the procession.
As in years past, the readings for the Mass and the Prayers of the Faithful were also read in the different languages of the parish community. The parish motto is “Many cultures, many countries, many languages in one body: St. Paul’s Family.”
After the Mass, a reception was held with parishioners bringing dishes typical of their home country to share with others.
– St. Paul Parish in Clifton, one of the most culturally rich parishes in the Paterson Diocese in New Jersey, delighted in its diversity on Nov. 23 with a trilingual Mass of Nations for the Feast of the Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, also known as the Feast of Christ the King. Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney celebrated the liturgy, which was said in English, Spanish, and Tagalog, the Filipino language. Father Leonardo Jaramillo, St. Paul’s pastor, who was born in Colombia, and Father Vic Karljohn R.R. Leviste, parochial vicar of St. Therese Parish in the Succasunna neighborhood of Roxbury
Christmas in the City of Light is magical, with festive luxury hotels, twinkling lights, and beautiful holiday markets.
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Looking for a sky event this week? Check out our full Sky This Week column. November 28: Saturn stands still Mercury comes to its stationary point at 10 A.M. EST, ending its retrograde path and turning to slide eastward (prograde) against the background stars once more. The solar system’s smallest planet, visible in the eastern sky beforeContinue reading “The Sky Today on Saturday, November 29: Mercury’s retrograde path ends”
The post The Sky Today on Saturday, November 29: Mercury’s retrograde path ends appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.
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