17. December 2025 17. December 2025 12/17/2025 Entire blog as a free PDF eBook. Would you trust a bank that withholds funds entrusted to you under flimsy pretexts? Especially when the same pretext is used selectively? Israel is committing genocide in Palestine and doesn’t have to worry about its deposits in Europe. Regardless of your stance on Russia’s actions, such politicized treatment of bank customers, judged by different standards depending on current political needs, poses a significant risk of eroding confidence in the institutions that “protect” the capital entrusted to them in this way. The article on TrendCompass from Monday was dedicated to this looting: Europe’s lawless union. On Friday, 12 December, the EU crossed the legal Rubicon, in order to indefinitely freeze the $246 billion in Russian assets held in Europe. Under the previous system, the assets were frozen temporarily, and the freeze required a renewal every six months, conditional on a unanimous vote by all …
December 17: Our Lady of Amiens, France December 17th, 2025 | No Greater Delight The shrine to Our Lady of Amiens is a cathedral. The church was erected in the third century by Saint Firmin, the bishop of Amiens, who received the crown of martyrdom during the persecution of Diocletian. A part of the head of Saint John the Baptist was preserved here; it was brought hither by a traveler named Galo, or Wallon de Sarton, depending upon the legend, on his return to Constantinople in the year 1205. The old cathedral was destroyed by fire in 1218 when lightning struck the roof during a storm. The scale for the new church was so large that a nearby church dedicated to Saint Firmin the Confessor was demolished, as well as a large hotel. In an unusual move, it was decided to construct the nave of the new church first, instead of the choir. The church was rebuilt in Gothic style, and although it was completed in later centuries, being called the "Gothic Parthenon," the majority of the work was …More
Our Lady of the Rockies - Wikipedia Our Lady of the Rockies is a 90-foot (27 m) statue built in the likeness of Mary, the mother of Jesus, that stands atop the Continental Divide overlooking Butte, Montana, United States. It is the fourth-tallest statue in the United States after Birth of the New World, the Statue of Liberty, and the Pegasus and Dragon. The base is 8,510 feet above sea level and approximately 3,000 feet above the town. The statue sits on private land and is lit and visible at night. The statue was originally conceived by Butte resident Bob O'Bill in 1979 as a tribute to the Virgin Mary following the recovery of his wife from cancer.[1][2] Later, the statue was additionally dedicated to "all women, especially mothers."
I can't find one link from the SSPX showing the SSPX Chapels in Russia. Something is not right. I love the SSPX but they are not being honest when it comes to Russia. Not only that, but trying to search for a Chapel in Russia is impossible. They don't list even one, when I know there is at least two of them. Why don't they mention even one Chapel in Russia? Josef Schuztman has mentioned the one he attends and I believe another one in Russia. This is from a Russian site where they mention where the SSPX Chapels are. They list at least 3 in different cities. But not how many there are. The largest number of Brotherhood followers are concentrated in France, Germany, Switzerland and Austria. The Superior General of the Brotherhood is the Italian priest Davide Pagliarani, who succeeded Bishop Bernard Fellay. The Brotherhood's chapels of St. Pius X are also located in Moscow, Saint Petersburg and Minsk. Священническое братство святого Пия X — Википедия
Three Protestant scholars have praised a document by Cardinal Víctor “Tucho” Fernández opposing the Marian titles Co-Redemptrix and Mediatrix of All Graces, speaking to CatholicNewsAgency.com on December 15. David Luy, a theology professor at the North American Lutheran Seminary, said the document was written “with an attentiveness” to concerns often raised by Protestants. Protestant objections “sprout from a desire to uphold the distinctiveness of Christ as the one mediator.” According to Luy, the document demonstrates “a sensibility to that central Protestant concern”. “Does it relieve potential strain between Protestants and Catholics? The short answer would be yes,” Luy said. However, he added that the concept of mediation in general “is probably where there’d be a need for ongoing conversation.” Cynthia Rigby, a theology professor at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary, said the document could mark “a watershed moment” in Catholic–Protestant relations. Rigby emphasized …More
More than $1.5 million raised for 88-year-old Army vet after viral video 88-year-old Army veteran Ed Bambas went viral on social media this week after an influencer shared a video of Bambas opening up about his work in a grocery store to make ends meet. NBC Nightly News anchor Tom Llamas reports.
That creepy looking son can’t wait to get his grubby thieving hands on that money…..sad. His dad won’t get to enjoy any of it with him around. And probably won’t live much longer either—if you get my drift.
I just watched this very video on yt last week! I enjoy this sort of stories sometimes. Some are fake. Or they change the story a bit. Thank you Pierre for this beautiful story.
Monday of the III week of Advent. Of the Presentation of Our Lady in the Temple. DAILY MEDITATIONS OF THE MYSTERIES OF OUR HOLY FAITH, By the P. Alonso de Andrade FROM THE COMPANY OF JESUS. PRAYER TO BEGIN By the sign of the Holy Cross, from our enemies delier us, Lord, our God. In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen. My Lord and my God: I firmly believe that you are here, that you see me, that you hear me. I adore you with deep reverence. I ask you for forgiveness of my sins and grace to make this time of prayer fruit. My Mother Immaculate, Saint Joseph, my father and lord, my guardian Angel: intercede for me. MEDITATION II. Monday of the III week of Advent. Of the Presentation of Our Lady in the Temple. POINT ONE. Consider the fervor with which the fathers of the Blessed Virgin offered her to God in the temple, being three years old, in fulfillment of the vow they had made before receiving her from the hand of the Lord, faithfully returning to her the precious …More
A sneak peek at some of the supporting cast members of the Nativity scene in St. Peter’s Square. Revealed at 5:00 PM (Rome time), this year’s Nativity comes from the Diocese of Nocera Inferiore-Sarno.
Un'anteprima di alcuni dei membri del cast di supporto del presepe in Piazza San Pietro. Il tutto sarà svelato stasera.
As seen in recent months, Leo's Vatican at least "tries" to appear somewhat Catholic - although they also are continuing Francis' program of undermining the Faith apace. But hey, at least we got a nice creche scene this year and not some modernist monstrosity. Small blessings.
On December 14, a solemn Mass according to the ancient Ambrosian Rite was celebrated in the historic Basilica of Sant’Ambrogio in Milan. This extraordinary liturgy followed the 1954 Ambrosian Missal. The Mass was celebrated by Monsignor Francesco Braschi, a long-time celebrant of the Ambrosian Rite, with the approval of the Archdiocese of Milan and the abbot of the basilica.
S. Messa Giubilare in Rito Ambrosiano Antico celebrata nella Perinsigne Basilica di Sant'Ambrogio a Milano partecipata da più di 1500 fedeli. ( 14 dicembre 2025, Quinta Domenica di Avvento)
The conviction of Hong Kong Catholic publisher Jimmy Lai has once again exposed the cost of the China–Vatican agreement. While governments and human rights organisations have denounced the trial as political and unjust, all Vatican media and the Holy See have remained completely silent. Riccardo Cascioli comments: "This is yet another perverse consequence of the secret China-Vatican agreement: in the name of political expediency, Catholics are being left at the mercy of their persecutors."
The latest appointment of a Chinese bishop, made public on December 5, represents a big affront to Pope Leo XIV. This episode originated during the interregnum between the death of Pope Francis and the election of Pope Leo. During that period, Chinese authorities orchestrated assemblies to “elect” two bishops for important positions. According to the agreement, the approval or rejection of these appointments belonged to the new pope. On October 15, the Holy See announced that Pope Leo had accepted the first of the two appointments. The appointment concerned an auxiliary bishop of Shanghai in a diocese that already had two auxiliaries disfavored by the regime. One of those bishops was forced into retirement, while the other has been under uninterrupted arrest for thirteen years. Silence surrounding the second appointment was broken on December 5. The Vatican clarified that Pope Leo had approved the second appointment on August 11. The official Chinese Church agency issued its own statement …More
Witness account from Bondi Beach tonight: He reports that at least four police officers did not return fire for over 20 minutes yesterday. The police station is only a few hundred metres away. Any comment from Cardinal Parolin?
Also these are crimes of murder for which laws exist to investigate and prosecute. Jail and even enforce capital punishment. Not excuses for international wars.
[Saint Elisabeth of the Trinity/Elizabeth Catez – XIX-XX Century; Avord, France/Dijon, France; (aged 26); Mystic; Spiritual Writer; Gifted Pianist] “Fourth Day First Prayer 13. “Deus ignus consumens.” (Heb 12:29) Our God, wrote St. Paul, is a consuming Fire, that is “a fire of love” which destroys, which “transforms into itself everything that it touches.” (Saint John of the Cross) “The delights of the divine enkindling are renewed in our depths by an unremitting activity: the enkindling of love in a mutual and eternal satisfaction. It is a renewal that takes place at every moment in the bond of love.” (Ruysbroeck) Certain souls “have chosen this refuge to rest there eternally, and this is the silence in which, somehow, they have lost themselves.” “Freed from their prison, they sail on the Ocean of Divinity without any creature being an obstacle or hindrance to them.” (Ruysbroeck) 14. For these souls, the mystical death of which St. Paul spoke yesterday becomes so simple and sweet …More
"16. But to attain to this love the soul must first be “entirely surrendered,” (Saint John of the Cross) its “will must be calmly lost in God’s will” (Saint John of the Cross) so that its “inclinations,” “its faculties” “move only in this love and for the sake of this love. I do everything with love, I suffer everything with love: this is what David meant when he sang, ‘I will keep all my strength for You.’” (Ps 58:10)"
"15. “I have come to cast fire upon the earth and how I long to see it burn.” (Lk 12:49) It is the Master Himself who expresses His desire to see the fire of love enkindled. In fact, “all our works and all our labors are nothing in His sight. We can neither give Him anything nor satisfy His only desire, which is to exalt the dignity of our soul.” Nothing pleases Him so much as to see it “grow.” “Now nothing can exalt it so much as to become in some way the equal of God; that is why He demands from the soul the tribute of its love, as the property of love is to make the lover equal to the beloved as much as possible."