The United States Geological Survey (USGS) has confirmed a 2.7 magnitude earthquake near Elgin, SC that happened at 5:40 a.m. on Monday. MORE

Canada – 2023
Pope Francis plans to publish a constitution to reform the Roman Curia, appoint several senior Vatican officials, hold a consistory to create new cardinals, celebrate the 10th World Meeting of Families in Rome and, depending on the Covid-19 situation, visit countries in the Middle East, Asia, Africa and Europe—all in 2022. MORE

On the last day of 2021 — a year that dealt Boulder County a tragic mass shooting in the midst of ongoing pandemic woes — thousands of residents who’d evacuated Superior and Louisville waited ahead of a looming snowstorm to learn whether a wildfire had engulfed their homes. MORE

Bad weather conditions have intensified forest fires in Argentina’s Patagonia region, as firefighters and residents continue to tackle the flames. Strong winds, with gusts surpassing 45 miles per hour, have fanned the flames across a road connecting the city of Bariloche with western Patagonia. On Wednesday afternoon, the weather transitioned from sunny to windy in a matter of hours, with strong winds and rain falling from the west. VIDEO

Prayer for Holy Innocents

We remember today, O God,
the slaughter of the holy innocents
of Bethlehem by King Herod.
Receive, we pray,
into the arms of your mercy
all innocent victims;
and by your great might
frustrate the designs of evil tyrants
and establish your rule of justice, love and peace;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you,
in the union of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.

The death toll from heavy rain and flooding that has plagued the northeastern Brazilian state of Bahia since November rose to 20 on Monday, amid incessant torrents that have displaced almost 63,000 people, authorities said. MORE

The wife of conspiracy theorist Alex Jones was arrested Christmas Eve on a domestic violence charge that the right-wing provocateur said stems from a “medication imbalance.” MORE

A Prayer to St. John the Apostle , for a Burning love for Jesus

O Glorious Apostle, Saint John, why for thy virginal purity was so beloved by Jesus as to merit to rest thy head upon His divine Bosom, and to be left, in His stead, as a son to His most holy Mother, I implore thee to set me on fire with a burning love for Jesus and Mary. Obtain for me, I pray this grace from our Lord, that, even now, with my heart set free from earthly affections, I may be made worthy to be forever united to Jesus as His faithful disciple and to Mary as her devoted child both here and on earth and then forever in heaven. Amen.

Where is the outcry from the Arab world?

Right-wing Hindu activists at a conference took an oath to harm Muslims if necessary to make “a Hindu-only nation,” the most blatant example of rising anti-Muslim sentiment across India. MORE

A new document issued Saturday (Dec. 18) by the Vatican department overseeing worship clarified restrictions on the Old Latin Mass that Pope Francis issued in July, while lamenting the “sterile polemics” based on ideology that have sowed division in the Catholic Church. MORE

A ‘help’ sign is painted on the roof beside damaged homes caused by Typhoon Rai in Siargao island, Surigao del Norte, southern Philippines on Wednesday, Dec. 22, 2021 MORE

At 5:30 a.m. on December 25, Christmas Day, a large mobile home detonated on a deserted stretch of 2nd Avenue North in downtown Nashville, Tennessee, nearly collapsing one building and damaging 41 others, shattering windows and sending shrapnel into the early morning street. Trees were knocked to the ground, and Second Avenue took on the charred look of a battleground. MORE