The Gift of the Magi "The Gift of the Magi" is a short story by American writer O. Henry, first published in 1905. The story tells of a young husband and wife and how they deal with the challenge of buying secret Christmas gifts for each other with very little money. As a sentimental story with a moral lesson about gift-giving, it has been popular for adaptation, especially for presentation at Christmas time. The plot and its twist ending are well known; the ending is generally considered an example of cosmic irony. The story was allegedly written at Pete's Tavern on Irving Place in New York City. The story was initially published in The New York Sunday World under the title "Gifts of the Magi" on December 10, 1905. It was first published in book form in the O. Henry collection The Four Million in April 1906. youtube.com/watch?v=eEYKlV0vkIs
NY Times: Russia Sends Naval Vessel to Escort Oil Tanker U.S. Is Pursuing The development deepens the confrontation over the tanker formerly known as the Bella 1, which the United States wants to seize but which Russia has sought to protect. nytimes.com/2026/01/06/world/americas/russia- … The oil tanker Bella 1 at the Singapore Strait in March. Russia has dispatched at least one naval vessel to meet and escort the tanker, which the U.S. military has been pursuing and trying to seize. Russia has dispatched at least one naval vessel to meet and escort an oil tanker that the U.S. military has been pursuing and trying to seize, according to a U.S. official briefed on the operation who requested anonymity to discuss a sensitive matter. The development deepens the confrontation between the two countries over the tanker, known until recently as the Bella 1 and now called the Marinera. The United States has been chasing the tanker for weeks after it tried to evade a partial blockade around …More
In order that all the faithful every where might be moved to honour the Sacred Heart of Mary, Pope Pius VII at the prayer of many bishops and priests, by Rescripts given from the Segretaria of the Memorials, Aug 18 1807, Feb 1, 1816 and Sept 26, 1817, granted: The indulgence of sixty days, once a day, to all who say devoutly the following prayer with the act of praise to the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary; and The plenary indulgence to those who say it every day for a year, on each of the following three feasts of our Lady: The Nativity, Assumption, and her Immaculate Heart provided that, after Confession and Communion, they visit a church or altar dedicated to the Blessed Virgin, and pray there according to the Pope's intention. Lastly, he granted The plenary indulgence at the hour of death to all who in life shall not omit to say this prayer. The Prayer Heart of Mary, Mother of God, our Mother, Heart most amiable, on which the Adorable Trinity ever looks with complacency, worthy of …More
[Saint Victorinus – III-IV Century AD; Roman Greece/Pettau, Roman Greece; Spiritual Writer; Martyr under Diocletian] “From the Second Chapter 2. I know your works, and your labour, and your patience. In the first epistle He speaks thus: I know that you suffer and work, I see that you are patient; think not that I am staying long from you. And that you can not bear them that are evil, and who say that they are Jews and are not, and you have found them liars, and you have patience for My name's sake. All these things tend to praise, and that no small praise; and it behooves such men, and such a class, and such elected persons, by all means to be admonished, that they may not be defrauded of such privileges granted to them of God. These few things He said that He had against them. 4, 5. And you have left your first love: remember whence you have fallen. He who falls, falls from a height: therefore He said whence: because, even to the very last, works of love must be practised; and this is …More
"10. Be faithful unto death. That they should continue to be faithful even unto death. 11. He that shall overcome, shall not be hurt by the second death. That is, he shall not be chastised in hell."
CATECHISM OF PERSEVERANCE : AN HISTORICAL, DOCTRINAL,MORAL, AND LITURGICAL EXPOSITION OF THE CATHOLIC RELIGION.Translated from the French of Mgr Gaume by REV. F. B. JAMISON - COURSE FIRST - CHAPTER 24 - The Messiah promised and prefigured - Isaac the fifth figure of the Messiah. (A.C.1871- 1836.)...to download, to print, to share !
Fr. James Altman joins John-Henry Westen to expose what he calls a deliberate campaign to weaken Catholic truth from within. He describes his “exile” as a warning to other priests, enforced through silence and fear, and explains how his new books aim to fortify faithful Catholics with Scripture and timeless doctrine. The conversation also addresses the Vatican’s rejection of Marian titles like Co-Redemptrix, liberal bishops prioritizing illegal immigration over reverent liturgy, and attempts to form a “one-world religion.” Altman blasts these moves as spiritual sabotage, “rat poison” meant to erode doctrine subtly over time. Source: Fr. Altman: The PLOT to REPLACE the Catholic …
A celebration was held in Palermo to seal the shrines containing the bodies of the two holy friars who lived in Palermo in the 15th and 16th centuries. The occasion once again highlights the commitment, duty, and urgency of rebuilding the church, which was almost completely destroyed, to the attention of the community and institutions. The convent, located at the foot of Mount Grifone and fortunately spared from the flames, will once again house the holy relics of Saint Benedict the Moor and Blessed Matthew of Agrigento, which were also damaged in the terrible fire two years ago. The mortal remains will once again be available for veneration by the faithful every day from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm and from 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm. "I still remember that fiery July a couple of years ago," commented the Archbishop of Palermo, Monsignor Corrado Lorefice, "but I have always told people that our duty is to remain holy in the faith because, even if we were unable to have their bodies returned in their …More
Palermo: Recuperate due Importanti Reliquie Sicilia 242 - Sicilia 24 TV Beato Matteo Guimerà di Agrigento Vescovo Festa: 7 gennaio Agrigento, 1377 - Palermo, 7 gennaio 1450 Nacquead Agrigento dalla famiglia Guimeráverso il 1377e ancor giovane entrò tra i Frati Minori. Fu amico e compagno di san Bernardino da Siena. Aderìal movimento di riforma dell’Osservanza che diffuse principalmente in Sicilia, dove fondò parecchi conventi. Predicò per tutta Italia, raccogliendo copiosi frutti e acquistandosi fama disantità per l’esemplarità della vita e il dono dei miracoli. Nominato vescovo di Agrigento, per leaspre opposizioni incontrate tra il clero e la nobiltà, tre anni dopo rinunciò all’ufficio e si ritirò nel convento di Santa Maria di Gesù a Palermo. Morì il 7 gennaio 1450.Fu beatificato da Clemente XIII il 22 febbraio 1767. Etimologia: Matteo = uomo di Dio, dall'ebraico Martirologio Romano: A Palermo, transito del beato Matteo Guimerá, vescovo di Agrigento, dell’Ordine dei Minori …More
This morning Pope Leo XIV closed the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica, officially bringing to a close this Jubilee Holy Year of Our Lord Jesus Christ.
Sat Jan 3, 2026 - 8:40 pm EST (LifeSiteNews) — On March 21, the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities published a report calling on Canada to repeal “Track 2 MAiD” and to stop the scheduled 2027 expansion of euthanasia to those suffering solely from mental illness. Vice-Chair Rosemary Kayess called Canada’s euthanasia regime a “step back into state-sponsored eugenics.” On December 29, the New York Timespublished a nearly 4,000-word puff piece for the deadliest excess of Canada’s euthanasia regime: the planned eligibility expansion for those with mental illness. The title itself makes the propagandistic point clear: “Claire Brosseau Wants to Die. Will Canada Let Her?” To translate: Claire Brosseau is suicidal. Will Canada affirm, facilitate, and fund her suicide? Brosseau is 48, and although she says she has had a life full of “riches” and is “deeply loved,” she suffers from “debilitating mental illness” and has attempted suicide several times. …
Praying for Venezuela: Pope, Bishops Call for Peace as Maduro Faces Court in New York Pope Leo XIV urges Venezuelans to pray for peace after Nicolás Maduro's U.S. arrest and court appearance in New York. currentsnews
The president reportedly declined to install opposition leader María Corina Machado as head of the country because she didn’t turn the prize down. “If she had turned it down and said, ‘I can’t accept it because it’s Donald Trump’s,’ she’d be the president of Venezuela today,” the newspaper’s sources said.
David Nino Rodriguez @ninoboxer The capture of Maduro will lead to much bigger arrests regarding the Biden election steal of 2020. The gates will open up to: -Smartmatic -Hillary Clinton -Barack Obama -Comey -Brennan -Biden Arrests this year. GAME OVER
Martirio Sor Lindalva. VicentinasCaliColombia Fecha de beatificación: 2 de diciembre de 2007 por el Papa Benedicto XVI. Memoria litúrgica: 7 de enero Breve Biografía Lindalva Justo de Oliveira nació 20 de octubre de 1953 en Sitio Malhada da Areia, en una zona muy pobre de Río Grande del Norte, Brasil. El padre de Lindalva, João Justo da Fé, un granjero viudo. Su segundo matrimonio fue con María Lúcia de Oliveira. La pequeña Lindalva fue la sexta de 13 niños nacido a la pareja. Lindalva fue bautizada el 7 de enero de 1954. Su familia no era pudiente, pero era rica en la fe cristiana. João mudó a su familia a Açu para que sus niños pudieran asistir a la escuela, y después de muchos sacrificios él consiguió comprar una casa donde la familia reside todavía hoy. Siguiendo el buen ejemplo de su madre, Lindalva demostró una inclinación natural hacia los niños más pobres y compartió mucho tiempo con ellos. A edad 12, Lindalva recibió su Primera Comunión, y durante sus años escolares …More
San Raimundo de Peñafort, religioso presbítero(2 coms.)- Memoria litúrgica San Raimundo de Peñafort, presbítero de la Orden de Predicadores, eximio maestro en derecho canónico, que escribió de modo muy acertado sobre el sacramento de la Penitencia. Elegido maestro general de la Orden, preparó la redacción de las nuevas Constituciones, y tras llegar a edad muy avanzada, se durmió en el Señor en la ciudad de Barcelona, en España. († 1275) San Polieucto de Melitene, mártir(2 coms.) En Melitene, ciudad de la antigua Armenia, san Polieucto, mártir, que, siendo soldado, a raíz del decreto del emperador Decio que obligaba a sacrificar a los dioses, rompió los ídolos, por lo cual fue cruelmente martirizado y, finalmente, decapitado, recibiendo así el bautismo con su propia sangre. († c. 250) San Luciano de Antioquía, presbítero y mártir En la ciudad de Nicomedia, en Bitinia, pasión de san Luciano, presbítero de la Iglesia de Antioquía y mártir, el cual, ilustre por su doctrina y …More