“Here was an almond tree in bloom before me”
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EWTN News
Abortion wins in 3 states amid major Democratic victories
By Daniel Payne, November 4, 2026
Voters in multiple states across the U.S. voted in favor of abortion on Nov. 3 as Democrats retook the U.S. House and Senate in a stinging rebuke of President Donald Trump’s final term. The Democratic Party flipped roughly three dozen seats across the House and Senate on election night, giving them strong majorities in both chambers, including a 10-seat advantage in the Senate. Abortion advocates, meanwhile, recorded significant wins at the state level on Election Day, with voters in multiple states passing measures expanding abortion or else voting down efforts to restrict it. Amid major victories for abortion supporters on Election Day, however, Idaho voters rejected an effort there to expand abortion rights. Las Vegas Archbishop George Leo Thomas described the Nevada proposal as a “very serious and damaging expansion” of abortion law there.
Related: Abortion ballot measure outcomes: Virginia enshrines ‘right’ to abortion in state constitution - Zeale News Team, November 4, 2026
Zenit
Argentina wants the Pope to focus on poverty in his visit
By Enrique Villegas, November 4, 2026
A new survey suggests that the country’s expectations (Argentina) of the pontiff are focused less on the internal life of the Catholic Church than on its ability to address urgent social and international challenges. Poverty ranks well ahead of every other issue respondents want him to discuss, while the importance attached to the visit itself varies sharply by age, gender, and place of residence. The study, conducted by the Barometer of Religions and Beliefs in Argentina, part of the University of Buenos Aires’ Observatory of Beliefs in Argentina, found that 43.2% of those surveyed want Leo XIV to make the fight against poverty the central theme of his visit. International peace comes second, at 20.6%. Together, the two issues account for nearly two-thirds of respondents' priorities. The survey identifies a society looking for the Pope to speak on human suffering and global instability. Church transparency ranks a distant third at 9.7%, followed by migration at 6.9% and the environment at 5.1%. Doctrinal questions receive 4.6%,
National Catholic Register
SC case pits gender-identity against religious standards
By Matthew McDonald, November 3, 2026
A majority of U.S. Supreme Court justices sounded ready to require that Colorado provide Catholic schools government funding for preschool even if the schools refuse to guarantee admission for children of same-sex couples, during oral arguments Tuesday in a case involving a school in the Archdiocese of Denver. The case, St. Mary School v. Roy, centers on a preschool-through-grade-8 Catholic school in Littleton that wants to participate in the state’s universal preschool program. Justice Brett Kavanaugh, a member of the court’s conservative majority, described the case as a clash between the free exercise of religion and the right to same-sex marriage, which the court recognized in Obergefell v. Hodges in 2015. But he suggested the clash is unnecessary because parents in Colorado have so many pre-kindergarten options.
Related: WSJ board urges SCOTUS to defend Catholic schools in Colorado preschool case as justices hear oral arguments - Elise Winland, Zeale News, November 3, 2026
Zeale News
Democrats take House and Senate in heated midterm races
By Zeale News Team, November 4, 2026
Incumbent House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., cast the GOP’s House losses as inevitable while touting his party’s efforts to maintain a majority. “From the first day of this election, we knew that to keep the House and sustain our majority, we would have to defy more than a century of midterm history. It’s only happened twice in 90 years that a sitting president has picked up or held seats for his party in that first two-year cycle,” he said in a speech late Nov. 3. “There’s a lot of reasons for it. It’s very, very difficult to overcome, and it looks like history will be kept.” Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., emphasized GOP accomplishments over the past two years and pledged to oppose the new Democratic majority in the Senate. NBC News exit polls similarly found that 89% of voters described affordability as either a “crucial” or a “major” factor in their decisions, while 65% of voters said that Trump’s policies have “worsened” economic conditions in the U.S. and 74% described the conflict with Iran as either a “crucial” or a “major” factor in their votes.
The PIllar
Campus Ministry’s FOCUS defends financial affairs, HR criticisms
By The Pillar, November 3, 2026
Leaders at the campus ministry organization FOCUS told The Pillar that recent reports about a house the organization purchased for its former CEO do not accurately reflect the circumstances of the purchase, and responded to recent criticisms of its missionary and workplace culture. FOCUS leaders spoke with The Pillar after a series of blog posts from writer Chris Damian raised questions about the national campus ministry organization's workplace and missionary culture, and about a house the organization purchased in 2025, which FOCUS founder and former CEO Curtis Martin and his family members occupy. Questions have been raised about the propriety of the arrangement, especially given Martin’s resignation as CEO in December 2025. The Martin family has unique needs — two children with profound special needs, one of whom is an adult, and Martin’s mother, who was then living in an assisted living facility.
Pime Asia News
The religious significance of Russian autocracy
By Vladimir Rozanskij, November 4, 2026
The second open dialogue in the series ‘The Spiritual Significance of Russian Autocracy: from Prince Andrei Bogolyubsky to Emperor Nicholas II’ was held in the great hall of the Moscow Theological Academy, within the Holy Trinity Monastery of St Sergius. The choice of venue was no coincidence: the Monastery of St Sergius is Russia's spiritual center, where Russian tsars would go to receive blessings for their reign. The main conclusion of the meeting was that the Church and the State in the Russian Empire of the tsars were inseparable and acted in unison. The Tsar is “God’s anointed one”, called upon to preserve the Orthodox faith and to serve his people. Having inherited the Orthodox heritage from Byzantium, Moscow recognized itself as the Third Rome, and power “as a service, not a right”. Wherever this unity weakened, the country found itself on the brink of collapse, and was restored when the people and the Church reunited once more around the faith.
Graphs about Religion
Large urban Churches are too big for the actual Church-goers
By Ryan Burge, November 4, 2026
In July, I ran a deep dive into the statistical reality facing the Archdiocese of Detroit. I titled the post, “Built for a Church That No Longer Exists.” The Archdiocese of Detroit has a new Archbishop who has started a process to help maintain the Archdiocese's institutional viability for the next couple of decades. That’s a fancy way of saying that they need to close a bunch of churches because the books don’t balance. The most important metric in this whole enterprise is seating capacity per Mass. If people walk in and see no place to sit, some will walk out. Or even if it’s only middle seats, that can turn some people off. However, average seating capacity is only 29%. Across the 204 parishes, 36% fill a quarter of their Sunday morning real estate, and nearly nine in ten operate at less than 50% capacity. Big buildings with small budgets are a deadly combination. It doesn’t matter if there are 30 or 300 in that space – the gas bill to heat it in February is basically the same.
Aleteia
Jonathan Roumie explains his thing for skulls
By Cerith Gardiner, November 1, 2026
Jonathan Roumie, the star of The Chosen, has amassed an impressive collection of skull rings, and he’s now added a matching pendant. It’s perhaps not the look you’d immediately associate with the man who plays Jesus on television, but there’s a very Catholic explanation behind his gothic accessories. In a recent Instagram video, Roumie showed off his collection and addressed the curiosity surrounding his choice of jewelry. He acknowledged that some people find his desire to be constantly reminded of death a little strange, but explained that the skulls help him remember how limited our time on earth really is. “These skulls remind me to spend energy on the right things each day,” he explained, adding that we’re all called to become saints. The Latin phrase memento mori means "remember that you will die." Admittedly, it's unlikely to catch on as a motivational slogan in the average office, but it has a long history in Christian spirituality.
Keep informed - 11/4/26 news for Catholics
Snippets from Loop, Catholic World Report, & EWTN
Zeale’s LOOP
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COLORADO MOVES TOWARD BALLOT MEASURES PROTECTING GIRLS’ SPORTS, CHILDREN - Colorado’s ballot measures protecting girls’ sports and prohibiting sex-rejecting surgeries for minors are seeing narrow leads with more than 70% of precincts reporting, as of early Nov. 4. Both measures are on track to pass, although results have not been finalized. A third proposition on Colorado’s ballot passed decisively in support of requiring life in prison without parole for convicted child sex traffickers.
AHEAD OF ELECTION DAY, MUSLIM LEADERS PUSHED TURNOUT IN TEXAS, MICHIGAN - Muslim leaders urged voters in Texas and Michigan to head to the polls where Democrats James Talarico and Abdul El-Sayed have been seeking Senate seats. Islamic scholar Yasir Qadhi called political participation a civic and religious duty, while activist Wajahat Ali warned of a “reckoning” within the Democratic Party.
CALIFORNIA BALLOT DISPUTE SEES RULING FLIP-FLOPS AS VOTING HAPPENS As voting was taking place for the Nov. 3 midterm election, efforts by the Trump administration to prevent potential non-citizen voting in California and obtain cooperation from local election officials were rewarded with a favorable 6-5 vote from the full 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. In a closely related lawsuit, the U.S. Supreme Court declined on Nov. 2 to review another aspect of the federal-state confrontation over possible non-citizen voting.
Catholic World Report
CWR, a free online magazine — November 4, 2026
CWR provides full coverage of news and events affecting the Church worldwide, offering in-depth analysis while exploring issues the mainstream media avoids. It features exclusive interviews, covers a wide range of relevant topics, and remains unwavering in its commitment to the truth in light of the Gospel.
‘God is glorious in His saints’: St. John Henry Newman and All Saints - our newest Doctor of the Church, Saint John Henry Cardinal Newman. “I have nothing of a saint about me as everyone knows, and it is a severe (and salutary) mortification to be thought next door to one” (February 1850).
Rome excoriates publisher of a ‘credibly accused’ list - Michael J. Mazza - In a shockingly frank judicial decision—decided in June 2025 but made available in English just last week in the canon law journal of St. Paul University in Ottawa1—the Roman Rota, the rough equivalent of the Catholic Church’s Supreme Court in such matters, roundly condemned the practice of publishing lists of “credibly accused” clerics.
A Convert from Communism - Michael J. Miller - As World War II was brewing, the Communist newspaper in London ran an “exposé” about the supposed Fascist connections of G. K. Chesterton’s Weekly Review. The articles were hastily written by Douglas Hyde, a Communist Party member in England and news editor of the Daily Worker, who converted from atheism and was received into the Catholic Church in 1949.
EWTN News
EWTN’s top headlines — November 4, 2026
EWTN News provides reliable, free, up-to-the-minute news affecting the Universal Church, emphasizing the words of the Holy Father and the activities of the Holy See, and is available to anyone with internet access.
Pope Leo XIV warns of the dangers an unjust economy poses to world peace - By Victoria Cardiel - He noted that technical solutions alone are not enough to address these problems. Citing the conciliar text, he recalled that “many reforms in the socioeconomic realm and a change of mentality and attitude are required of all.”
Digital missionary: The bane of hate-filled speech on social media - By Diego López Colín - Digital missionary Father José Juan Montalvo calls for reflection on the impact that criticism, mockery, and hate-filled messages on social media can have on young people.
Active-duty military service members have a new pathway to become chaplains - By Amira Abuzeid - Previously, service members had to leave the military to pursue theological training and then reapply to become chaplains.
November 4, 2026 - USCCB Daily Mass Readings
You can listen HERE or read HERE:
Memorial of Saint Charles Borromeo, Bishop
Today’s Catholic commentary:
Catholic Exchange
How’s your prayer life?
By Vic and Judy Sower, November 4, 2026
Sometimes we feel that our prayer life isn’t as vibrant as we wish it were. We seem to get into a pattern of saying the same prayers at the same time, sometimes just continuing to mouth them familiarly while our minds are distracted by extraneous thoughts. And no matter how focused we try to be on our prayers, something seems to be missing. Responding effectively to that feeling is sometimes very difficult. We engage in structured, formal prayer when we kneel or sit to pray the Rosary or the Litany of Trust. But we also engage in unstructured, informal prayer when we confess our sins, pray for those on our prayer lists, the needs of family and friends, and our own concerns and needs. Thankfully, we can do so in a variety of ways—all starting with the sincere prayer for guidance that the disciples taught us when they asked Jesus to “teach us to pray” (Lk. 11:1).
The Catholic Weekly
When surveys work – and how they work
By Dr Philippa Martyr, November 4, 2026
I got a great response to my article on the Absent from the Table report on reasons why people have stopped attending Mass in Australia. But several people said that because the respondents all self-selected – that they chose to take part in the project – this made the project inherently weak. This isn’t the case, so let me try to change your mind. All research is about answering a question. When the question is about what specific people think or do or say, we need to ask them to tell us the answers. But the trouble is that it’s often hard to get answers. These people may not be in a generous mood, or they may be very busy. Every survey in the world has been completed by a self-selected group of people – the ones who chose to take part in it. There’s no way around this. We can’t force people to do a survey – that’s grossly unethical. Surveys are a valuable way of carrying out research. But it really matters how they’re designed and who ends up completing them.
The Jerusalem Post
‘Turn that inshallah into alhamdulillah’: El-Sayed wins Senate race
By Jerusalem Post Staff, November 4, 2026
El-Sayed has stirred controversy throughout his campaign due to his stance on Israel, having accused the Jewish state of genocide over the war against Hamas in Gaza. Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed is projected to win his closely watched race against Republican Mike Rogers, leading pollsters reported on Wednesday, with the anti-Israel candidate set to fill the seat being vacated by retiring Democratic Senator Gary Peters. “Up until right about now, you might have noticed I always say ‘inshallah,’ or ‘God willing,’ whenever the outcome of this race was mentioned,” El-Sayed said in a victory speech. “But today, tonight, we can turn that inshallah into alhamdulillah!” Afterward, El-Sayed quipped, “For the right-wing ops, that just means ‘praise be to God.’” In his speech, El-Sayed also referenced his past criticism of Israel, saying that “we don’t want our money sent to do apartheid, or genocide, or war.”
Church Life Journal
Wisdom’s ‘Otherness’: The lessons of Gabriel Marcel
By Jacob Saliba, October 16, 2026
The esteemed historian H. Stuart Hughes once argued that Gabriel Marcel—the father of Christian existentialism (a category that Marcel ironically rejected) and decorated author of more than one hundred plays, books, and essays—represented the pinnacle of Catholic thought in twentieth-century France. Marcel’s works, The Mystery of Being, The Existential Background of Human Dignity (a collection of lectures delivered at Harvard in 1961), Man against Mass Society, and Homo Viator are today regarded as some of the most original, prophetic, and perhaps highly quotable texts by a Catholic intellectual in the last century. Yet it was not the sheer output and genre-defining nature of Marcel’s work that impressed Hughes, but the way his Catholic faith seemed to animate its power and depth.
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