Trump urges ‘team effort’ from allies to keep oil flowing through Strait of Hormuz; Exiled crown prince says he’s ready to lead Iran’s transition; VP asks for prayers for 6 service members who died in plane crash over Iraq; Trump’s Middle East comments from 1980 interview resurface following strikes on Iran; Pope urges dialogue for conflict in Middle East; Protesters in Cuba burn communist HQ as Trump talks spark hope; Tensions grow in Iceland as priest upholds Church’s moral teaching; Actress praises marriage, motherhood at Oscars; Mother Miriam laments most Catholics don’t know their faith; DAY SEVEN OF THE ST. JOSEPH NOVENA IS HAPPENING TODAY; and more —
Trump urges ‘team effort’ from allies to keep oil flowing through Strait of Hormuz
President Trump on Saturday urged allied nations to work together to keep oil safely flowing through the Strait of Hormuz as Iran said the critical global trade route was off limits to the US and Israel.
“The United States of America has beaten and completely decimated Iran, both Militarily, Economically, and in every other way, but the Countries of the World that receive Oil through the Hormuz Strait must take care of that passage, and we will help — A LOT!” the president wrote in a Truth Social post.
“The U.S. will also coordinate with those Countries so that everything goes quickly, smoothly, and well. This should have always been a team effort, and now it will be — It will bring the World together toward Harmony, Security, and Everlasting Peace! President DONALD J. TRUMP.”
Read more at the New York Post; see more at ZeroHedge
Exiled crown prince says he’s ready to lead Iran’s transition ‘as soon as the Islamic Republic falls’, reveals plans for county’s economic revival
Watch @RodDMartin; read more at the New York Post
Victor Davis Hanson on 50 years of Iran fears – Opinion essay
See @NotTheMSM1
Trump’s Middle East comments from 1980 interview resurface following strikes on Iran
A decades-old television interview featuring a young Donald Trump has resurfaced after the US President launched strikes on Iran. The 1980 interview reveals Trump was calling for US military intervention during the height of the Iranian hostage crisis. In the exchange with TV host Rona Barrett, Trump sharply criticised the US government’s handling of the crisis. The crisis saw 52 American diplomats and citizens being held captive following the 1979 Iranian Revolution. “That they hold our hostages is just absolutely and totally ridiculous,” Trump said at the time. “That this country sits back and allows a country such as Iran to hold our hostages to my way of thinking is a horror.” Trump unequivocally agreed with the option of sending US troops into Iran to retrieve the hostages.
Watch at Sky News Australia
VP asks for prayers for 6 service members who lost their life in plane crash over Iraq
See @JDVance and AIrunsthefuture
After recitation of Sunday Angelus, Pope urges dialogue
See @VaticanNews
Fiery Weekend in Cuba: Protesters Burn Communist HQ as Trump Talks Spark Hope
Nightly protests against communism throughout Cuba reached a fever pitch this weekend as protesters, armed with little more than local piles of garbage and combustible material, set fire to the Communist Party headquarters in Morón, Ciego de Ávila, in the early morning hours of Saturday.
Cuba has experienced ten consecutive nights of nationwide protests, following months in which hundreds of protests throughout the island have broken documented records, in response to the aggravated state of poverty and misery under communism in the first months of this year. While Cubans have long experienced extreme shortages, a lack of access to basics such as food and medical care, and the violent repression of their rights, the arrest of Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro on January 3 cut off a critical lifeline of nearly free fuel that has also left the country almost entirely without electricity.
Read more at Breitbart
Eucharistic procession across original 13 states begins Memorial Day weekend in St. Augustine, Florida (site of first Mass)
See @CatholicArena
Route announced for 2026 Eucharistic Pilgrimage
The 2026 Eucharistic Pilgrimage will crisscross the east coast of the United States, beginning in the location of the first Mass on U.S. soil and ending in Philadelphia for the country’s 250th anniversary.
Dubbed the “St. Francis Xavier Cabrini Route,” the pilgrimage will begin in St. Augustine, Florida, on May 24, 2026, Memorial Day weekend. The pilgrimage will continue up the east coast before arriving in the Diocese of Portland, Maine on June 23. From there, the pilgrimage will head back south to the Archdiocese of Boston, before concluding in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia on July 2nd through the 5th.
The theme of the pilgrimage is “One Nation Under God,” said a press release issued Thursday, January 8.
“One Nation Under God is not a borrowed slogan; rather, it is an invitation to realign our lives, our communities, and our country under the sovereignty of Jesus Christ,” said Jason Shanks, president of the National Eucharistic Congress, in the release.
Read more at Aleteia; see schedule and location details @Archdiocese for Military Services
National Eucharistic Pilgrimage 2026 – Trailer
Watch at National Eucharistic Revival
Michigan teen starts Catholic online newspaper for other teens
Luis Nava, a high school freshman at the International Academy in Michigan, takes to heart that he wants to be ready to answer any questions from his peers but also to better understand his Catholic faith. He began an online newspaper called The Catholic Michigander, where he tackles some of those questions and more.
Nava is a parishioner at St. Joseph Parish in Lake Orion, Michigan, and spent his first few years attending school there. He recently spoke to students at the Catholic school about a project he started to help spread the Catholic faith among teens and to help young people understand what the faith is all about.
“A lot of the times, if I’m facing questions from classmates that don’t have the same beliefs as me, I want to know exactly what I believe and exactly why I believe it,” Nava said.
Learning about his faith became more of a quest after Nava attended a pro-life conference in 2024 at his parish. While he was there, Nava picked up a quote from William Wilberforce that he says inspired him to fulfill what he believes is his calling: “Let it not be said that I was silent when they needed me,” he said. The saying is posted above his desk. “I see it every day.”
Read more at EWTN NEWS
Students from Ave Maria University to live Cistercian lifestyle at new campus in Ireland
See @cnalive
Poll Shows 76% of Americans Want Abortions Banned or Limited
Today Pew Research released the results of a new poll on public attitudes on sanctity of life issues. This poll, which surveyed over 8,500 people in late January, contains some good news for pro-lifers.
The results show a gain in pro-life sentiment since the last Pew abortion poll in April 2024.
Specifically, the percentage of Americans who think abortion should be illegal in all or most cases increased by two percentage points. Overall, over 76 percent of Americans think there should be some legal limits on abortion.
Read more at LifeNews
Actress praises marriage, motherhood at Oscars
Watch @LilaGraceRose
Most Catholics in 2026 Sadly Don’t Know Their Faith | Mother Miriam Live
Watch at Mother Miriam Highlights
Tensions grow in Iceland as priest upholds Church’s moral teaching
A flashpoint of Catholic faith and life in the Western liberal democracies is occurring in an unusual place: Iceland.
The Church has been in the headlines this month in the North Atlantic island nation, a rather unusual occurrence, after Fr. Jakob Rolland, chancellor of the Catholic Church in Iceland, gave an interview with state broadcaster RÚV that delved into the Church’s position on LGBT issues. Capital [Reykjavík] Region police have announced they will examine the priest’s remarks and determine whether to launch a criminal investigation.
The law in question is a 2023 parliamentary statute banning so-called “conversion therapy” of LGBT-identifying individuals. Critics of Fr. Rolland’s comments assert that the Catholic Church aims to “convert” the sexual orientations of Icelanders, even if the methods do not correspond to a traditional understanding of “therapy.” They claim adherence to Catholic teaching on this topic and refusal of the Eucharist to those living in same-sex relationships represent forms of conversion therapy.
Read more at The Catholic World Report
Guardian Angels: Not Just Kid-Stuff
Like many people years ago, as a child, my brother and I, together with our dad, always prayed in our “night prayers” the traditional prayer to our guardian angels: “Angel of God, my guardian dear to whom God’s love entrusts me here, ever this day (or night) be at my side, to light and guard, to rule and guide. Amen.”
I still ask my guardian angel at night when I go to bed and, in the morning, when I get up, to watch over and protect me. Moreover, before writing, I always ask my guardian angel to give me clarity of thought and expression and to whisper the right words into my ears. Sometimes when I am struggling to find the right word, he places exactly the right word in my mind.
Read more at The Catholic Thing
SSPX Superior Defends Planned Consecrations, Says Church Crisis “Much Worse”
The Superior General of the Society of Saint Pius X has explained the upcoming episcopal consecrations by saying that the much cited “state of necessity” is today “much worse” following Pope Francis’ “catastrophic” pontificate.
Since the February 2 announcement of upcoming episcopal consecrations by the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX), there has been much discussion about what such an action will mean for the Church. Apologists for and against the move have taken their respective sides, and a handful of prominent cardinals and bishops have also weighed in – similarly divided over whether the Pope should approve the consecrations or not.
On March 10, the SSPX published a wide-ranging question and answer session with its Superior General Fr. Davide Pagliarani, recorded on February 7. In the 80-minute discussion, Pagliarani answers questions on why the consecrations are happening this particular summer, why they are deemed necessary by the Society in the first place, why the SSPX would not become one of the former Ecclesia Dei institutes, and whether such an action does not place them outside of ecclesial communion.
Read more at Pelican
The Significance of the Angelus Prayer
Watch @robertleusink; read ‘What is the Angelus’ at Simply Catholic
A Latin rite Mass in Paris on Laetare Sunday ends with a Hail Mary in Syriac (a dialect of Aramaic, the language of Jesus) for peace
Watch/listen @The_Davm
NOVENA TO ST. JOSEPH – DAY SEVEN
See @father_rmv; see DAY FIVE (Saturday) here and DAY SIX (Sunday) here
