The LOOP
The Monday Loop - December 29, 2025
FBI ISSUES UPDATE ON MINNESOTA FRAUD SCANDAL
FBI Director Kash Patel yesterday issued a statement updating the public on a sprawling fraud scandal in Minnesota. “To date, the FBI dismantled a $250 million fraud scheme that stole federal food aid meant for vulnerable children during COVID,” he wrote.
TRUMP-ZELENSKYY MEET REPORTEDLY PRODUCTIVE
"Sunday's talks between President Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy could pave the way for the first call between Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin in more than five years," a source told Fox News. Trump touted the meeting ahead of time as a step that could lead to a quick resolution to the ongoing war in Ukraine.
RFK MAY OVERHAUL CHILD VACCINE SCHEDULE
"A new childhood vaccination schedule under Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. could look a lot more like Denmark’s schedule — meaning more parental control, fewer overall shots, and nixing very early doses," Amanda Prestigiacomo reports.
GOP GOVERNOR TOUTS MEDICAID REFORMS
Republican Indiana Gov. Mike Braun last week touted his administration's efforts to eliminate waste and fraud. The efforts stand in sharp contrast to the unfolding scandal in Minnesota. "We found folks that should have been on Medicare that were still on Medicaid. People double-dipping Medicaid through a couple of different states, pharmacies with a 340B program, buying drugs at a discount, selling them at high margins," Braun said. "We're just picking that low-hanging fruit, and that's why we're going to lead the country."
EXORCISMS ARE EXPLODING ACROSS AMERICA
"From Michigan to Melbourne, exorcisms are rising — an odd trend in an age when Christianity is supposedly retreating," writes John Mac Ghlionn. He recently reached out to Catholic clergy for insights. Here's what he learned.
POPE LEO CALLS FAMILIES TO FOLLOW MARY & JOSEPH
Marking the Feast of the Holy Family yesterday, Pope Leo urged families to ground their lives in the Gospel and guard the “flame of love” in their homes against modern myths of worldly success and power that he warned can foster isolation and despair.
SOROS REPORTEDLY SPENDS BIG TO REELECT LETITIA JAMES
George Soros and his family have reportedly "lavished more than $71,000 into New York Attorney General Letitia James campaign coffers since 2019, including a robust $31,000 to help the longtime adversary of President Donald Trump get re-elected next year," Breitbart reports.
Advertisement
THIS YEAR, RESOLVE TO PRAY
Start the New Year by building your prayer life. Commit to daily prayer with beloved devotions like The Angelus, the Surrender Novena, the Holy Face Chaplet or a weekly Holy Hour. Simple commitments, Eternal impact.
POPE ST. JOHN PAUL II'S DECEMBER FORGIVENESS
Forty-two years ago, on Dec. 27, Pope St. John Paul II showed the world that radical forgiveness is possible when he visited his would-be assassin in prison. Rediscover the inspiring story here.
WHERE IN EGYPT DID THE HOLY FAMILY LIVE?
Did Jesus take His first step in Egypt? Did He see the Great Pyramids when He was little? Where exactly did the Holy Family live while they were in exile? Philip Kosloski explains.
FIRST CHRISTMAS AS A MOTHER
"This year, I have the privilege of celebrating Christmas with a baby boy in my arms," writes Grace Porto for CatholicVote. "As I hold my wide-eyed son up to a Nativity scene, showing him the angels, the Blessed Mother, St. Joseph, and the Child Jesus, I reflect on what Mary must have felt in her pregnancy and motherhood."
CATHOLIC 101
"The murder of Archbishop Thomas Becket stunned the whole of Christendom. All across Europe, he was acclaimed as a martyr, and in 1173 Pope Alexander III… canonised him.” Get to know the inspiring saint honored by the Church today.
SAINT OF THE DAY
Today the Church honors St. Thomas Becket. Thomas' close friend King Henry II promoted him to be the archbishop of Canterbury in a bid to consolidate power. The king was soon enraged, however, because Thomas took the role seriously and protected the Church from secular incursions. Thomas died in Canterbury Cathedral at the hands of the king’s knights.
DAILY PSALM
"Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice!" (Psalm 96)
DAILY READINGS
Today's Mass readings.
DEVOTION
Don't let go of the Gift we all received this holy season.
