1. Christian leaders in Egypt reflect on persecution of Coptic minority

2. Holy Land Christians: Threatened With Extinction, but Still Bearing Witness

3. In the New York Times: Fertility Rate in U.S. Hit a Record Low in 2018

4. Also there: A new study shows that death rates increased for middle-aged people of all racial and ethnic groups.


5. West Virginia bishop calls for predecessor, accused of sex and financial misconduct, to pay $792,000 in restitution and to apologize


6. Helping the homeless and strengthening marriage in Miami

7. The sacred joy of gratitude

8. One of my favorites from WFB on gratitude

9. Some friends, wonderful, worthy people are on this list: Pope Francis Bestows Honors Upon 10 Individuals For Exceptional Service To The Church In Philadelphia

(read about Fr. Bochanski’s book on hope here!)

10. I’ve listened to more than a few ’80s pop songs in my time, and things makes me smile:

Steve Winwood’s ‘Higher Love’: “A modern hymn”

Plus: My Thanksgiving reflection on what Catholics have to be thankful for

I might add: Steve Winwood’s song makes an appearance in A Year with the Mystics: Visionary Wisdom for Daily Living. You can currently get A Year with the Mystics on Amazon, three for the price of one, and at 36 percent off. I don’t know how long that will last, so you might want to strike now.

If you don’t know about A Year with the Mystics, some windows in here (thank you, Charlie Camosy) and here (thank you, Matt Lewis) and here (thank you, Kris McGregor) and here and here:

If you have any words of wisdom about gratitude or Thanksgiving, send them and I may post tomorrow while I’m headed back to New York from Chicago from a session last night on, of all things, gratitude, with our regional fellows there!