🎤"THE LORD WILL NOT ABANDON HIS PEOPLE" (Ps 94:14)

⏰Saturday of the Thirtieth Week of Ordinary Time 1 (04 November 2017 - Memorial of St. Charles Borromeo)

📖Rom 11:1-2a, 11-12, 25-29; Ps 94:12-13a, 14-15, 17-18 (R.v.14a); Luke 14:1, 7-11

This is the end of the week. On this day, I pray for you that God may also bring to an end, all your difficulties, failures, sorrows, and everything that draws you back. May he end your tears and put smiles back to your face. Amen.

Don't allow the evil plant a seed of depression in you, in case you have a target you are not able to meet yet or a desire that is yet to be satisfied in you. In the midst of their sufferings and persecution they were facing, St. Paul encouraged the early Christians not to ever think that the Lord has abandoned them (cf. Rom 11:1-29).

That message is also meant for you in whatever difficulty you may be passing through. The Lord will never abandon you. Just have faith and follow him in righteousness, and it shall be well with you. Amen.

By the way, when you are enjoying the favour of God, never forget to stay humble. Humility is a virtue which Jesus calls everyone to embrace (cf. Luke 14:1-11). Have you been following him in humility?

St. Charles Borromeo had a lot of things going for him. He was made a Cardinal at a very youthful age, about 22 years, and he was born of a wealthy family. But he became a servant-leader and helped in the correction of abuses among the clergy by his exemplary life. He loved his flock so much that he sacrificed the comfort of his home and office in order to work for their salvation.

We need more Charles Borromeos in our society today. Can you please be one by living an exemplary life of sacrificial love?

May God's blessings be enormous for you today and beyond. And may his grace help us to place ourselves under him at all times. Amen.

Have a joyful and restful weekend. Peace be with you.

*Catalonia Protests as Ex-Ministers Held in 🇪🇸Spanish Custody

Thousands of Catalans have protested against the detention of eight regional ministers sacked over Catalonia's push for independence from Spain. The officials - who appeared in Spain's high court - are accused of rebellion, sedition and misuse of public funds.

Prosecutors are also seeking a European Arrest Warrant for ousted Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont, who did not show up in court and is now in Belgium. The request also covers four other ex-ministers who ignored the summons.

On Thursday, thousands of people gathered outside Catalonia's regional parliament in Barcelona. Many carried Catalan flags and slogans that read "Freedom for political prisoners". Similar protest rallies were held in other Catalan towns. Political parties and civic groups in the affluent north-eastern region also condemned the judicial move.

US to Name Child Sex Offenders in Their Passports

The State Department said Wednesday it would begin revoking passports of registered child sex offenders and will require them to apply for a new one that carries a “unique identifier” of their status. Those applying for a passport for the first time will not be issued one without the identifier, which will be a notice printed inside the back cover of the passport book that reads: “The bearer was convicted of a sex offense against a minor, and is a covered sex offender pursuant to (U.S. law).”

The department said in a statement posted to its travel.state.gov website that registered child sex offenders will no longer be issued smaller travel documents known as passport cards because they do not have enough room to fit the notice. The changes come in response to last year’s “International Megan’s Law,” which aims to curb child exploitation and child sex tourism, but also has been criticized by civil libertarians for being overly broad and targeting only one category of convicted felons.

The law is named after Megan Kanka, a 7-year-old girl murdered by a convicted child sex offender in New Jersey in 1994. The case drew widespread attention and led to the creation of several state sex offender registries. Government agencies notified Congress on Wednesday the passport requirement of the law had taken effect.

Jared Kushner's team turned over to special counsel in Russia documents investigation

Jared Kushner has turned over documents in recent weeks to special counsel Robert Mueller as investigators have begun asking in witness interviews about Kushner's role in the firing of FBI Director James Comey, CNN has learned.

Mueller's investigators have expressed interest in Kushner, President Donald Trump's son-in-law and a White House senior adviser, as part of its probe into Russian meddling, including potential obstruction of justice in Comey's firing, sources familiar with the matter said.

Their questions about Kushner signal that Mueller's investigators are reaching the President's inner circle and have extended beyond the 2016 campaign to actions taken at the White House by high-level officials.

While Kushner and those close to the White House will only say he was in favor of the decision -- or, in the words of one attorney, "did not oppose it" -- there are multiple sources who say that Kushner was a driver of the decision and expected it would be a political boon for the President.

Other points of focus that pertain to Kushner include the Trump campaign's 2016 data analytics operation, his relationship with former national security adviser Michael Flynn and Kushner's own contacts with Russians, according to sources briefed on the probe.

New SGF, Boss Mustapha Takes Oath Of Office

The new Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr Boss Mustapha, has taken the oath of office. Mr Mustapha took the oath of office today, November 1 at Council Chambers of the Presidential Villa, two days after his appointment. President Muhammadu Buhari had announced Mustapha’s appointment on Monday after sacked the suspended Secretary to Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr Babachir Lawal. Mr Lawal’s tenure came to an end six months after the President suspended him based on charges of corruption. Mustapha before his recent appointment as SGF was the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the National inland waterways Authority (NIWA).

BREAKING: Court dismisses Diezani’s application for trial in Nigeria

BREAKING: Court dismisses Diezani’s application for trial in Nigeria The Federal High Court in Lagos on Wednesday rejected an application by a former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, seeking to be joined as a defendant in an alleged N450m fraud case in Nigeria. Justice Rilwan Aikawa, while rejecting the application, described it as bizarre and a misuse of court processes, stressing that he would not allow himself to be used to frustrate Diezani’s imminent trial in the United Kingdom, where is currently under investigation and on bail. The judge declined all of Diezani’s prayers, including an order mandating the Attorney General of the Federation to facilitate her return from the UK, where is currently being investigated for alleged fraud by the Metropolitan Police.