Hosea: "They sow the wind and shall reap the whirlwind." Israel made kings without God's consent and built altars out of their own gold. The Gospel: Jesus heals a mute man and the crowd says "nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel." The Pharisees say he does it by the prince of demons. Same miracle, two responses. Then Jesus sees the crowds - "harassed and dejected, like sheep without a shepherd" - and turns to the disciples: "The harvest is rich but the laborers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest to send laborers" (Matthew 9:37-38). What you see determines what you do.

📰 Quick Hits

1. Planned Parenthood Medicaid Funding Resumes - What Happened and What's Next

On July 4 - America's 250th birthday - a provision of last year's "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" that banned Medicaid payments to Planned Parenthood expired. Federal funding resumed July 5. The one-year provision was the only abortion-related funding restriction that made it into the final bill; Congress had originally sought a 10-year ban but settled for one. Pro-life organizations called the lapse a "moral failure." Lila Rose of Live Action said: "On America's 250th birthday, Congress had the chance to honor the founding promise that every human being has a God-given right to life." Republicans are seeking to include an extension in a third reconciliation bill before the November midterms, but Senate prospects are uncertain. The USCCB's Committee on Pro-Life Activities had listed the original defunding among its pro-life victories for 2026.

Faith Lens for the Home: The Church teaches that every human life is sacred from conception to natural death. The harvest is rich - there are children to protect, mothers to support, legislators to persuade. The laborers are few. Ask your family: "What is one concrete way our household participates in the pro-life mission - beyond opposing abortion? What do we do for the mothers and children who need real help right now?"

2. The USMNT Lost 4-1 to Belgium Last Night - and That's Okay

Belgium dominated. The scoreline was not an upset - xG ran 2.15 to 0.67. The US made costly defensive errors, Belgium punished them with merciless efficiency, and Lukaku sealed it in stoppage time. Balogun played after FIFA controversially lifted his suspension following Trump's call to the FIFA president. He scored nothing. Belgium advances to the quarterfinals against Spain. The US goes home. After a tournament where everything seemed to break right - a favorable draw, the Balogun suspension reversal, home crowd energy - America is once again coming to terms with a round-of-16 exit.

Faith Lens for the Home: They sowed the wind this tournament and reaped the whirlwind last night. It is okay to be disappointed and it is okay to move on. Sport teaches children how to lose - which is a formation skill they will need far more than they need winning. Ask your family: "What did the US team do well in this World Cup even though they lost? What does losing well look like - for them and for us?"

3. Catholic Charities Brings the Padua Program to Englewood, Chicago

In one of Chicago's most challenged neighborhoods, Catholic Charities Fort Worth is expanding its Padua anti-poverty program to the greater Englewood community through a new partnership with Goodwill Greater Milwaukee and Chicago. Named after St. Anthony of Padua, patron saint of the poor, the program pairs each participant with a two-person case management team providing long-term, holistic support in housing, employment, education, and emotional resilience - with no arbitrary time limits and no eligibility requirements beyond being 18 and willing to work. Participants set their own goals. The program was developed in 2015 and validated by the University of Notre Dame's Wilson Sheehan Lab for Economic Opportunities in a randomized controlled trial - rare in the nonprofit world. Brendan Perry of Catholic Charities Fort Worth said: "Padua was built with a vision to meet people where they are, honoring human dignity and delivering real, proven results."

Faith Lens for the Home: The harvest is rich in Englewood. The laborers have arrived. Ask your family: "What does it mean to build a poverty program around human dignity rather than around a funder's timeline? What does the Church's approach to poverty look like different from the government's?" Then ask: "Is there a way our family can support work like this - locally, or nationally?" The laborers are few. More are needed.

⛪ Family Saint Spotlight

Blessed Benedict XI - July 7

A Dominican friar born Niccolò Boccasini in 1240, who rose through the order by teaching and learning rather than ambition, became Master General of the Dominicans, then Cardinal, then Pope in 1303. His pontificate lasted less than a year - he died in 1304, likely poisoned, though history is uncertain. In that brief time he worked to repair the devastating damage left by his predecessor Boniface VIII's bitter conflict with the French crown and the Colonna family. He extended mercy where mercy was possible and withdrew some of the most inflammatory measures. He was gentle, studious, and exhausted by a job he had not sought. The harvest he inherited was poisoned. He tried anyway.

Ask at dinner: "Blessed Benedict XI was pope for less than a year and inherited enormous problems that weren't his fault. What does it look like to do good work faithfully in a short time with a difficult inheritance?"

✋ One Simple Action

Ask the Lord of the harvest to send laborers - specifically, today. Name one area of the harvest where the need is obvious and the workers are few: the pro-life movement, the poverty-stricken neighborhoods of Chicago, the families of the World Cup players who lost last night and need their parents to model losing with grace. Pray for laborers by name in each one. Then ask God if you are being sent.

📚 Read More

• Planned Parenthood Medicaid funding resumes: Catholic Review (https://catholicreview.org/planned-parenthood-to-receive-medicaid-funds-again-as-defunding-provision-expires/) and OSV News (https://www.osvnews.com/planned-parenthood-to-receive-medicaid-funds-again-as-defunding-provision-expires/)
• USMNT loses 4-1 to Belgium: ESPN recap (https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_/id/49282960/world-cup-live-updates-united-states-takes-belgium-last-16) and Fox News (https://www.foxnews.com/sports/team-usas-world-cup-run-ends-belgium-wins-round-16-matchup-advance)
• Catholic Charities Fort Worth's Padua program expands to Chicago: NCRegister (https://www.ncregister.com/cna/catholic-charities-fort-worth-expands-research-backed-anti-poverty-program-to-illinois)
• Blessed Benedict XI: Catholic Encyclopedia (https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02429c.htm)

They sow the wind and reap the whirlwind. Jesus sees the crowds, harassed and dejected like sheep without a shepherd, and does not walk past. The Pharisees called it demonic. The crowd called it unprecedented. The disciples were told to pray for laborers. The harvest is rich. The laborers are few. Go.