God sends a man in linen through Jerusalem to mark a cross - the Thau, the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet, shaped like an X - on the foreheads of those who grieve over the city's abominations. Those marked are spared. The unmarked are not. Then the glory of the Lord departs from the Temple. The Gospel turns that image toward restoration: "If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone... For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them" (Matthew 18:15, 20). The mark of grief over sin. The promise of presence when we seek each other's good. Today's news has both.

The deeper reflection on today's readings - and a daily prayer for your household - is waiting in the & Altar app and at andaltar.com. More after the news.

📰 Quick Hits

1. Surrogate Refuses to Abort; Texas AG Secures Emergency Court Order for Baby's Life

McKenna West, an Alaskan nurse and single mother, agreed to serve as a surrogate for a California couple. When baby Gabriel was diagnosed at 20 weeks with hypoplastic left heart syndrome - a treatable but serious heart defect requiring surgery - the intended parents demanded she abort him per an "abortion on demand" clause in the surrogacy contract. She refused, and traveled to Texas seeking legal protection. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton intervened Tuesday, securing an emergency court order directing Dallas hospitals to provide life-saving cardiac care for Gabriel when he is born and prohibiting his removal from the state. The legal battle with the intended parents is still ongoing. West's due date is September 3. Baby Gabriel is alive.

This is the Preventing Forced Abortions Act from August 5 lived in real time - a real woman, a real child, a real court, a real outcome. The man in linen marks those who grieve over what is being done. McKenna West grieved. She stood. She was marked.

Faith Lens for the Home: Ask your family: "What does this story tell us about what it means to stand for a life even when you're not the mother - even when the people who made the decision want you to do otherwise? What does courage look like when it's not dramatic, just a woman who said no?" Then pray for McKenna West and for her baby's surgery and safe delivery on September 2.

2. Massachusetts Signs Law Allowing Abortion Through All Nine Months

On Sunday, Governor Maura Healey signed legislation removing virtually all remaining restrictions on late-term abortion in Massachusetts, allowing abortion through all nine months of pregnancy based on a physician's determination. Massachusetts becomes the 11th state with no meaningful gestational limits on abortion. The same week a Texas surrogate fought to save one unborn child, Massachusetts removed the last legal protections from all of them.

Faith Lens for the Home: The man in linen marked those who grieve. The Church teaches that every human life from conception is sacred - and that when a society removes its last protections for the most vulnerable, something of its own soul is at risk. Ask your family: "What does the Church ask of us when laws move in this direction - not just opposition, but what else? Who are we called to serve?" The answer includes the women who will face these decisions, the doctors who will feel pressure, and the children who will not be named. Grieve. And then act.

3. The LDS Church Donated 45,000 Pounds of Food to Catholic Charities

As part of a nationwide service initiative marking America's 250th anniversary, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints donated approximately 45,000 pounds of food to Catholic Charities of Fairfield County, Connecticut - enough to serve thousands of families across southwestern Connecticut this fall. The donation is one of many the LDS Church has made to Catholic Charities organizations across the country as part of the initiative. No press conference. No ceremony. Just food, and the hands that carried it, and the families who will eat it.

Faith Lens for the Home: "Where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them." Two communities who disagree on significant matters of theology found each other in a food warehouse and filled it together. Ask your family: "What does it mean to work alongside people who believe differently from us for something we both believe in? What does that kind of cooperation require - and what does it witness to the world?" Then consider: Catholic Charities in your area is serving families right now. You don't have to be LDS to show up.

⛪ Family Saint Spotlight

St. Jane Frances de Chantal - August 12

Born in 1572 in Dijon, France. Married at 20, widowed at 28 with four children when her husband was killed in a hunting accident. She met Francis de Sales, who became her spiritual director and lifelong friend. Together they founded the Visitation Order - a community designed for women who could not manage the physical austerities of other orders, dedicated to gentleness and humility. When she left to enter religious life, her teenage son lay down in the doorway to block her. She stepped over him and kept walking. He became a devout Catholic. She founded 86 monasteries. She is patron of those who have lost a spouse, those separated from family, and those who persevere through profound personal grief into a vocation they never planned.

Ask at dinner: "Jane Frances stepped over her son in the doorway and he eventually became devout. What does that tell us about the relationship between following your vocation and loving your family - that they are not always the same thing in the moment, but can become so?"

✋ One Simple Action

Pray tonight for McKenna West and baby Gabriel - that the legal battle resolves in Gabriel's favor and September 3 brings a healthy birth and successful surgery. Pray for Massachusetts - for the women and children in that state who have lost their last legal protections. And find Catholic Charities in your area and consider one concrete act of service or giving this week. Where two or three gather in his name, he is there. Go be one of them.

📚 Read More

• McKenna West surrogate refuses abortion; Texas AG secures emergency order for baby Gabriel: Texas Tribune (https://www.texastribune.org/2026/08/11/texas-surrogate-ken-paxton-abortion-baby-gabriel/) and CBS Texas (https://www.cbsnews.com/texas/news/texas-surrogacy-case-abortion-dispute-treatment-care-unborn-child/) and Live Action (https://www.liveaction.org/news/public-officials-protect-baby-heart-condition-surrogacy/)
• Massachusetts signs abortion-through-birth law: NCRegister (https://www.ncregister.com/cna/massachusetts-becomes-11th-state-with-no-abortion-limits-as-gov-healey-signs-bill) and EWTN News (https://www.ewtnnews.com/world/us/massachusetts-becomes-11th-state-with-no-abortion-limits-as-gov-healey-signs-bill) and WBUR (https://www.wbur.org/news/2026/08/11/gov-healey-abortion-24-weeks-massachusetts-law)
• LDS Church donates 45,000 pounds to Catholic Charities: Diocese of Bridgeport (https://www.bridgeportdiocese.org/church-of-jesus-christ-of-latter-day-saints-donates-45000-pounds-of-food-to-catholic-charities-of-fairfield-county/)
• St. Jane Frances de Chantal: Franciscan Media (https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saint-jane-frances-de-chantal/) and Catholic Culture (https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/calendar/day.cfm?date=2026-08-12)

The man in linen marked those who grieved. A surrogate in Texas grieved and stood. Massachusetts removed the last marks of protection. A food warehouse in Connecticut was filled by two communities who disagree on much and agreed on this. Where two or three are gathered in his name, he is there. Go find them. Be marked. Stand.