Today's Gospel catches Jesus in a pointed mood. "Why do you not judge for yourselves what is right?" he asks the crowd, before telling them to make an effort to settle the matter on the way, otherwise your opponent will turn you over to the judge, and the judge hand you over to the constable, and the constable throw you into prison. Paul's letter to the Ephesians, read at the same Mass, gives the gentler half of that same advice, urging believers to live with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another through love. Tonight's three items are, in their own way, three different versions of the same question: what needs settling tonight, and what simply needs bearing.

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. Supreme Court Will Hear Case Over Catholic Preschools

The U.S. Supreme Court will soon hear oral arguments in a case brought by Catholic preschools over non-discrimination rules in Colorado's state-funded preschool program. The argument is set for Tuesday, November 3, 2026. Colorado's education department has said that the parish's religious exercise - asking all enrolled families to support and uphold the Catholic Church's teachings - is inconsistent with the preschool program's requirements. So far, every court that has heard the case, including the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals, has rejected the parish's argument because Colorado's conditions for participating in the program are neutral and generally applied to every preschool. The parish is represented by the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, which argues the requirement violates its Free Exercise rights.

Faith Lens for the Home: The Church has long taught that parents, not the state, hold the first right to form their children in the faith, and this case tests that claim in a very concrete way. How much of the specifics your children are ready to hear is yours to judge, but every family can pray a decade of the rosary tonight for Catholic schools and for parents raising kids in the faith under real pressure.

2. Study Links Late-Night Phone Use To Lost Sleep In Teens

Teens who use their phones late into the evening suffer from delays in falling asleep, shorter total sleep time, and sleep that's more restless and broken, researchers reported Oct. 19 in JAMA Pediatrics. Across nearly 7,600 nights in 425 adolescents, smartphone use after 10 p.m. above each teen's usual level was associated with falling asleep 64 minutes later and sleeping 20 minutes less. "These findings suggest that reducing evening smartphone use, particularly after 10 p.m. and immediately before bedtime, may help improve sleep health in adolescents," concluded the research team. One child psychiatrist not involved in the study suggested replacing evening phone use with "other types of winding-down activities," including reading, music, and stretching.

Faith Lens for the Home: Jesus tells us today to settle a matter before it grows more costly, and the same logic applies to a phone glowing on a nightstand at 11 p.m. Pick one small, specific curfew for devices tonight - a basket by the stairs, a charger left in the kitchen - and let it be the one thing your family actually settles before bed.

⛪ Family Saint Spotlight

St. John of Capistrano - October 23

John of Capistrano was born in 1386 in the Italian town that shares his name. As a young man he studied law, practiced as a lawyer in the courts of Naples, and was appointed governor of Perugia. During a war with a neighboring city he was imprisoned, and in that imprisonment he began to study theology, forswearing his secular profession when he was released in 1416 to enter a Franciscan community at Perugia. He was ordained a priest at age thirty-nine in 1425 and spent the next thirty-one years preaching across northern Italy and northern Europe. After Constantinople fell to Turkish invaders in 1453, Pope Nicholas V sent John on a mission to rally other European leaders in defense of their lands. At age seventy he joined the Hungarian general John Hunyadi at the siege of Belgrade, going into battle wearing only his habit, carrying a banner with the Holy Name of Jesus and a crucifix, and he earned the nickname "Soldier Priest" for the victory that followed. Worn out by his efforts, he fell easy prey to an infection after the battle and died soon after. He is remembered today as the patron saint of military chaplains, judges, and jurists.

Ask at dinner: "What's one kind of courage that doesn't involve a weapon?"

✋ One Simple Action

Before bed, sit together for five minutes and pray a decade of the Sorrowful Mysteries - the Agony in the Garden - for Pope Leo's continued recovery, for the Catholic families and preschools waiting on the Supreme Court, and for every teenager in your house who needs a better night's sleep. If there's a small unsettled thing sitting in your own home tonight, use the quiet after the prayer to settle it instead of letting it wait, the way Jesus suggests in today's Gospel.

📚 Read More

• Pope Leo's Health: Vatican News (https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2026-10/pope-leo-xiv-doctors-confirm-no-further-treatment-necessary.html) and PBS NewsHour/AP, on the pope's recovery and upcoming trip (https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/pope-leos-tests-show-he-needs-no-further-treatment-for-lung-cancer-his-doctors-say)
• Catholic Preschools At The Supreme Court: The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, case summary (https://becketfund.org/case/st-mary-catholic-parish-v-roy/) and SCOTUSblog, case docket and argument date (https://www.scotusblog.com/cases/st-mary-catholic-parish-v-roy/)
• Teens, Phones, and Sleep: U.S. News & HealthDay, on the JAMA Pediatrics study (https://usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/2026-10-21/smartphones-are-wrecking-teens-sleep-study-says) and MedicalXpress, on the study's findings (https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-smartphones-teens.html)
• St. John of Capistrano: Catholic World Report (https://www.catholicworldreport.com/2024/10/23/st-john-of-capistrano-franciscan-priest-and-missionary-who-achived-military-victory/) and Franciscan Media, saint of the day (https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saint-john-of-capistrano/)

Jesus asks us tonight to settle what we can, and Paul asks us to bear patiently with what we can't - both callings showed up somewhere in tonight's news, from a pope settling back into his schedule to preschools waiting on a settlement from the Supreme Court to a teenager who needs to settle down for the night a little earlier. Whatever has been sitting in your own family's attic this week, don't let it get more expensive by waiting. Pray for Pope Leo, for the families caught up in the Colorado case, and for your own house's unsettled things. Enjoy the weekend living the faith in your domestic church, and we'll see you Monday.