Nahum stands over the ruins of Nineveh and describes what he sees: the crack of the whip, the rumble of wheels, horses at a gallop, chariots bounding, the many slain, the heaping corpses, the endless bodies to stumble upon. A city that took everything has nothing left. Then the Gospel drops the question into that rubble: "What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?" (Matthew 16:26). The weapons stockpiles are virtually empty. The missiles kept flying. Take up your cross and follow. The Kingdom's math runs backward from Nineveh's.

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. US Weapons Stockpiles "Virtually Depleted" After Five Months; Ukraine Can't Intercept Kyiv Missiles

Multiple sources are warning that the US Army has used "virtually all" of its stockpiled long-range surface-to-surface missiles during its five-month conflict with Iran. President Trump denied the reports, promising the Pentagon has "massive" munitions arsenals and that manufacturers are expanding output. Precise counts are classified. Meanwhile, Ukraine raised separate alarms this week: Russian ballistic missiles bombarded Kyiv Wednesday, killing at least 21 people, and Ukrainian forces were unable to intercept a single one due to depleted air defenses. Zelenskyy responded by striking oil facilities deep inside Russia. Diplomats report being close to finalizing a deal on Strait of Hormuz shipping with Iran. Two wars, one common problem: the quivers are running low.

Faith Lens for the Home: Nahum watched Nineveh stumble over its own dead - a city whose whole identity was military power, reduced to bodies in the street. Ask your family: "What does the Church teach about the limits of military force - and what happens when a nation has spent its military capacity without achieving its stated objectives? What does 'just war' mean when the war outlasts its justification?" Pray tonight for the 21 Ukrainians killed in Kyiv this week. Pray for the families of the 18 Americans killed in the Iran war. Pray for the diplomats working on the Hormuz deal.

2. Lindsay Clancy Trial Begins in Massachusetts

Trial began this week for Lindsay Clancy, a Massachusetts mother and labor and delivery nurse charged with first-degree murder in the January 2023 deaths of her three young children - Cora, 5, Alexis, 3, and Liam, 8 months. Clancy has not disputed that she killed them. Her defense attorneys argue she was suffering from severe, undiagnosed postpartum psychosis - a condition they say was caused or worsened by medications her doctors prescribed - and that she was not criminally responsible for her actions. Prosecutors argue she acted deliberately. If found not criminally responsible by reason of mental disease, she would be committed to a psychiatric facility; if convicted of first-degree murder, she faces life without parole. The case is expected to take several weeks.

Faith Lens for the Home: This case resists easy answers and demands genuine pastoral care. The Church teaches that diminished culpability is a real category - that severe mental illness can affect moral responsibility in ways only God can fully weigh. It also holds that three children's lives were sacred and that their deaths are a genuine tragedy, not a problem to be solved by a verdict. Ask your family: "How do we hold compassion for someone who has done something terrible and grief for their victims at the same time? What does the Church teach about mental illness and moral responsibility?" Then pray - for the souls of Cora, Alexis, and Liam. For Lindsay Clancy. For the families on all sides carrying this.

3. A Wildfire Burned 640 Homes in Spokane. Our Lady Was Still Standing.

The Old Trails Fire has become the worst natural disaster in Spokane's history - 10,000+ acres burned, 640 structures destroyed, 65,000 people evacuated. An arsonist, Aaron Farinacci, 37, has been arrested and charged with first-degree arson; he is being held on a $1 million bond. On August 3, Bishop Thomas Daly entered the fire zone with his communications director. In a neighborhood reduced to ash and twisted metal, they found one thing standing untouched: a statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The Diocese posted the image with these words: "In the midst of unimaginable loss, this image speaks without words." Bishop Daly said simply: "Christ remains with us."

Faith Lens for the Home: This week a masked man smashed Our Lady's statue in Queens in the dark. A wildfire burned 640 homes in Spokane and left her standing in the ash. Both images speak. Ask your family: "What are we holding onto that fire cannot take? What does Mary standing in the ruins say about what endures?" Pray for the 65,000 people in Spokane who are rebuilding. And pray for Aaron Farinacci - that whatever drove him to set that fire might be reached by something that burns differently.

⛪ Family Saint Spotlight

Sts. Sixtus II and Companions & St. Cajetan - August 7

Two very different saints share today. Sixtus II was the bishop of Rome who was dragged from his chair during Mass on August 6, 258 AD - the day we now celebrate as the Transfiguration - and executed along with four of his deacons by the Roman prefect. His deacon Lawrence begged to die with him. Sixtus told him: "In three days you will follow me." Lawrence was martyred three days later. They gave everything to keep nothing.

Cajetan (1480-1547) was an Italian nobleman who became a priest and founded the Theatines - and then established one of the first charitable pawnshops in history, so working people wouldn't have to go to loan sharks when they fell behind. He was patron of the poor before the term existed. He gained nothing of the world and gained everything else. He is patron of the unemployed, job seekers, and workers. If someone in your family is looking for work, he is the saint to ask.

Ask at dinner: "Sixtus died rather than stop celebrating Mass. Cajetan gave away his family money to keep the poor from being exploited. Both made the same calculation about what a soul is worth. What calculation is our family making?"

✋ One Simple Action

It is First Friday - the month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Go to Mass if you can. Then pray for Spokane tonight - for the 65,000 people rebuilding, and for the families who lost everything. The image speaks without words. Let it speak to yours.

Enjoy the weekend living the faith in your domestic church. See you Monday.

📚 Read More

• US weapons stockpiles depleted; Ukraine unable to intercept Kyiv missiles: CBS News (https://www.cbsnews.com/news/u-s-stockpile-long-range-missiles-nearly-depleted-iran-war/) and CNN (https://www.cnn.com/2026/08/04/politics/us-iran-key-missile-interceptors-low) and Middle East Eye (https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/us-depleted-virtually-all-long-range-precision-missiles-iran-war-report)
• Lindsay Clancy trial - postpartum psychosis defense: PBS NewsHour (https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/trial-begins-for-woman-who-claims-postpartum-psychosis-drove-her-to-kill-her-3-children) and WBUR (https://www.wbur.org/news/2026/07/20/lindsay-clancy-children-murder-postpartum-trial) and KSL / AP (https://www.ksl.com/article/51602413/lindsay-clancy-goes-on-trial-over-whether-postpartum-psychosis-drove-her-to-kill-her-3-children)
• Mary statue survives Spokane wildfire; 640 homes destroyed: Church Pop (https://www.churchpop.com/everything-burned-except-her-virgin-mary-statue-stands-alone-and-gives-hope-after-fires-wipe-out-parts-of-spokane/) and Spokesman-Review (https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2026/aug/02/wildfire-destroys-640-structures/) and CNN (https://www.cnn.com/2026/08/02/us/live-news/spokane-washington-wildfire-old-trails-hnk)
• Sts. Sixtus II and Cajetan: Catholic Culture (https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/calendar/day.cfm?date=2026-08-07) and Franciscan Media on Cajetan (https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saint-cajetan/)

Jesus asked what a soul is worth. Three children in Massachusetts, a mother in a courtroom, and a jury trying to sort out what guilt means when the mind has broken. A wildfire burned 640 homes in Spokane and left Our Lady standing in the ash. The weapons stockpiles are running low. The Kingdom's math runs the other way. What does it profit a man?