Whatever their point-of-view on the current Middle East crisis, no one should remain indifferent to the images of starving children coming out of the Gaza Strip--whether they be five or five thousand. The suffering of these innocent victims of war should prick the conscience of the world and prompt people of goodwill to alleviate the humanitarian crisis. Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox communities mark the Feast of the Assumption and the Dormitian of the Virgin Mary on August 15th. I have selected two images of a Madonna of Gaza, now on view on The Magnificat page in The Coming of Christ gallery of The Life of Christ section, where the Virgin Mary epitomizes the anguished mothers of this blood-soaked Palestinian enclave. Mary stands mournful and majestic amid billowing smoke clouds in Egyptian Artist Shenouda Esmet's charcoal drawing of The Virgin of Gaza, a star-spangled figure (left) of commiseration and consolation. American Printmaker Kreg Yingst shows a grieving mother and baby whose swaddling clothes have become a shroud, turning the Madonna and Baby Jesus of Nativity imagery into a heart-wrenching variation of the Pieta motif. Pray for the innocent victims of war in Gaza, Ukraine, and all global conflicts. (John Kohan)