The deep connection between twins reaches well beyond physical resemblance. With some twins, the mysterious bond is evident throughout the lives of both siblings in wondrous ways.

Some twins say they can feel each other’s emotions even when they are miles apart. Twins have said they even think the same thoughts at the same time.

Unfortunately, for new parents-to-be Brittani and Ian McIntire of Hutchinson, Kansas, the physical bond between their unborn twins may be broken early. Mason, the male twin, currently weighs just 9 ounces. Madilyn, his sister, is weighing in at a comparatively large 2 pounds, KWCH News of Wichita, Kansas, has reported.

Mason has a hole in his heart and an abnormal brain, tests have revealed. Doctors could operate on Mason’s heart but don’t want to risk it because of the concerns about his brain.

Madilyn, meanwhile, is comforting her little brother in the dark shelter of their mother’s womb. Startling sonogram images have revealed Mason’s little hand clinging to his sister’s much bigger hand.

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The ultrasound technician told the McIntires it seemed Madilyn was protecting her smaller brother in the womb.

“Most twins, when (the technician is) trying to take pictures and stuff, are kicking each other and hitting each other,” Brittani McIntire told KWCH. With her twins, it seemed the opposite; Madilyn looked to be protecting Mason.

Because Mason may not survive long enough to know his family, McIntire said, this one moment in his perhaps brief life will be treasured by the entire family forever.

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“I know I’m holding him, I’m carrying him, but I just want to be there for him,” the expectant mother said. “(Madilyn) is the only one who can actually be there and is holding onto him.”

The Bible addresses the special bond of twins. Says Ecclesiastes 4: 9-12: “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor. If they stumble, the first will lift up his friend — but woe to anyone who is alone when he falls and there is no one to help him get up. Again, if two lie close together, they will keep warm, but how can only one stay warm? If someone attacks one of them, the two of them together will resist. Furthermore, the tri-braided cord is not soon broken.”

Mary Anne Donaghey of Reading, Massachusetts, has four boys, the oldest of whom are twins Patrick and James, now college sophomores.

“They have always been there for each other, even though they are fraternal twins and don’t share genetic material,” she told LifeZette. “Even from when they were very little, if one would get upset, the other would start to cry. They defend each other and put up with each other, when maybe others would lose patience. They have such different personalities, but are very close and supportive.”

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Mason McIntire may not survive, but his life — the life he is living now, in the womb — has meaning.

This passage from Gaudium et Spes, the Second Vatican Council’s Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, explains the bond with God at conception and in utero. Mason is already living this: “The root reason for human dignity lies in man’s call to communion with God. From the very circumstance of his origin man is already invited to converse with God.”

The Bible reflects the relationship between God and each individual at conception, saying in Jeremiah 1:5: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”

Tiny Mason has a protector and is not by himself.

“It’s comforting to know that if he does pass he won’t be alone,” Brittani said.

(Image credits: Fox 8 and KWCH/CNN)