18th Sunday in Ordinary Time

August 2, 2026

God’s generosity and ours

GOSPEL

Matthew 14:13-21

When Jesus heard of the death of John the Baptist, he withdrew in a boat to a deserted place by himself. The crowds heard of this and followed him on foot from their towns. When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, and he cured their sick. When it was evening, the disciples approached him and said, “This is a deserted place and it is already late; dismiss the crowds so that they can go to the villages and buy food for themselves.” Jesus said to them, “There is no need for them to go away; give them some food yourselves.” But they said to him, “Five loaves and two fish are all we have here.” Then he said, “Bring them here to me,” and he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass.
Taking the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he said the blessing, broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, who in turn gave them to the crowds. They all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up the fragments left over—twelve wicker baskets full. Those who ate were about five thousand men, not counting women and children.

REFLECTIONS ON THE GOSPEL

First Impressions, A Division of the Southern Dominican Province

The Isaiah reading names the dissatisfactions we feel when we look  for fulfillment in places that are not of God. We deceive and drain ourselves in a search for what can only be satisfied by God. God holds out a lavish food for us, free of charge, a food that will not run out when life tests us. We are being offered a food that assures us that, when the testing of the desert comes, we will find the sustenance for the life we need. God fed the Israelites in the desert, and the Gospel reminds us that through Christ we are nourished in sustaining ways. The gestures and words of Jesus in the Gospel bring to mind the Last Supper. The Gospel writer is making clear references in this miracle story to the Eucharist. How can we read this story today and not see a gracious God (the God of Isaiah) saying to us too, "come receive grain and eat"? This is a crowd that realized that Jesus had something to offer them in their "desert places." Jesus wasn’t just filling their stomachs. They were a deserted people; life had passed them by. They were not the rich, the famous, the educated or the powerful; they were the afflicted and the marginated. Life may have passed them by, but Jesus didn't. He took note of them, and they in turn saw in him a place to be nourished, a place where deep hungers and longings would be fulfilled.  Why else would they have stayed so long listening to him in that deserted place? They were not disappointed, for at the end of the day they were filled. He had seen their many hungers and had fed them, “all ate and were satisfied.” The miracle recalls God’s feeding of the Israelites in the desert. The God of the Promise has not abandoned the chosen ones in the desert, but continues, day by day, to nourish us with food that does not disappoint. Are we turning for nourishment to places that will eventually disappoint us? What and who will sustain us when we are in distress, in our own private "desert place?" We need nourishment that will be there for us in the desert. And we all must pass through a desert of some type,  at some time. The Gospel shows that Christ can offer us a food that will really fill and satisfy us. This miracle is also a reassuring sign to us that when that "desert day" comes, God will see us in our need, as Jesus does in the Gospel, and have a heart "moved with pity" for us. We will not be alone in these deserted place, there will be an abundance of daily bread to sustain and give us our fill. This is not a story of “just enough to get by on.” This is a story of “more than enough.” After everyone has had their fill there are lots of leftovers. In God’s place no one need go hungry, all experience abundance. Where else and what else can satisfy in this way? Remember Isaiah’s probing question, “Why spend your money for what is not bread?” The physical bread of the miracle story was of temporary value. It could not satisfy deeper hungers, but it was a sign that Jesus can and that his heart is moved with pity for us. Notice how he handled the food with reverence, the same reverence he felt for the crowd whom he knew were the beloved of God. The miracle is a sign to us that we too are the beloved of God, and we will not be left hungry. The disciples are overwhelmed by what they see and the seeming insufficient resources they have. In this version of the story, there is no boy to provide the loaves and fishes  for this miracle. The disciples have the food. Was it their own food for the trip? Is Jesus asking them to share out of their supplies? Is he asking them to risk it all, to take a chance at extravagant generosity? And they do – maybe this too is the miracle; the change in the disciples who now have learned that whatever they have, it will be more than enough in collaboration with Christ? They are learning to cast their lots with him, to risk what they have in his service. As we heard last week, the person who discovers the treasure in the field goes out and sells everything to buy the field and have the treasure. The disciples too are being invited to invest their all in Christ. Are we? Sell it all. Invest yourself in the One who will not disappoint. We have Eucharistic ministers in our parishes who take the bread of communion beyond our assembly to those in "deserted places." That's often how the sick, dying, imprisoned, and elderly  feel in our society—deserted. They feel on the fringe of life, less than appreciated, less than valued. We send our Eucharistic ministers out to them with communion to tell them that they are part of us, part of the people being fed by God. They are not forgotten in their difficult places. The bread from our altar extends Christ's presence to them but also extends our presence as well. We invite the Eucharistic ministers today to share this Gospel story with the sick and to tell them that the community has prayed for them and shares with them our life and hope sustaining bread. Many of us have sat beside the bedsides of the sick and dying.  We have seen them with tubes in their nostrils and with needles in their arms. We feel useless and  fragile before the enormity of their suffering and fears. We feel we should step aside and let the professional medical experts do their  specialties; what can we do after all? The disciples in the Gospel experience that same helplessness; so many hungry and so little to give them. Yet, Jesus urges, "give them something to eat yourselves." Give them what you can. We feel we have nothing to offer in the enormity of their need. Yet we do have something to give, the gift of our presence, as meager as that feels. And so, we make the offering of ourselves. But Christ takes what we have to offer, blesses it, breaks it and gives more than enough nourishment to the hungry in deserted place. And in giving ourselves, we become the "true presence" of Christ to others. Aren't we being challenged to look into our own resources, as insignificant as they may seem, and take the risk for "the crowd"? I know a nurse in a terminal ward in a nearby hospital. While on duty, she tries to find as much time as possible to be with the dying in their last moments. She works the night shift, when the ward is quiet and she can take some free moments. It is when the dying are most alone, and all one can hear is their labored breathing. She may hold their hand, maybe just sit there with them. Her spiritual practice is the Jesus Prayer, which she prays quietly to herself throughout the day. While tending the dying, she prays the Jesus prayer over and over again. “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the living God, have mercy on me a sinner.” She experiences it is a privileged place to be, with  someone as he or she lets go of this life. She hopes her presence can help. For those who are afraid to die, she prays and calms their fears, stroking their forehead. At this moment in a dying person’s life, what else is wanted or needed?  What about all the things we saved up to buy, all our ambitions, professional achievements, all our “stuff”? What good are they at this moment? The prophet speaks a sobering reminder to us today, “Why spend your money for what is not bread, your wages for what fails to satisfy?” This nurse offers what will satisfy, and gives a strength no other thing can, her calming presence, a person of faith being there for another. It may feel like just five loaves and two fish in the presence of the powerful force of death, but her prayer is a reminder that Someone else is there, multiplying the offerings of the disciple so that they are more than enough. Can the preacher think of other ways people’s simple offerings are multiplied for those in need? The Eucharist is like Isaiah’s call from God to turn away from that which is not satisfying and will only disappoint. We have this liturgical celebration today to examine what we search and strive after and whether or not we are really being filled. We need then to rethink our unhealthy or abusive relationships—false priorities—value on achievements—obsessions with our careers—any  misplaced energies and investment of ourselves. We need to have confidence as well, that no deserted place we may find ourselves is outside the compassionate gaze of Christ at this Eucharist. “...he saw the vast crowd and his heart was moved with pity for them...”

Justice Bulletin Board by Barbara Molinari Quinby, MPS, Director Office of Human Life, Dignity, and Justice Ministries Holy Name of Jesus Cathedral, Raleigh, NC

The Lord is good to all and compassionate toward all his works. — Psalm 145:9

In ancient times the poor were subjected to insult, blamed for their poverty, and lived without hope. When you think of the poor, what thoughts come to your mind? What things influence your attitude to the poor? How does this passage from Psalms, as seen through the lens of Jesus’ life, affirm or challenge your attitude? What should you do? The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops write: “Catholic disciples are called to put Two Feet of Love in Action! This foundational tool describes two distinct, but complementary, ways we can put the Gospel in action in response to God's love:  social justice (addressing systemic, root causes of problems that affect many people) and  charitable works (short-term, emergency assistance for individuals). Charitable Works  are our ‘response to immediate needs and specific situations: feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, caring for and healing the sick, visiting those in prison, etc.’ ( Deus Caritas Est, no. 31). We step with the Charitable Works foot when we work to aid or assist others both locally and globally to meet their immediate, short-term needs. Examples include engaging in direct service or providing food, clothing, shelter, or monetary assistance to help those in need. Social Justice ‘concerns the social, political, and economic aspects and, above all, the structural dimension of problems and their respective solutions’ ( Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, no. 201). We step with this foot when we work to address the  root causes of problems facing our communities by advocating for just public policies and helping to change the social structures that contribute to suffering and injustice at home and around the world.” 

Faith Book

Mini-reflections on the Sunday scripture readings designed for persons on the run. “Faith Book” is also brief enough to be posted in the Sunday parish bulletins people take home.

From today’s Gospel Reading: Taking the five loaves and two fish, and looking up to heaven, Jesus said the blessing, broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, who in turn gave them to the crowds.

Reflection: Jesus saw the hungry crowd and with the loaves and fish his disciples offered, he fed them.  While we might receive comfort knowing that our inner hungers are fed at our Eucharistic meal, let’s not just “spiritualize” today’s gospel. Let’s remember that Jesus’ pity extended to the crowd’s physical needs  he saw when he disembarked from the boat. Matthew tells us, “he was moved with pity for them and he cured their sick,” and, with the disciples’ help, he fed their hunger.

So we ask ourselves:
• What hunger do I bring to this Eucharist today that I turn to Jesus to feed?
• In my world, what hunger am I hearing Jesus invite me to feed—with his help? 

Some Thoughts on the Feeding of the Five Thousand (John’s Gospel 6:1-15)

From Walter Burghardt, S.J.: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. How many of us can remember any encyclical except the one on contraception (Humanae Vitae)? WE never listened to Leo XIII declaring the right of workers to dignity, a living wage, labor unions. WE never heard Pius XI recommend that workers share in the profits of owners. WE never heard Pius XII insist on the strict right all human beings have to whatever materials goods they need to develop as persons, as images of God. WE never heard John XXIII declare that farmers should share in the rewards of industrialized societies, that developing countries should share in the benefits of more highly developed nations. WE forgot Paul VI declare to the UN: "War! Never again!" We have not heard John Paul II denounce both Marxist socialism and unbridled capitalism, castigate the all-consuming desire for profit and a destructive thirst for power; the danger of "having" over "being". 

From Nancy Greenfield: How many of us have read Francis I's recent exhortation: "Rejoice and Be Glad"? In this document he says: "Hedonism and consumerism can be our downfall….We will find it hard to feel and show any real concern for those in need, unless we are able to cultivate a certain simplicity of life, resisting the demands of a consumer society, which leave us impoverished and unsatisfied, anxious to have it all now." He enjoins us to avoid complacency which leads to a state of spiritual lethargy, and self-deception, which is a comfortable and self-satisfied form of blindness.--Everything then appears acceptable…

From: Rev Paul Gallagher, OFM: The crowd misses the meaning of the signs and again, after the feeding, does not understand what the signs say about who Jesus is for them. When they see the signs they interpret them to mean that Jesus is the expected messiah ("the Prophet") and they want to make him king. That's not what Jesus hoped the sign of the feeding he performed for them would communicate, so "...he withdrew again to the mountain alone." "Again"...sounds like he has had to withdraw before, doesn't it? This is not the first time people have misunderstood Jesus and the meaning of the works he was doing. This time they think he is "the Prophet." The bread miracle stirs and excites them because they had been waiting for from one like Moses or, in light of the first reading, one like Elisha. Both prophets had provided bread for the hungry and scattered people. Jesus sees the seeming inadequacies, but he also sees great potentials for what God can do. First of all he gives thanks for the loaves---God has given gifts and God will feed the crowd's hunger with them. How did God provide more than enough food? By means of a seeming nobody, a little boy with five barley loaves and two fish. Even the type of bread suggests inadequacy; barley was the grain of the poor. We face huge hungers. The story reminds us that when we offer, even what seems insignificant and small, that God can more than make up for our lack. God can do wonders with willing servants. Jesus sets the example for us. He takes what little he has, acknowledges it as a gift from God by giving thanks and then sets about serving those in need. Jesus was the first to note the crowd's hungers. He reminds us that God is the first one concerned for those who lack and God wants to address those in need through us, even though we feel what we have to offer is negligible in the face of the needs around us. 

Justice Bulletin Board from Anne and Bill Werdel, Sacred Heart Cathedral, Raleigh, N.C.

When they had eaten, there was some left over, as the Lord had said (2 Kings 4:44) (John 6:1-15) Most of us have so many leftovers in our lives. We likely have leftover time in our week, leftover space in our homes, leftover knowledge, leftover food in the freezer or fridge and maybe even leftover money that we just might need someday. It’s even possible that we have more than enough compassion and love to give some of our very selves away. In today’s first reading and in the Gospel, we learn what God can do with leftovers that are offered for sharing. The world’s needs for food, for healthcare, for education, for housing and for love could be easily met with our leftovers, if they were offered by us generously and blest by God’s Spirit and grace. “No man or woman of good will should stand as an idle witness to the complex social problems of our day. Equally deserving of our attention and care is the private suffering of countless children, women, and men who do not have enough food to eat; who are deprived of adequate education, housing, or employment; or who suffer the trauma of abuse or neglect.”“Social ministry is an expression of the Gospel and of the prophetic, servant ministry of Jesus Christ; as such, it is a fundamental element of the mission of the Church.” “The charitable and justice-oriented activities of the Church are integral to the collective responsibility of all citizens to build the common good of our nation and of the entire human family.” (US Catholic Bishops "In All Things")

ENCOUNTER CHRIST REFLECTIONS AND MEDITATIONS

Preparation for the Session

Adapted from Sacred Space: The Prayer Book 2025

Presence of God: Jesus, As I come to you today, fill my heart, my whole being, with the wonder of your sacred presence.  Help me to become more aware of your presence in my life, and more receptive to that presence. I desire to love you as you love me.  May nothing ever separate me from you. (1-2 minutes of silence)

Freedom: Jesus, Grant me the grace to have freedom of spirit. Keep me from being bound by desires and actions that are not good for me or others. Cleanse my heart and soul that I may live joyously in your love. (1-2 minutes of silence)

Consciousness: Where am I with God? With others in my life? What am I grateful for? Is there something I am sorry for, words or actions that have hurt others, and which I now regret? I take a moment to ask forgiveness of God and of those whom I have hurt. God, I give you thanks for your constant love and care for me. Keep me always aware of your presence in my life. (2-3 minutes of silence)

Opening Prayer

Lord, help me to see the Eucharist as gift--your gift to us  so that we would always know that you are with us, deep inside us. You sustain my life in so many ways. Help me to be thankful by showing generosity of heart to others.

Companions for the Journey

from "First Impressions", a service of the Southern Dominican Province

A few years back I preached in a city where there was a soup kitchen for street people run by three Catholic sisters.  Well, it wasn't a soup kitchen exactly---it was more like a restaurant.  The "guests" were greeted at the door by church volunteers and shown to tables with tablecloths and given a menu.  The fare was limited, but they had a choice of "entrees" from which they could choose.  There are quicker and more efficient ways to feed the hungry, especially these days with so many homeless and hungry on our streets. Food 

pantries and soup kitchens can barely keep up with those who come seeking food and clothing. The current numbers of the hungry are increasing and the charitable collections of food and clothing are just not enough to meet the urgent needs.  But still, that special soup kitchen, with its parish volunteers and special "guests" stays with me as a wonderful sign of what the scriptures reveal today 

about the food and drink we are promised at God's table---where we will be treated as honored guests and where no one will lack food and clothing. That's a promise we can bank on.  Are we believers all just dreamers?  Considering the plight of so many poor, homeless and victimized in the world, who has the audacity to promise anything better in the future when things are so very bad now?

That's how it always is with God. When we are at our lowest point, in one exile of our own making, or another, a special delivery letter comes to invite us back home, where a meal is waiting us. The invitation reads, "I don't care what you have done, come on home!  Let me supply the nourishment you have desired and searched for in all the wrong places.  I have what you really need and I want to 

give it to you free of charge.  For heaven's sake, forget the past, we have a future together!"  Here in the southern U.S. we might word the invitation differently: "Ya'll come!  Set yourself down. Eat.  Hear?"

In Jesus, God has sent out another similar invitation to special guests to come, sit down, eat and drink.  The multiplication of the loaves and fish is a spectacular miracle.  But it starts very small and among seeming-insignificant people. Which is where God usually starts a good work, so that the people can't claim any success was based just on their skills and merits. God is at work here. It is God's idea to feed the least and it is God who makes it possible to do it.  Nevertheless, as we learn from Matthew's account, people do have a part to play; though it does seem small by the world's ways of measuring.  The disciples understand their situation: the crowd is large and they have next to nothing to give to address the people's hunger. "Five loaves and two fish are all we have here."  They may have practically nothing to offer, but at least they "heed" what Jesus says and offer up what little they do have.  They could have looked to their own needs and saved the few loaves and fish for themselves. That would have been the prudent thing to do. But the crowd was hungry, they had to be fed and the disciples put what little they had to feed them completely into Jesus' hands. There are times when we just have to throw our whole lot in with the Lord; take a chance on him; join him in his sometimes reckless project. We provide the best we can to do God's work and, instead of standing far off to see how we do, God rolls up the sleeves and gets to work with us. We have got to trust that -- otherwise, we would never set about to address the huge issues we face in our world, like hunger, racism, war, injustice, violence, disease, social inequalities, etc.  We do what we can, even though it feels puny to us and appears insignificant by the world's standards of measurement.  We hand over what we have to Christ who invites, "Bring them here to me" and we see what he does with our offerings.

We pray that the Spirit come upon us who gather to "heed" God's Word so we will be guided and empowered in Christ's service.  May the "loaves and fish" of our daily lives feed those hungry Christ sends us into the world to feed. 

Living the Good News

What action can you take in the next week as a response to today's reading and discussion? Keep a private journal of your prayer/actions responses this week. Feel free to use the personal reflection questions or the meditations which follow.

Reflection Questions:

This story shows up in all four gospels because of its obvious connection to the Eucharist celebration. Do I view the Eucharist as basic food for my very life?

What hunger to I bring to the Eucharistic celebration that I turn to Jesus to feed?

What hunger in the world am I hearing about that I am being called to address—with God’s help?

Has there been a time in your life when you were sorrowful or troubled, but went out of your way to help someone else?

How is sharing a meal a way to enhance community?

Jesus fed the five thousand through the agency of his disciples.   In what way is Jesus expecting me to be an agent for his message/mission?

This miracle required the cooperation and the generosity of those who gave what little they had. How often do I approach life and my own obligation to others in need through a mentality of scarcity, worried that I might not have enough?

A priest I know said that there is enough for everybody if everybody shared when they had more than they needed. Where in my life are there opportunities to “share my food” with those in need?
In what way does my Church mirror this practice?  

Has there ever been a time in your life when someone helped you in a time of need?
Were you grateful?   
Did you express your gratitude?  
Did you pay it forward?

Do I really trust in God’s goodness and generosity? Why or why not?
Do I ever doubt that God will want to meet my needs? Why do I think this?
Do need to pray for the trust to “sit down” in a time of crisis and give my worries to God?

Do I ever think my insignificance, or lack of education, or lack of money exempt me from service?  
What about the original disciples?  
What about Mother Teresa?

Closing Prayer

Give us this day our daily bread. We come to you Lord, for sustenance, for comfort, for our very lives. Give me this day what I need, and nothing more; if there is excess, let me be generous with what I have and attuned to the needs of others.

FOR THE WEEK AHEAD

Weekly Memorization

Taken from the gospel for today's session…“There is no need for them to go away; give them some food yourselves.”

Meditations

A Meditation in the Augustinian Style/Relationship:

(From Sacred Space 2025)

This is the only miracle that is reported by all the four gospels, because the link to the Eucharist is obvious. The verbs used at the end of this miracle to describe what Jesus did with the bread are repeated at every mass. The Eucharist has the same characteristics of this miracle: the community, the transformation of humble elements into what satisfies us and is a sign of God’s abundant gifts. Yet the gift is immeasurably greater: it is the body and blood of Christ. I stand in awe of this great gift, and ask for the grace to be grateful and to enter more deeply into this great mystery.

A Meditation in the Dominican Style/Asking Questions:

Read the first part of Mt 14, which describes the banquet thrown for Herod on his birthday, and how that turned out in the end. Contrast that with the story of the feeding of the five thousand, and, finally, Read Matthew 25: 35-41. (Lord, when did I see you hungry, etc.) Reflect on the various segments of our current society reflected in the three passages. Which people in our current world fit into one of these categories Jesus is describing in Matthew 25?  Do you find it difficult to see Christ in those around you? Which group annoys you the most? Why? How do you reconcile Jesus' teaching on this question of justice, need, and personal responsibility with the Church's social teaching? With this country's policies? With your own attitudes and actions? Then read James 2:1-9 (Do not make class distinctions). Think of all the ways in which we categorize people. Why is this common? Why is it wrong?

A Meditation in the Augustinian Style/Relationship:

Read today's selection from Romans 8 slowly and solemnly. 

“What will separate us from the love of Christ? Will anguish, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or the sword? No, in all these things we coner overwhelmingly through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor present things,* nor future things, nor powers, nor height, nor depth,* nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Then rewrite these words, speaking them to Christ (eg.: What will separate me from your love?) Pray this prayer several times this week, reflecting on your personal relationship with Jesus. How does it affect you?

A Meditation in the Franciscan Style/Action:

Read Matthew 25-46, which included the following about the final judgement.

“For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you made me welcome, lacking clothes and you clothed me, sick and you visited me, in prison and you came to see me." Then the upright will say to him in reply, "Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? When did we see you a stranger and make you welcome, lacking clothes and clothe you? When did we find you sick or in prison and go to see you?" And the King will answer, "In truth I tell you, in so far as you did this to one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did it to me."

Pastor Emeritus James Forbes, of Riverside Church in Manhattan, was famously quoted as saying: “Nobody gets into heaven without a letter of reference from the poor.” How would I fare? Has my generosity been active and personal? Has it been distant and reluctant? Has it been non-existent while I focused on other aspects of my religious journey? I ask Jesus to open the eyes of my heart so that I can respond more fullly to the needs of those less fortunate, and maybe eventhose less worthy. Give me the spirit of true generosity.

Poetic Reflection

Through the stories and reflections in her book My Name is CHILD of GOD, And Not “Those People,”  Julia Dinsmore puts a face on poverty and challenges readers to answer God's call to respond to poverty and its effects, to feed the bodies and very souls of those “five thousand” who have little or nothing.

My name is not “Those People.”
I am a loving woman, 
a mother in pain, giving birth to the future, 
where my babies have the same chance to thrive as anyone.

My name is not “Inadequate.”
I did not make my husband leave – he chose to,
and chooses not to pay child support.
Truth is though, there isn’t a job base for all
fathers to support their families.
While society turns its head, my children pay the price.

My name is not “Problem and Case to Be Managed.”
I am a capable human being and citizen, not a client.
The social service system can never replace the compassion
and concern of loving Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, Fathers,
Cousins, Community – all the bonded people who need to be
but are not present to bring children forward to their potential.

My name is not “Lazy, Dependent Welfare Mother.”
If the unwaged work of parenting, homemaking and community building 
was factored into the Gross National Product, my work would have untold value. 
And I wonder why my middle-class sisters whose husbands support them to raise their children 
are glorified – and they don’t get called lazy and dependent.

My name is not “Ignorant, Dumb or Uneducated.”
I live with an income of $621 with $169 in food stamps.
Rent is $585. that leaves $36 a month to live on. 
I am such a genius at surviving that I could balance the state budget in an hour.
Never mind that there is a lack of living-wage jobs.
Never mind that it is impossible to be the sole emotional, social and economic support to a family.
Never mind that parents are losing their children 
to the gangs, drugs, stealing, prostitution, social workers, kidnapping, the streets, the predator.
Forget about putting money into schools – just build more prisons.

My name is not “Lay Down and Die Quietly.”
My love is powerful and my urge to keep my children alive will never stop. 
All children need homes and people who love them. 
They need safety and the chance to be the people they were born to be.
The wind will stop before I let my children become a statistic.
Before you give in to the urge to blame me,
the blames that lets us go blind and unknowing into
the isolation that disconnects us, take another look.
Don’t go away.
For I am not the problem, but the solution.
And…My name is not “Those People.”