Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, August 17, 2008

When he speaks of throwing the food of the children to the dogs, Jesus lays bare a nativism which we carefully hide from ourselves. The fact of a child's illness breaks through the barriers we erect so we can create for ourselves that "comfort zone" we so frequently refer to. The human need for health -- for salvation -- is universal. May our self-imposed barriers crumble beneath God's outstretched arm (Alternate Opening Prayer).