I was at Starbucks one day to indulge in one of my pleasures, iced coffee with almond milk and sugar free cinnamon dolce. A young mother and her four or five year old daughter stood in line behind me. The mother invited her daughter to pick out a treat to eat,

Our nation hurts and mourns yet again after two more senseless acts of violence, killing twenty-nine and wounding many others. The emotional wounds of those who love the killed and wounded are beyond words. Once again, there are calls for thoughts and prayers for the victims and their families.

While reading an article in the Wall Street Journal highlighting the challenges facing Elon Musk’s Tesla electric cars, I came across a term that I had never before encountered: “Range anxiety”.

Earlier this week, on Sunday evening, I was going for an evening run through Wilmington, Delaware, just as it was beginning to get dark. As I turned right at an intersection to enter Brandywine Park, two boys standing at the opposite street corner called out to me, “Hello, Jogger!” Wondering what kind of greeting this could be, I stopped, and they came over to me holding a plastic bag.

A tired looking Ted was having lunch with his brother Luke, who remarked. “Geez Ted you look beat. What’s happening?” In a weary tone Ted answered, “It seems all I do is work, work, work, providing food and stuff for Dot plus saving a little for the kids’ futures, but I never seem to make ends meet.” Ted added “Don’t get me wrong Luke, I love my family, but it just isn’t fun anymore.”

A few weeks ago I read an editorial that suggested that the world today, fractured and combative, needs to rediscover comity. What is comity anyway? An early 1948 edition of Webster’s Dictionary defines comity as “mildness and suavity of manners; courtesy.” A later dictionary speaks of comity in terms of “international courtesy,” which is closer to its meaning in the recent editorial.

I just finished preaching two retreats at different Motherhouses of the Dominican Sisters of Peace. Last week I was in Great Bend, Kansas. We reflected on their commitment to: “Be Peace! Build Peace! Preach Peace!” This is the tenth anniversary of their founding.

Recently we celebrated the summer solstice. This is the day each year when we have the most light of the year. It is one of my favorite days. I love the extra light and the longer days.

In the spiritual life, I find summer solstice to be a paradox. 

James Spader plays Raymond “Red” Reddington in NBC’s hit series The Blacklist. As task force director Harold Cooper once quipped to his team, Reddington is the man “we love to hate, and hate to love”.................

This summer, I have been interning in the pastoral care department of a local hospital, and among the first tasks in my daily routine is to print a list of patients in my unit. Beside the name of each patient is listed information such as their room number, birth date, diagnosis, etc. When I looked at the chart for the first time a few weeks ago, I was somewhat overwhelmed by the number of names on the list: all the information seemed to blur together into a mass of impersonal data.