Is there a greater sign of contentment and satisfaction than a baby who's been well fed and well tended who falls asleep in its parent's arms?

In the readings Isaiah speaks of Jerusalem as a life-giving mother. The psalm cries out to God with joy, worship, and praise. The gospel describes the mission of the "72" who go out to heal and proclaim the kingdom.

TOO MUCH INK has been spilt already deciphering the “marks” Saint Paul bore on his body. Was he the first recorded stigmatic? The consensus is: highly improbable. His metaphor makes perfect sense without lobbing on that phenomenon.

In this year of a national census (have your parishioners been counted yet?) here are some Independence Day-related factoids, courtesy of the United States Census Bureau: The estimated number of people living in the future United States of America in July 1776: 2.5 million. The U.S. population on July 4, 2009: 307 million.

The two salespeople walked into my office, asked for a minute of my time, and took 10 before they got to their point: Please switch your business phone service to ours. “I’ll review your literature and get back to you,” I replied.

I have an older brother who was born on the Fourth of July. He loves all the parades and fireworks and barbecues. Part of me thinks he really believes that the entire Independence Day holiday was set up to honor him. As a child I was jealous of him because there would always be a family party on the Fourth.

Consider these simple paths to peace:Don’t take the bait of someone itching for a fight.

All the earth cries out to God, the psalm says today. In a spirit of worship we place ourselves before the mercy of God.

Let no one make troubles for me; for I bear the marks of Jesus on my body. Paul says he bears the “marks of Jesus” on his body—figuratively in his living sacrificially, joined to Christ’s crucifixion, and literally in the physical battering he has taken as an apostle.

We shall find peace. We shall hear angels. We shall see the sky sparkling with diamonds. —Anton Chekhov (1860-1904)