Sorry that I've "gone silent" for a week. It was a bit of a tough one, with the death of a friend of mine. Ben Wickes was first my Scoutmaster, then a fellow adult leader when I was active in Boy Scouts. In those years he also became a "another father" and a friend. A week ago today he suffered a series of heart attacks (on his birthday, how's that?) and died on Tuesday morning. I celebrated his funeral Mass yesterday, following a wake that had become a reunion of Boy Scout Troop 31 of Port Reading. Others, now living a distance away, made their feelings known through things like Facebook. It was good to see everyone again, even in sad circumstances; it's exactly what Ben would've wanted: laughter, old stories, etc.

So now that week is over, and tonight was supposed to be the start of the Metuchen Diocese's Priest Convocation. Unfortunately it was cancelled, because the scheduled speaker, Fr. Tom Acklin, OSB, had some health concerns. Like many of my brothers, we'd already found coverage for our parish's Masses in anticipation of being away, so I'm still taking the days for a little "mini retreat" down at my alma mater, Mount St. Mary's Seminary. Be back mid-week.