From the Bishop
I have always loved the summertime. Ever since childhood when school closed, and family visits to the “shore,” the Atlantic Ocean, summer always felt like a breath of fresh air from the frenetic activity of the rest of the year. Looking back on summers as a child, we were given two months to transition from one school year to the next and enjoy a sense of freedom we had longed for.
As I grew older, especially in my priesthood, I discovered the summertime as a time of spiritual refreshment, a time of retreat, and a time to anticipate new days to come. For most of my priesthood, summertime included a spiritual retreat at a monastery, and a renewal of spirit with ample time for prayer and “things of God.” There was more time to pray, to ponder what God had in mind for me, and ample time to relax.
One of the things my parents reminded me of with the onset of summer was that there was “no vacation from our vocation,” a lesson drilled into me during my seminary years, and the continuum of religious practice: prayer, going to Mass, and never forgetting who we were as children of God. The “no vacation from our vocation” was a constant theme my parents reminded us of – and our seminary spiritual directors instilled in us. It gave us a sense of identity that was not supposed to be lost during the two sacred months of summer. Interesting enough, over my lifetime, that’s exactly what happened to so many around me, my friends, my companions, my classmates: summer became a time to “vacate” from the spiritual practices of the faith, only to try a weakened attempt to resume them when September rolled around. We had the school and the Church structure to remind us once again of the importance of living a sacramental life, of resuming attendance at Mass every Sunday, of how each day should be marked with prayer.
In my life as a priest and a bishop, I have never encountered someone who left the practice of the faith, even if it was just for the two months of summer – and saw how their distance from the Church made them happier. I have never had a conversation with someone who vacated their faith and said, “I am so much happier now than I was when I practiced my faith “faithfully.” And the reason for this is that they lost the “connectedness” between themselves and the Lord which left them with an empty feeling – something they would admit if they were honest about it. I learned that no one ever felt happier when they walked away from the Lord – but just the opposite: the sure guarantee that if one wants to find happiness, they always find it when they are engaged in things like Mass, the Eucharist, Reconciliation, daily prayer, etc.
Looking back, I have no recollection of a “sad” summer vacation, and I am sure that being connected to my faith life had something to do with it. My prayer for you is that, halfway through the summer you yearn for the happiness that only these can bring to your life. I am sure this is what the Lord wants for you, and I pray what you want with your union with Him.
A blessed and joyful summer to you all.