When our now-adult children were young, I found manners videos at the library, which we watched together and talked about how we would use them while we were on a special vacation that summer.
Whether it was how to look at the waitress when we placed our order at the restaurants we were visiting, why we needed to keep our room clean at the hotel or our commitment to not littering when we were visiting the parks on our itinerary, we all benefited from the reminders provided by the videos. I said, “Good manners never take a vacation.”
In the same way, our faith never takes a vacation. During the summer months, whether we are on vacation or at home and just don’t feel like attending Sunday Mass, our faith still needs to be fed. We may want to take a break from the sacrament of reconciliation or our commitment to the adoration chapel, and yet we know a laxness in these commitments opens us to sin.
During the summer months when we have longer days and warmer weather, it’s not uncommon to relax our determination to do the right and good thing in every situation we face. Our faith helps us remain consistent and committed to being the kind of person we can be proud of. The kind of person we want to be proud of.
So how can we maintain our faith commitments during these vital summer months?
We can begin by explaining to our family that at the bare minimum, we will always attend Sunday Mass, no matter where we are. If we are on vacation, we will look ahead and find the closest Catholic church and make sure we attend Mass either Saturday evening or Sunday morning.
We can also say the rosary together as a family, whether we are at home, in the car or on a walk enjoying a beautiful summer day. We can offer prayers for the good of others and those who have asked us to pray for them. We can read books about the lives of saints and work to emulate their sacred qualities in our everyday lives. Msgr. Gerald Philips reminds us, “Religion is more than a coat which a citizen dons each Sunday morning, doffs as soon as possible and puts away for another week. To believe means to abandon oneself with reverence and confidence to the living and true God, Father and Creator, in whose hands we are held.”
ACTION PLAN
- Continue your family commitment to holiness over the summer. Attend weekly Mass, continue your adoration commitment, say the rosary, and include prayer in your everyday life.
- Purchase a book about family virtues and values and incorporate suggested strategies into your family’s life during these more relaxed summer months.
Rather than forgetting about our faith in the summer, it can become a time to set aside the demands of the busier months and open ourselves more fully to God. It can become a fruitful season of spiritual growth, one that enhances the months that require so much of our mortal attention and effort. The summer, with its more relaxed schedule, is a perfect time to respond to the grace of the Holy Spirit as he moves in our hearts, minds and souls, encouraging us to grow in virtue and character.
Alexandre Havard explains that virtue creates the content of our character. The virtues that contribute to a well-formed character are magnanimity, humility, prudence, courage, self-control and justice, which help soften our given nature, or temperament. For those who practice the development of virtue, life is a quest for personal excellence. Helpful resources to grow in virtue and holiness can be found in local stores or on Catholic websites. If you purchase a resource today, you can begin to incorporate the teachings it proposes into your family life for the rest of the summer. Continue your quest to become a family containing strong Catholic virtues and values over the remaining summer months. Remember, our faith never takes a vacation.
Soucheray is a licensed marriage and family therapist emeritus and a member of St. Ambrose in Woodbury. Learn more at her website ifhwb.com.
