As we enter into the second weekend of July, we are now deeply into summer. I hope that everyone is getting some rest and relaxation this summer and experiencing some renewal. Fall is not that far off, so let us not miss the opportunity to live life at a more relaxed pace during these summer months.
Of course, although we are hopefully experiencing some summer vacation time, that does not mean that we should take a vacation from God. God does not take a vacation from us, so let us not try to take a vacation from him. Most importantly, let us continue regularly to attend Sunday Mass, and let us continue to try to live good lives and be good people in every part of our lives, including in our summer rest and relaxation.
When traveling, let us attend Sunday Mass wherever we are. Unless you are hiking in the Himalayas or something like that, there is almost certainly a Catholic church wherever you are! So the fact that you are traveling is no excuse to miss Sunday Mass. Plus, attending Sunday Mass while traveling is a great way to meet local people wherever you are.
God wants us to work hard at building the Kingdom of God, but he also wants us to get regular rest, relaxation and renewal in our lives. That is the lesson of God resting on the seventh day of creation (Genesis 2:2-3), and that is why Sunday, the Lord’s Day, is supposed to be a day of rest. But in addition to the weekly day of rest on Sunday, the Torah also teaches us that we need to have seasonal times of rest (for example, the various “festivals of the Lord” described in Leviticus 23). So our time of rest, relaxation and renewal during the summer months is an important part of our spiritual lives.
We can be assured that just as God is present in our work and school lives, guiding us and giving us the grace to make those parts of our lives fulfilling and fruitful, he is also present to us in our times of rest and relaxation, guiding us and giving us his grace to be refreshed and renewed. Thanks be to God for his loving presence in our lives, both in our work and in our rest.