Pastor’s Corner

Well, summer is now in full swing. School days are a memory and family vacations and leisure activities are in the forefront. Many activities have come to a hiatus, and we develop the mindset that it’s time to take a break from everything. One thing we do not want to do as we are filling our days with trips to the beach, vacations and the odd picnic, is to put God, our prayer and our worship life on the vacation list. We never take a vacation from Mass and the Eucharist, the source and summit in the life of a Catholic Christian. Our faith isn’t just some social agenda item or sports activity from which we can take a break. Our faith is a relationship; our most important relationship is to the Lord who made us and loves and cares for us.

When we drift away from the sacraments – especially the Eucharist – we find ourselves more prone to give in to temptation, feeling distant from God and just struggling. We may not always realize the graces we’re getting from the sacraments – until we are cutting them out of our routine. Just like food and a balanced diet keep us physically healthy, regularly receiving the Eucharist keeps us spiritually healthy. This summer, don’t let your soul starve! In that beach bag, why not put a good Catholic, spiritual book to read? Take advantage of the beauty of summer by letting it draw you closer to God. Uniting nature and prayer can be a very moving experience – and can even be fun!

Remember to Keep Holy the Lord’s Day. Traveling is no excuse to miss mass. Use that smart phone and find out the mass times: https://masstimes.org. If you take advantage of it, you may just find you have a better summer than you ever imagined you would!

The weekly Pastor’s Corner will resume in September.