The summer heatwave signals that it is time to return to school again. With school supplies on display everywhere and families shopping for all of the supplies on the list, even in the grocery store, to prepare for the first day of school, there is an exciting energy for this new school year. The Catholic Schools Office has been in-servicing new administrators and new teachers, while schools have been preparing classrooms for the return of their students. At Mass this weekend, the petitions included prayers for teachers, students, and parents: that this school year would be blessed with growth.
Every year at the end of July, our parish staff sets aside a week for staff development. This is a time to pause, reflect, and prepare our hearts and our ministries for the coming school and faith formation year. It’s a week of spiritual renewal, shared learning, and, yes, even a bit of office cleaning as we reset for the months ahead. We invite speakers, share stories, and encourage one another in the mission we carry together.
This past week, I had the privilege of making a pilgrimage to the shrine of Bl. Stanley Rother in Oklahoma City. I was accompanied by a lay leader within the diocese as well as two of our priests. It was especially meaningful, because we arrived on July 28, his feast day.
There are few things human beings can do that imitate God. One is to observe the Sabbath (see Gn 2:1-3; Ex 20:8-11); another is to rely on Mary.
Life is a journey that unfolds one day at a time. This summer, I found myself reflecting deeply on what it means to trust that journey. My thoughts were not centered on where I stand today, but on where God is leading me. I had a quiet conversation with him within my heart, a conversation about my spiritual life, my relationship with him, and the mission he continues to shape in me as his priest and servant. I asked myself how God wants to use me to proclaim his Gospel, not only to others but also to my own soul.
God came to my house today. Those were the words spoken by a young boy named Cesar as he looked at me. I did not hear them myself; another missionary later shared them with me. Cesar, perhaps 10 years old, has cerebral palsy. He comes from a poor yet deeply loving family living in the heart of Mexico.
Imagine being born in 1182, at a time when you could happily spend your whole life in the same community. But while you are a child, a shipwreck takes away the money your father had intended to be your dowry, and so, while you are at the age of 12 your parents decide, at least for the moment, to send you away to a convent for an education. There’s no way to phone home, and instead of being with your family and friends, you have to follow the strict schedule of some nuns. As a child, you don’t want to become a nun, and instead you care a lot about what you look like and about impressing potential suitors. After all, until that shipwreck took your dowry, you were hoping to get married relatively soon.
While living abroad, I relished every opportunity to find a cheap flight to somewhere new and exotic. It was a simple but reliable source of joy for me. Month after month, I would input my available dates into Google Flights and wait to see what affordable adventure awaited me. The crowning achievement of my penny-saving plans was the time I secured a 30 euro roundtrip flight to Rabat, Morocco, for a weekend break.
Summer arrives each year with a familiar sense of anticipation. For many, it is a season of rest, a chance to step away from the usual routines and breathe a little more deeply. Families plan vacations, children celebrate the break from school, and communities fill their calendars with festivals, barbecues, and outdoor gatherings. Others use the long days to catch up on projects, reconnect with loved ones, or simply enjoy the warmth that invites us outdoors. However we experience it, summer is a season people look forward to, a time that feels like a gift.
After singing the biblical praises of Mary, the second half of the Hail Mary prayer draws on the Church’s teaching about her singular role in salvation history. Given the simple piety expressed in the prayer and the rosary itself, we easily forget that the title “Mother of God” is the fruit of a tremendous battle for theological orthodoxy fought more than 1,500 years ago.
As we journey through the Easter season, the Church leads us from the Ascension of the Lord to the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost and finally to the solemn celebration of the Most Holy Trinity. These feasts are not isolated moments on the calendar. They form a single movement of God’s love, a movement that invites us to stay close to the Lord and to live as the Apostles lived. This is also why, during the Easter season, the Church places such emphasis on the Acts of the Apostles. Acts is not just a historical book; it is the living picture of what happens when ordinary people take Jesus seriously, allow the Holy Spirit to breathe life into them, and live in the unity of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Acts is Easter in action.