Summertime

"Summertime, and the livin' is easy..."
-George Gershwin

Ah, summertime! For many of us, the livin' is a bit easier. School is out, the many meetings that fill our days (and evenings) the rest of the year have slackened off. There is a little more time - the back yard and the balcony beckon.

"Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while." -Mark 6:31

Prayer, like water, spreads out to fill the available space. Often summer offers more time and more space, but how does prayer fit in? Very easily. This is not the formal prayer of the liturgy or even the repetition of favourite prayers; it is more a sharing of thoughts with God while resting comfortably in his presence.

"For me, prayer is a surge of the heart, it is a simple look towards heaven, it is a cry of recognition and of love embracing both trial and joy." -St. Therese of Lisieux

A friend asked me the following, "When was your best prayer ever?" My response was, "On the beach, having just come out of the water, lying on the sand with the sun biting through the drops of water on my back. That was the touch of God." And hers was not much different, "Sitting by the lake, watching the waves roll in and out, in and out - never-ending, like the grace of God."

The psalmist provides a few thoughts suitable for the hammock:

O God, you are my God, I seek you
my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you
as in a dry and weary land where there is no water
You have been my help, and in the
shadow of your wings I sing for joy.
My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me.

Written by Mary Buckley CSJ