Taking the Lord With Us This Summer

June 19, 2026

Summer has a way of loosening everything — the schedule, the alarm clock, the structure that carries our families through the school year. That loosening is a gift. Our children need rest, unhurried days, and time simply to be children. But there is one thing summer should never loosen, and that is our walk with the Lord.

It is tempting to think of faith as something that belongs to the school year — to Mass on the way to drop-off, to morning prayers recited before the first bell, to the rhythms our children practice here at The Good Shepherd Academy. But our Lord does not take a summer vacation, and neither should our friendship with Him. Wherever our families venture this summer — the mountains, the beach, a grandparent's living room, or simply the backyard — He is already there, waiting to be invited in.

He Belongs on the Road With Us

Saint Christopher is venerated as a patron of travelers for a reason: the Christian life has always understood that a journey is also a spiritual act. Before you pull out of the driveway this summer, consider praying a simple traveler's prayer as a family. It takes thirty seconds and it reorients the whole trip — suddenly the drive is not just a means of getting somewhere, but time spent in the company of God.

Pack a rosary in the car door pocket. Keep a small icon or holy card in a suitcase. These are not superstitions; they are reminders, placed deliberately in the path of a distracted family, that our Lord is travelling with us and not merely waiting for us to come home to Him.

Find the Nearest Tabernacle

One of the quiet gifts of being Catholic is that wherever you go, Christ is already there in the Blessed Sacrament. Before a trip, take two minutes to look up Mass times at a parish near your destination. Many families discover some of their most memorable Masses on vacation — a small mission church on the coast, a cathedral in an unfamiliar city, a country parish with screen doors propped open in the summer heat. Let your children see that Sunday Mass is not negotiable simply because the calendar says "vacation."

Let Creation Preach

Summer puts us in front of mountains, oceans, star-filled skies, and long evenings outdoors — all of it shouting the glory of the One who made it. Use it. When your family stands somewhere beautiful this summer, say so out loud: "Look what God made." Let wonder become an opening for prayer rather than a passing comment. Children absorb far more from a parent's unscripted "thank you, Lord" at a sunset than from any lesson recited at a desk.

A Small Daily Habit Outlasts a Big Resolution

You do not need an elaborate plan to keep faith alive this summer. A decade of the rosary before bed. Grace before meals, even paper-plate cookout meals. A single Gospel verse read aloud over breakfast. These small, repeatable habits are what carry a family's spiritual life through unstructured months — far more than any single ambitious resolution made on the first day of break and abandoned by the second week.

Wherever your family ventures this summer, may you take our Lord with you — not as one more thing to pack, but as the quiet companion who was already planning to come along. We will keep your family in our prayers for a restful, joyful, and faith-filled summer, and we look forward to welcoming your children back in the fall.