Out here on the North Dakota prairie, summertime is a season we cherish. After all, Dakotan winters certainly are not for the faint of heart. Weeks go by without the temperature rising above zero, vehicles have to stay plugged in all night just to start in the morning, and eyelashes and cheeks freeze together even on the warmer days.

Spring brings some relief from the bitter cold, but plenty of rain and wind with it as well. Summertime is not overly hot here, which is a great blessing. It is an invigorating season of brutally hard work in ranching and gardening, a time for “social butterflies” who have been cooped up all winter to fly themselves silly, and a golden opportunity to get everything that needs to happen outdoors done.

As wonderful as it is, however, summer can wear down the spirit a bit, no matter what state you live in. Once summer arrives, it is easy to kick back, put up your “spiritual feet” and ignore the tough stuff. Without catechism classes for the kids and parish Bible studies for parents, faith formation just may not happen — at least not formally, anyway. To top it off, there is no Lenten season to rev up your engine and no Advent to help you remember that you aren’t God’s only gift to mankind.

Daily Mass may get the boot due to traveling, and zealous spiritual resolutions may wither away in the midst of the madly busy, burning-hot days of summer, just like a beat-up old air conditioner that “can’t take the heat.” In the midst of the bustle of an ever-evolving summer schedule, family prayers may not happen as they should, either. This being said, how can good Catholic families set their hearts and souls on fire with the love of Christ throughout the summer instead of allowing their spiritual lives to grow cold?

Families have a variety of talents, devotions and traditions to share with the world around them. Each family has its own unique character and divinely ordained mission on this earth. By embracing his love, families may illuminate the glory of God and the goodness of Our Lady, Queen of Families, throughout every season of the year.

Summertime is actually God’s gift to families to help them grow in faith, hope and charity in amazing ways. It’s an awesome season, and awesome things can happen in your heart and soul if you are willing to be open to God’s grace.

A few ideas:

Visit a Shrine

For a family vacation, consider visiting a shrine, such as the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in La Crosse, Wisconsin. In addition to grounds that feature a lovely monument to the Blessed Mother, patroness of the unborn, priests associated with the shrine offer the Traditional Latin Mass daily. Plans to build the shrine were initiated in 1999 by Cardinal Raymond Burke (then Bishop Burke), who desired to help people deepen their devotional lives.

As Pope Benedict XVI once said, “Every good Christian knows that vacation is the time to rest the body but also to nurture the spirit through more time for prayer and meditation.”

Camping or renting a cabin at a national park can be a refreshing way to spend quality family time and relish the awe-inspiring works of God’s creation. Our country is too breathtakingly beautiful to miss out on. Family reunions, graduations and anniversaries can also be ideal “excuses” for traveling while honoring those we love in ways our children will never forget.

Make a Retreat

Many people find summer to be the best time to schedule a retreat. If you are able to pull it off, you might as well go for it. I have never heard anyone say that they went on a retreat and regretted it.

 

Home Retreat

Those who aren’t able to make a retreat away from home may enjoy making one at home, such as by doing 33 Days to the Holy Family: Consecration to Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, written by Marians of the Immaculate Conception Father Donald H. Calloway and Scott L. Smith, Jr., and published by Marian Press.

 

Spiritual Reading

Families may enjoy using the summer months to foster a vibrant read-aloud culture in their homes by investing in some refreshing summertime reading or joining in the local library’s summer reading program.

Putting books into little and big hands is a powerful way to help heal our families, give our children hope and make America a strong country once again. According to a 2024 study by the National Literacy Institute, 21% of adults in our nation are illiterate, 54% read at merely a sixth-grade level, and 40% have not read a book in the last year. Tragically, low levels of literacy cost our nation up to $2.2 trillion per year, not to mention pose a grave national security issue.

Furthermore, only 35% of high school seniors and 68% of fourth graders are reading proficiently at grade level. Summer is also an ideal season to incorporate audiobooks into your driving and traveling time or to attend a weekly Catholic story time at a nearby shrine.

 

Recommended Books for Summer Reading:

Communion of Saint Jerome: The Eucharist, Monasticism, and Priesthood in the Life of a Church Father by Benedictine Father Basil Nixen (TAN Books)

Humility of the Saints: The Litany of Humility Made Flesh by Patrick O’Hearn (Sophia Institute Press)

Aesop’s Fables by B.B. Gallagher (Good and True Media)

Gliding to Glory: Caitlyn and Peter’s Rosary Adventures by Theresa Linden (SilverFire Publishing)

Adventures in God’s Country by Amanda Evinger (En Route Books and Media)

Saint Michael the Archangel Through the Ages, written by Norbertine Father Frederick Schmit and illustrated by Norbertine Father Peregrine Fletcher (TAN Books)

The Lamb of God: The Story of Our Lady of Knock by Father Donald H. Calloway and Patrick  O’Hearn, illustrated by Ann Kissane Engelhart (Marian Press)