A Fulfilling & Rewarding Summer
by Teresa Cannon
June 2, 2024
As young people we are always being educated.
At school, we learn about the world, math, perhaps a language, things to expand our intellectual understanding. We also pick up some social skills along the way. However, there is much more to our formation than this. The summer is an excellent opportunity to allow ourselves to be formed completely. If we want to truly live out our potential and become the best we can with the gifts God has given us, we need to start now. This summer, I recommend making a schedule so that you know what you ought to do each day and stick to it. It will give your summer so much more meaning. Decide what your priorities and goals are for the summer, and live it out.
Although your schedule might look different from day-to-day, try to make a rough blueprint of what you would like to do each day of the summer. Below, I will recommend things that I have found helpful to include in my schedule.
First and foremost, it would be good to set aside time with God. Whether it’s daily Mass, praying a rosary, visiting the Blessed Sacrament, or setting aside time alone in prayer. Commitment is key. If we want to live a Christian life as a friend of God, we need to treat Him as such, and he will reward our small efforts tenfold with Grace.
St Josemaria says that our relationship with God is either growing or diminishing. It does not stay flat (see his book Furrow, #165). It is important that we do not fall into some old routine that won’t pull us out of ourselves and towards Christ, but that we intentionally deepen our relationship with Him. I recommend choosing this time to be spread out throughout the day. Perhaps a morning offering when we wake up, The Angelus at noon, and ten minutes of prayer in the evening before dinner. This way, you are thinking of your friend Jesus throughout the day and incorporating him into it.
Next, choose practical goals for the summer and make a plan to get there. This could be studying a new language, learning a new instrument, picking up a new hobby, painting, reading 100 books, or doing 20 pull ups, straight…things you don’t have time to work towards during the busy school year. Whatever it is, choose something that will benefit you; something that future-you will thank past-you for achieving. I recommend choosing a physical goal, an educational goal, and a hobby. Set aside thirty minutes to an hour each day for these goals. An hour of studying that language, an hour set aside for your art projects, an hour for exercising, etcetera. Some days might be more, some less.By the end of the summer, you’ll have achieved them and can look back happily on your productive summer.
Something else that is crucial to having a fruitful summer is spending time with your family. During the school year, we are at school almost all day and then come back with even more work to do. Take advantage of the summer by planning family games, helping to plan a vacation, spending one-on-one time with family members, helping with chores, or having an engaging family dinner. Your family will always be your friends throughout your life and are crucial on your path towards sanctity, so make sure to nourish good relationships with them. I recommend setting aside your time from dinner and onwards for your family, at the very least.
Finally, I’m sure all of you earn money in some way, shape or form–whether it’s an allowance, babysitting every now and then, or a scheduled job. Save it! Save it for college, or a future car, etc. things you will need in the future, not things you want now. And again, future-you will be grateful. So decide on an amount you would like to save and keep that money set aside. Additionally, tithing is a great way to exercise detachment from our money. Tithing is donating 10% of your money back to the Church. This money could be given to your Parish or a Catholic Organization. However small it is, Jesus will be grateful, just as he was to the widow in the Gospel.
Now, look back on your schedule. Make sure it includes things that will help you to grow spiritually, mentally, intellectually, physically, and in relationships–that will form you into the woman you want to be and that God created you to be. Then, stick to it! Have a fun, productive summer!
“These days”, you were saying, “have been the happiest in my life.” —And I answered you without hesitation: that is because you ‘have lived’ with a little more self-giving than usual.” (St. Josemaria, Furrow #7)