by Paul Campbell, S.J.                                   USA                                 23.06.2026

When my sister, Sheila, asks me to write a blog post, I’m always aware that the MMMs are a worldwide, multi-cultural group. She asked for something about the summer and, while for many of us who live in the northern hemisphere, the opening line of the famous aria from George Gershwin’s “Porgy & Bess, “Summertime, and the livin’ is easy…” may be appropriate — for others in the southern hemisphere, their experience of summer may be markedly different.

Another song talks about the “lazy, hazy days of summer” and it’s true that, once the school year ends, life’s rhythms tend to slow down. We’re invited to notice how God speaks to us through creation. In these bright months, the Gospel’s call to see God’s care becomes more tangible: fields flourish, fruits ripen, and long, unhurried afternoons can give us the space for relaxation and prayer.
Mornings arrive with birdsong and a golden hush – our windows are often cracked open to the warm, familiar scent of sun-warmed grass. Our morning tea or coffee tastes more glorious when sipped slowly on a porch, and the hours ahead feel generous and wide enough for unplanned adventures.

Summer teaches us a kind of gentle reckoning: to savor the heat without haste, [although, as an Irishman, I find Washington, D.C.’s fetid humidity almost unbearable], to choose to play over work sometimes, and to relish ordinary joys like a long cold drink, a good book, and the particular comfort of wearing loose clothing and sandals. It’s season of light, of relaxed schedules and active senses, an annual reminder to step outside and let small pleasures fill our days.