A Soulful Summer

In the dog days of summer, it’s good to find an interval of serenity to calm the nerves and refresh the sagging spirit. The world is overheating with urgent issues, concerns, controversies, breaking news about disputes, rising prices, anxiety over Iraq. Angst seems to dominate the public scene.

Inane trivia make the headlines: celebrity opinions, body glamour, the hottest CD, iPod, PlayStation, or the latest box office buzz. Important issues fade too easily into the background: the homeless, the refugees, AIDS and hunger victims in Africa, the poor, the lonely, the depressed, the elderly. It’s a struggle to keep up, keep track, stay focused, let alone nurture our Christian values.

“The world is too much with us,” said the poet Wordsworth. So, this summer, the Mendonça family decided to make more time for reading, reflection, and prayer. Not just find time, make time. It has helped us balance things better and discover a meaningful perspective on the spinning galaxy. In the lingo of the young, we’re chilling the soul.

There’s no plan etched in stone. The goal is to create an oasis of reflection and prayer once or twice a day. It helps to turn off the TV and bring home some mind-expanding books. It also helps to plan a visit to the Art or Natural Science Museum downtown, or an art gallery like the Menil Collection. Create a space for inspiration and soaring visions. Gaze at the stars. Ponder. Dream.

When our four children were growing up in Florida, my wife Peggy devised a summer regimen for them along these lines: no friends allowed until 4 pm, after wholesome activities (music, reading, crafts) were completed. This simple rule kept summer madness at bay and promoted an enduring sense of priorities.

Our summer patron is St. Francis of Assisi. I bought a garden statue of the gentle saint for Peggy’s birthday, and somehow we sense an extra measure of serenity. Holding a dove, he stands amidst the shrubbery, keeping an eye on our comings and goings.

Francis knew quite a bit about stress and upheaval, and about the ugly side of reality. He engaged vigorously with the world, being bold enough to evangelize the Ottoman sultan in wartime, thus gaining valuable insights into the Muslim faith. He saw visions, built churches, founded 3 orders, and gave us unforgettable lessons in peace – all before he died at the age of 44. Through it all, he found a way to balance engagement with contemplation. That makes him a perfect model for our age of tension, dividedness and spiritual apathy.

St. Francis helps us get in touch with God through the beauty and abundance of nature. (He also helps Peggy’s oleanders, roses, and hibiscus stay in bloom.) Our daughter Julie visited Assisi in January and found it to be a place of inexpressible tranquility, an oasis. That image has become our summer horizon.

Our daughter Lesley, just back from a college semester in Europe, is spicing up our summer. I showed her Joyce Kilmer’s poem, “Trees,” and asked for an instant response.

I think that I shall never see
A poem lovely as a tree.
A tree whose hungry mouth is prest
Against the earth's sweet flowing breast;
A tree that looks at God all day,
And lifts her leafy arms to pray;
A tree that may in Summer wear
A nest of robins in her hair;
Upon whose bosom snow has lain;
Who intimately lives with rain.
Poems are made by fools like me,
But only God can make a tree.

She took a minute, then said, “Here's what I think. God is the original poet.”
I shared that response with the college literature classes I am teaching. You might say that it sparked a teachable moment.

This summer, I’ll probably still rush around here and there, strain my nerves over a commute, or agonize a bit over repairs for the car or the house. But each time I leave or enter the house, St Francis will flash a wink and a smile, and I will feel a bit lighter.

~ Stephen Mendonca ~