(Stock Photo – Canva)
By Holly Gustafson
Once upon a time, I was working exclusively from home, and all of my five children were in school full-time. The days were mine and mine alone, the hours stretching endlessly (or at least until 3:30) before me, and it was my prerogative how I scheduled my time, as long as I got everything on my to-do list done. During these blissful few months, I developed a lovely prayer routine: morning offering when I woke up, morning prayers and a Gospel reflection when the kids had left for school, and the house was blessedly quiet, a rosary while I folded laundry or cleaned the kitchen or did something else mildly unpleasant that I could offer up along with my decades.
This magical moment in my life didn’t last long. Just as I’d grown used to spending the day in an empty house and having my time all to myself, Covid hit, and I was unexpectedly sharing my space and my day with six other people, all trying to work and study and survive the distressing first months of the pandemic. Suddenly, I had to fight to maintain the prayer routine I’d so easily cultivated when I was all alone.
At first, I was discouraged that my perfect prayer practice had been so jarringly interrupted, but slowly I learned that my prayer practice didn’t actually have to look perfect and, more importantly, that my circumstances didn’t have to be perfect in order to pray.
This is a lesson I wish I had known earlier in my life, particularly during the summer months. When I was the full-time caregiver of my children, we all thrived on routine, myself included – our days were structured around meals and snack times, bus pick-ups for the kids in school, naps for the ones who were still at home, and prayer usually fit in quite neatly in this well-ordered life. But then July would roll around, and we were all suddenly rudderless, sleeping in (and then not napping), eating late (or early), and with no school schedule to keep us on track. Every summer, I would chastise myself for falling out of my perfectly ordered prayer routine and would find myself, in the chaos of the day, not praying at all.
But just as the liturgical seasons can interrupt – in a good way – our routine and reintroduce us to a new way to experience God and Church, the summer months, I realize now, can be a time to pray in a new way. Instead of wallowing in the frustration and guilt I used to feel because I struggled to incorporate my regular prayer practice into the irregular schedule of summer, I’m learning to embrace this less structured time as a way to shake up my routine and experience prayer in novel ways.
Here are some new prayer ideas to explore this summer:
Use a prayer app.
Meditation is easiest, for me at least, when I’m all alone, with silence as my only company. This can be hard in the summer months when my husband is on vacation, and all the kids are home from school. When I’m finding it hard to focus on prayer, I like to let someone else help me out. Many apps (like Laudate, Hallowed, Amen, or the Regnum Christi app) provide audio of the rosary, Gospel reflections, and even daily prayer. When I can’t hear myself think, I can at least listen to someone pray.
Stroll through the Scriptures.
Fr. Eamon Kelly, who lives at Magdala, the birthplace of Mary Magdalene, hosts a YouTube video series called Sunrise Stroll & Chat – every day, as the sun rises, he walks along the Sea of Galilee and reflects on the readings of the day, often tying them into the sights and sounds around him. It’s a beautiful way to start or end the day, and it might even inspire you to take your own stroll noticing the landscape while contemplating the Scriptures.
Listen to a new podcast.
The Abiding Together podcast is one of my favourites, but if you’re looking for someone to motivate you to be your best self, you might like The Jen Fulwiler Show. Or, although you obviously can’t complete Fr. Mike Schmitz’ Bible in a Year or Catechism in a Year in a single summer, you could choose a couple of books or sections that will take about two months to get through. (And maybe you’ll even feel like continuing the series come fall.)
Try art journalling.
If you’re feeling really creative, you could get yourself a sketchbook and some inexpensive art supplies, press play on the rosary or a Gospel reflection and explore prayer through art. Andrea Garvey, who has a beautiful sketchbook practice, is one of my favourite artists to follow for inspiration.
Whatever you choose to do as a devotion this summer, don’t be afraid to try something new, and don’t feel frustrated if your prayer life (in summer or at any time of the year) doesn’t look perfect.
Holly Gustafson lives with her husband, James, and four of their five children, in Regina; they attend Christ the King Parish, where Holly works as the sacrament coordinator. Holly teaches linguistics at First Nations University, and pursues her love of the art of language through public speaking, writing, journaling, and calligraphy. The best advice she ever received was from her spiritual bestie, St. Faustina, who told her that when in doubt, “Always ask Love. It advises best.“
