Summer kicked off yesterday. Many people are looking forward for the summer holidays. Some have already booked their holidays abroad whereas others prefer to spend them elsewhere. Still, a high number of people, perhaps due to financial restraints, have no other choice than spending their summer vacations at the leisure of their homes.
Irrespective of where to go, summer is a time for relaxation. The immense heat that strikes Malta discourages a lot of outdoor activities. The damaging ultraviolet rays can be a leading factor. The hazardous UV rays are called UVA and UVB. The latter sink into the external layer of the skin and destroy the cells, resulting in inflamed or sunburnt skin. UVA rays infiltrate much deeper, thus effecting immediate damage to supporting issues. This damage brings about the signs of skin ageing. Both UVA and UVB rays may produce various skin cancers. Experts counsel that different products that could protect us against the dangerous rays of the sun are clothing, parasols, sunglasses, and, mostly, creams that are specifically designed to safeguard the skin from the damage that the sun’s rays certainly may cause.
The immense heat may even impel us to stay inside to shade ourselves from the harmful effect of the UV rays. Indirectly the scorching summer heat may even help us to come to terms with our own self. We can end up reflecting on how we are living our lives. Blessed John Paul II made the following reflection: “The many activities and accelerated rhythms of life make it difficult at times to cultivate this important spiritual dimension. Summer vacations… can become an appropriate occasion to give new breath to the spiritual life, if they are not wasted by squandering them and using them simply as entertainment.”
Pope Benedict XVI lovingly offers us some practical tips on how to live our summer holidays profitably. The Holy Father invites us to use our vacation time in a manner that renews and reinvigorates our relationships with God and other people. By interrupting the hectic and frantic speed of daily life we can take time to give ourselves more totally to God and others. An easy suggestion would be to place a copy of the Sacred Scriptures in our suitcase. God talks to us through his divinely revealed Word. To know him genuinely we must be familiar with his heart as expressed in the Bible. As the post-synodal apostolic exhortation on the Word of God in the life and mission of the Church, Verbum Domini, says: “The most profound interpretation of Scripture comes precisely from those who let themselves be shaped by the word of God through listening, reading and assiduous meditation” (§ 48).
The Pope encourages us to contemplate the greatness and admire the beauty of creation around us, thus acknowledging in it the magnificent presence of the Creator. We need to treasure this wonderful gift as Jesus did. He knew how to understand the language and signs of creation, which is surely a gift we should respect, protect and care for in the name of God, humanity and future generations. Pilgrims and travellers are to apply their intelligence and curiosity in discovering the monuments of the past, which are witnesses of culture and faith, examples of our spiritual roots and heritage. Cathedral and abbeys, particularly, are places where beauty helps us feel God’s presence and inspires us to pray for the rest of humanity, on its pilgrimage through the third millennium. The enjoyment of friendship, reading, nature and culture helps to nourish and restore our spirit. It gives us the strength to continue our journey rejuvenated and transformed.
■ Fr Mario Attard OFM Cap