'The beauty of summer surrounds us' reflects Offaly columnist
Summer invites us to slow down. To linger a little longer around the table. To sit in the garden. To walk by the sea. To notice the beauty we often miss
There are moments in summer when creation itself becomes a gentle teacher. This morning was one of those moments. The soft light of a summer's day streamed through the window. The trees swayed quietly in the breeze, birds sang their morning hymns, and for a few precious moments the world seemed to slow down. The words of the Psalmist came to mind: "Be still, and know that I am God." (Psalm 46:10).
And again, "He leads me beside still waters; he restores my soul." (Psalm 23:2-3). In that sacred stillness, I sat in prayer and allowed my heart to rest in the presence of God. As I listened to the silence, I became aware once again of what every human heart is truly longing for. Beneath our busyness and responsibilities, beneath our worries and endless striving, beneath all our successes and disappointments, we are all searching for the same things, To love and to be loved. To know a peace that the world cannot give.
To discover wisdom that helps us live gently and faithfully through both joy and sorrow. And there, in the stillness, this understanding quietly unfolded within me. Perhaps wisdom is not something we spend our lives pursuing as though it were hidden somewhere far away. Perhaps wisdom slowly grows within us every time we choose love and when we become more patient, more forgiving, more compassionate, and more present to one another. And when love becomes our way of being, peace begins to settle within our hearts like the calm waters of a quiet lake.
Tenderness can change a life
Summer invites us to slow down. To linger a little longer around the table. To sit in the garden. To walk by the sea. To notice the beauty we often miss. But perhaps its greatest invitation is this, to become more present to one another. We live in a world that is desperately hungry for love. Not sentimental love. Not love that depends on convenience or agreement. But the kind of love that listens. The kind of love that forgives. The kind of love that notices. The kind of love that stays. There are people all around us carrying invisible burdens. The elderly person who has not had a visitor in weeks.
The neighbour grieving a loss they can barely put into words. The young person struggling silently with anxiety. The parent who is exhausted. The friend who smiles while quietly carrying heartbreak. How many people are longing for someone simply to ask: "How are you... really?" Sometimes the greatest act of love is simply to be present. To sit beside another in their pain. To listen without trying to fix it. To weep with those who weep. To carry one another's burdens. As Saint Paul reminds us: "Bear one another's burdens, and in this way you will fulfil the law of Christ." (Galatians 6:2)
Love: Only wealth that lasts
As families and friends gather during these brighter, longer days, sharing meals, laughter, and precious moments together, may we remember what truly matters. The love we give one another is the wealthiest gift we will ever exchange. Everything else eventually fades. Possessions wear out. Achievements are forgotten. Titles pass away. But love endures. The kind word spoken. The forgiveness offered. The hand held at a hospital bedside. The meal brought to a grieving family. The phone call made at just the right time. The tears shared. The prayer whispered. These become holy moments that echo into eternity. As Scripture tells us: "Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony." (Colossians 3:14). And again: "And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." (1 Corinthians 13:13)
Crying out for love
We live in troubled times. War and violence. Poverty and injustice. Fear and division. Loneliness and despair. The suffering of our world can sometimes feel overwhelming. We wonder what difference one ordinary life can possibly make. Yet the great discovery of the spiritual life is this, that the forces that wound our world also live within each of us. Fear. Anger. Pride. Greed. Judgment. But so do the forces that heal such as Love. Mercy. Kindness. Compassion. Wisdom. Peace. If we wish to help heal the world, we must first allow God to heal our own hearts. The world changes one heart at a time. One act of kindness at a time. One gesture of love at a time. Mother Teresa once said to me that not all of us can do great things, but we can do small things with great love. Perhaps that is exactly how God's Kingdom comes among us.
Gift of stillness
The world teaches us to hurry. God invites us to be still. Jesus often withdrew to lonely places to pray. The Psalmist writes: "Be still, and know that I am God." (Psalm 46:10). In the stillness, we begin to hear what truly matters. In the stillness, our fears lose their grip. In the stillness, we discover that we are deeply loved. And from that place of being loved, we become capable of loving others more fully. Saint Paul says: "God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit." (Romans 5:5). The more we sit quietly in God's presence, the more His love transforms us. Little by little. Day by day. Until our lives themselves become a prayer. Until our very presence becomes a source of peace. Until we can say with Saint Paul: "It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me." (Galatians 2:20)
Become a gesture of love
The world does not need perfect people. It needs compassionate people. People who forgive. People who encourage. People who listen. People who choose understanding instead of judgment. People who are willing to become medicine for another's wounded heart. When all is said and done, I do not think we will be asked how successful we were, how busy we were, or how much we possessed. I think we will be asked: Did you love? Did you forgive? Did you notice the lonely? Did you comfort the sorrowful? Did you feed the hungry? Did you visit the sick? Did you help carry another person's cross? Jesus tells us: "Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me." (Matthew 25:40). Those words are both comforting and challenging. Because Christ comes to us disguised as the person in need.
Thought for the week
As your thought for the week, carry these three golden keys with you: Love. Peace. Wisdom. Choose one intentional act of compassion each day. Visit someone who is lonely. Make the phone call you have been putting off. Sit with someone who is grieving or hurting. Forgive an old hurt. Write a letter of encouragement. Feed someone who is struggling. Pray for someone by name. Offer up your daily Eucharist for someone. Put down your phone and truly listen. Tell someone that they matter. Tell someone that they are loved. And if you yourself are carrying a heavy burden, allow someone to walk beside you. Do not suffer alone. Because sometimes the smallest act of love becomes the very thing that saves a weary heart. Let your life this week become a gesture of love.
"Above all, keep loving one another earnestly." (1 Peter 4:8). May that be the invitation and challenge of this week: to love deeply, to live gently, and to leave every person we meet knowing that they are seen, valued, and loved.
Let me leave you with a prayer I wrote for this thought called, A Prayer for Love, Peace and Wisdom - "Loving God, As the beauty of summer surrounds us, quiet our restless hearts and draw us into Your presence. Teach us that wisdom grows wherever love is chosen. Teach us that peace is found not in perfect circumstances but in trusting You. Open our eyes to the hidden suffering around us. May we never walk past another person's pain. Give us hearts that are tender and brave. Hands that are generous. Words that heal. Silences that listen. Forgiveness that sets people free. Fill us with Your Holy Spirit until Your love overflows from us into the lives of others. Help us to become people of compassion in a wounded world. People of mercy in a divided world. People of peace in an anxious world. And may our lives become living prayers, small lights of hope, and gentle reminders that Your love is stronger than fear, stronger than suffering, and stronger even than death. For in the end, Love, Peace and Wisdom are all that we truly need. Amen."