July 15, 2026

By Father William Muench
NCC columnist

Happy Summertime! I hope your list of summer stuff is as long as mine – visits, get togethers, outdoor activities like ball games, concerts, fairs. I want you to know I am still getting invited out to play golf. Oh, yes, one more thing today: how about time for summer prayers.

I hope you can find a good place to visit from time to time for a place to pray. Near where I live, there are many shrines, churches and special places near the lake – perfect places for a brief stop to spend some time with the Lord. There are also many walking trails near here also. They’re also perfect for a little praying. Or Mass at Church some summer days.

You probably have favorite prayers as I do – like the rosary – that lead me closer to the Lord and His Blessed Mother. Today, I would like to mention and encourage you to find some silence this summer. This is my favorite way to make some room in my heart for the Lord. Silence is one of God’s quiet gifts. Our noisy world needs some time of silence, time when we may hear not only our own thoughts but also the gentle voice of the Lord.

Let me tell you about one of my ideas in recent years. I decided to use as a “penance” for the Sacrament of Penance – for confession – a time of silence with the Lord. I ask each person who comes to me in confession to go up front in the Church – here in our parish the Blessed Sacrament is placed in exposition in the monstrance on the altar – and I ask them to spend some time there in silence, no special prayers, just silence there in the presence of the Lord.

Silence is not the absence of God. As a person takes the time to be silent, they begin by praying to place themselves in the presence of God; God is invited to join them as they step away from the noise of the world – from the television – off by themselves for a brief time. When we intentionally step away from the noise of life, we will discover that the Lord has been speaking to our hearts all along. And when we return, it is with greater wisdom, peace and love.

Our Lord does not speak in dramatic ways, but in the quiet of the heart. Do you remember the Elijah story in the Old Testament? When the prophet goes to a mountain to pray, Elijah encountered God not in the wind, not in the earthquake, not in the fire, but in a still small voice. (1 Kings 19)

Silence helps us to know ourselves. When distractions are removed, we become more aware of our blessings, our weaknesses and our deepest desires. During the participation at Mass, there are many time of silence – special times in the great prayer of the Mass when we should recognize in a special way the presence of God and the Lord’s coming into our hearts.

So, don’t leave God out of your summer plans. Find some good way; they may seem small and all too brief, and they don’t have to be long, but it will be a holy time – a time for Our Savior to have the opportunity to be part of your day. Summer is a perfect time for God to find you.