FROM THE PROVINCIAL

Of Lemons and Wonder

Dear friends,

May Jesus Christ be praised!

I have been thinking about lemons lately. It all started when I realized that the current high cost of gasoline would mean a change in my summer vacation plans. I like to just take off in the car, pointed in a general direction but with no grand plan, and then enjoy the drive and the sights along the way. At nearly $50 to fill up the tank, it wasn’t a hard decision to alter my vacation plans. As I was grousing about the cost of gas and having to make this change, I remembered the old saying, “If all you have is lemons, learn to make lemonade!”

That little line suddenly brought back good memories of childhood summers in the neighborhood and the lemonade stands we would put up, fully trusting that by summer’s end we would be rich. Of course, except for the rare and brave drivers-by who paused to sample our goods, our only consistent (and generous) customers were our moms and dads. But that never seemed to bother us. And not making the grand profits we had hoped for never seemed to bother us either. We had fun. The whole experience was part of the rhythm of summer, a simple project which kept us busy and brought us joy.

I couldn’t help but think how far we’ve come as adults from that simpler time of life when words like wonder, surprise, enjoyment, and fun were not nearly so complicated as now.

And that led me to reflect that maybe I don’t really need to jump in the car and take off for places unknown in order to have a good vacation this summer. Maybe what
I really need is to learn again how to enjoy – really enjoy – a glass of summer time lemonade. Maybe what my heart and spirit most need is not to shell out $50 every time I stop for gas. Maybe what I most need is to find the time – to make the time –
to pause, wherever I find myself, and once again to learn to enjoy the present moment of life in all its hidden richness.

An author I have been reading describes it this way: we need once again to let our imaginations entertain us, to rediscover the holy, the pure, the glorious and mysterious nature of the ordinary before us. He suggests that perhaps what we most need is to nurture within our spirits that vision of life, art, literature – and yes, even religion – which allows us to see again the splendor of heroism, sanctity, nobility, beauty, simplicity, majesty, and magnanimity. Perhaps the best summer vacation begins with recapturing a sense of wonder – with wondering at the sublimity of the mountains (or the plains or the ocean or wherever you find yourself), with hearing the spiritual depth of a piece of truly great music, with tasting the goodness of raspberries, and exclaiming: “Bless the Lord, all you works of the Lord!” Or to put it more simply: to pause long enough to enjoy a glass of summer time lemonade.

Whatever form it takes for you, I hope your summer is a time of personal renewal and inner refreshment.

In my letter in the last issue of The Vincentian, I spoke about the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, which is marking 175 years of service this year. In this issue, we feature some of the Society’s good works.

We also feature our jubilarians whose many years of ministry and service we celebrate this summer. They make me think of all the Vincentian priests and brothers at our Apostle of Charity Residence in Perryville, Missouri, and how even
in their senior years they continue to serve and support us through their ministry of prayer.

Next month we will be drawing to a close our Journey Home Campaign which helped us build this new residence. Once again I want to thank each of you for your support of this important project. Your prayers, support, and financial gifts mean so much to each of us. Those of you who have joined this newsletter mailing since we began the campaign and so were not invited to make a gift or pledge will be invited to do so in the next month. We still need financial gifts to fund this blessed ministry of caring for our senior Vincentians.

In my own name and in the name of all the Vincentian priests and brothers of the Midwest Province, I thank you for all you do for the Church and for us. You are in my daily prayers.

Blessings this summer.

James Swift, C.M.