As I write this column, I am just half way through my vacation. Last evening, I returned from a week at Myrtle Beach. Abby and Honey were ecstatic in welcoming Fr. Bob and me home! I understand they had a “frolicking” week in Hudson, keeping Fr. Chris and everyone else on their toes. Once we brought them home to Uxbridge, they both fell deeply asleep in their usual places!

They are indeed creatures of the moment! This past week has been really relaxing and refreshing. Sitting on the beach looking out to the ocean has a calming and renewing effect. So many authors have written about the sea over the centuries. It is constant yet ever changing; it is powerful yet gently washes the seashore; it is full of life yet can also be life threatening; it can at times be calm and serene, yet at other times turbulent and tumultuous. The depths of the ocean hold a mysterious amount of life not readily seen by the naked eye but fascinating to the human mind.

How often did Jesus use the reality of the sea in his teachings! He called his first apostles from their fishing vessels on the sea and calmed that same sea to save their lives. So often we read about Jesus crossing the sea, preaching by the seashore, and even after His resurrection, appearing to His apostles by the water and cooking breakfast for them. The ocean is one of those biblical images that transcend time and culture.

Even today its mystery and its might point to the power and presence of God the Creator. May this summertime of refreshment lead us all to a renewed appreciation of the wonderful God!given gifts of nature!