Last Sunday before watching the World Cup Final, I was in my office working on the schedules for September. Both events reminded me that summer is quickly … nah, I don’t even want to say it! But, it is. I read an essay the other day in which the author spoke of our tendency to think of the Church only in terms of our present moment. She then used this turn of phrase that really struck me: “We are not the tree; we are only the foliage of a single summer.” The phrase itself is a bit of a two-edged sword. On the one hand, it reminds us of the brevity of our own life and time. In this way, it contains a bit of a provocation to take our life with seriousness of purpose, to not waste our time, to seize the day, and to respond to the call of Christ with an immediate fervor. Summer is short, so we should thrive while we are able. On the other hand, the phrase places before us a reminder that we ought not be continuously tossed about by the vicissitudes of life. The words of that author provide to us a way of living that possesses an assuring confidence and serenity. We recall that we are but one foliage in the long history of the Church. Sometimes as I walk around our church and property, I try to pray for the various names that are engraved upon statues, windows, and other places. Many of these names are from the foliages of long ago summers. Each of those summers undoubtedly had days of dazzling sunlight, but they also had their share of rain. It was in this commixture that growth occurred. These inscribed names serve as signs to us to live life with a certain sobriety and serenity. We should all do our part in the time that we are given and take our life seriously. We must put all of our energy into seeking out holiness. At the same time, we should not be unduly panicked or unduly distressed by the passing afflictions of this life. Each of us should strive, while we are still in summer, by the grace of Christ, to be a foliage that renders glory to God. At the same time, when we are tempted to become discouraged because this particular place and moment in time does not conform to my vision of “the ways things should be,” we can find serenity in the knowledge that Christ and His Church are the Tree, and we are but one foliage of a single summer. Your Brother in Christ, Fr. David Barnes