By Pat Haggerty

How often lately have you heard the question, “Where has the summer gone?”  A lot, I am sure.  For some reason, August has a way of crashing through summer leaving us in the wake of turning leaves and shorter days.  Students and teachers are returning to school; parents are already balancing schedules; and the rest of us are just lamenting over the passage of vacation days and more relaxed times.

We can’t avoid transitions in our lives.  It may simply be the changing of seasons, the movement to a new job or some change in our family structure or our community make-up.  Transitions are not always easy or smooth.  They involve change and that is not easy for anyone.  Some people are more adaptable than others; it may be a part of our DNA---the ability to be resilient, the flexibility to “go with the flow.”  Whatever it is, we either have it or we don’t.

All is not lost, however.  Even if we don’t like transitions, we can work toward finding peace in whatever situation we are in.  Mary had a huge transition to make when she said yes to the angel of God.  Jesus Himself made the difficult transition from being the carpenter’s son to being a preacher and teacher.  If you read any of the lives of the saints, most of them went through some kind of amazing transition or transformation.  Take Augustine, for example, he turned from a life of loose living to become one of the most famous Doctors of the Church.

To accept transition in our lives and to find that ultimate peace, we must place our trust in God.  Like Augustine, who wrote in his Confessions, we must pray:  “Thou didst touch me, and I burned for Thy peace.  For Thyself Thou hast made us, and restless our hearts until in Thee they find their ease.  Late have I loved Thee, Thou Beauty ever old and ever new.”

Whatever changes or transitions we encounter in our lives, we must face them with resolve and determination.  Let us meditate on the words of St. Augustine to provide us with consolation.

My wish for all is that we face our coming days trusting in God’s love and goodness.  Happy September!