Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, When I was a young kid we spent most of July, where my mother grew up. The end of June my mother would pack the suitcase and head for the train. Then we would have to walk from the railway station through the town and out the other end. Sometimes our Uncle my mother’s brother would bring the horse and cart and we did not have to carry the luggage but we would still have to walk for the cart was inevitably full of all sorts of farm tools and stuff. After the usually re- freshments, it was time to visit with the cousins or head off to what we called the grove a collection of trees on a small hill which held all kinds of hiding places and tree climbing op- portunities. We would check out the new calves the chicken, the crab apple trees,the source of many a stomach cramp. We would visit the streams and muddy areas along with trips to the bog. We would laugh and giggle at the way people di- vided up in church on Sunday , women one side and men the other. We would try to get a glimpse of the nuns, behind the screen in a part of the church. When I look back most of it was innocent and cheap fun, no expensive water parks or holiday parks and I think of the uncle whose house was in- vaded every summer by nieces and nephews and who inter- rupted his farm routine as he taught them how to milk cows feed animals and increased his workload as he cleaned up their messes. As you vacation this summer look for simple ways to amuse and keep the kids happy, but above all be safe and appreciate the simple pleasures of the past. I pray for those who made my childhood special and give thanks for those simple things that were our vacations. They have left me with great memories. Hopefully you will create great memories for your kids this summer and return refreshed and energized for the year ahead. Bring back some photos that we can share with the parish community. The journey of Faith continues. Fr Karl