The structure falls away, the days blur together, and suddenly it's mid-July. These are small anchors — ways to let the liturgical calendar hold you through the season.
1. Pray the Angelus at Noon
Stop wherever you are and pray three Hail Marys. Set a phone alarm. Let it be imperfect. Do it anyway.
2. Start with the Morning Offering
Step outside in the early morning sun! Before the day gets away from you, offer it — the good parts and the hard parts both. Print it out. Put it somewhere you'll actually see it. Memorize it as a family.
3. Use a Little Feast Day Activity Book
A coloring page, a little prayer, a special snack. Not elaborate — just enough to make a feast day feel like something more than another Tuesday in July.
4. Offer Up the Heat for Someone You Find Hard to Love
On a sweltering afternoon, pick someone specific — someone genuinely difficult — and offer up discomfort for them. A small mortification with a very concrete address.
5. Visit a New Church — Make It a Pilgrimage
Summer is the season for small pilgrimages. Even a short detour on a road trip counts. Walk in, light a candle, sit for a few minutes. Pray an Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be.
6. Celebrate America's 250th Birthday
This summer America turns 250. The Church was present at the founding in ways that often get forgotten. Celebrate with gratitude and some depth and pray for the country.
7. Color Along with the Feast Days
A coloring book organized around the feast days gives you and your children a quiet, ongoing encounter with the saints across the whole season. Not a project.
8. Read Together as a Family
Long evenings, lazy afternoons, road trips. Use them. These three are worth reading aloud — or pressing into the hands of older kids:
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The Story of All Stories https://amzn.to/42PEOTo
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King of the Golden City https://amzn.to/42LSCya
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King of the Shattered Glass https://amzn.to/49OFGeF
9. Go to Confession
August 15th is a natural reset point. If summer has been scattered — prayer inconsistent, intentions drifted — confession before the Assumption is a concrete way to gather yourself back up and finish the season well.
10. Celebrate Back to School
The return of structure is a gift. Mark it intentionally — bless the backpacks, say a prayer over the supplies, make the first day feel like something your family does on purpose.
What are you doing this summer to stay grounded?
