One of the frequent columns that one finds from various authors or publications at this time of year involves lists for summer reading. The image that such discussions convey is some extra free time, perhaps at the beach or some vacation spot. And so to use some of that time profitably, lists about what various people are reading or suggest are worthy of our time are offered.

We might find those lists interesting on several levels. One might be, have I read any of the suggested books? Did I agree that they merit being proposed to others? Another angle might be to find a suggested topic or title that comes across as interesting or helpful.

Because we are creations not only of body but also of soul — a soul that is meant to live forever with God — we might use this model for spiritual benefit. Instead of lists of summer reading, spiritual or earthly, what about giving thought to using some of our extra summer free time for prayer? And if that is the case, we might ask what we might pray for in a special way.

The first benefit from such an exercise is that it reminds us that our Catholic faith, gift that it is from God, is ever present to us and all-encompassing in our lives. One of the signs of the current weakness of faith in our secular culture is not simply the abandonment of faith. It is also that many who profess to have faith compartmentalize it.

In that case, the practice of faith, of reflecting on that gift, or of prayer itself, simply becomes just one of our routine actions among all others. Instead, the consideration of what to pray for during the summer reminds us that we were created for one goal, and that is heaven. We have been shown the field with the hidden treasure and the pearl of great price. Our task is to use this world and all of our activities to sell all in order to acquire the great reward.

The summer then can truly help us to focus on the great task of our salvation. But in that context, what might we pray for during this summer period that perhaps we don’t pray for enough during the rest of the year?

We might draw one line of thought from the appearances of Mary the Mother of God at both Lourdes and Fatima. Mary brought in those moments guidance for faith in the modern world. And her message in both instances was to pray for sinners.

In our increasingly secular world, many people are falling into patterns of sinfulness. They fall away from the faith and so are in eternal danger. Even more, sin is like a cancer that spreads as it separates individuals, families and societies from God’s love.

We can pray for the sinners that we know or recognize. But Mary’s counsel is wider. It is to pray for all the sinners of the world, including ourselves.

We should pray also in reparation to God for the sins of the world. Somehow, in the mystery of God’s will, He allows us to offer prayers in atonement for the rejection of His love.

We might pray also for those who are new to the Church. There are the newly baptized infants and those adults and families who have been baptized or received into the Catholic faith in the last year. For them too we might pray, asking for their perseverance and growth in grace.

In short, our prayer lives should constantly engage the great struggle of the human race to follow Christ’s will. It should reflect at every moment our preparation to meet Christ when we are called home. That is a task for us to engage in joy and hope all through the year. And if we have some free and reflective moments during the summer, it can be part of our summer prayer list.