Summertime vacations can also be very spiritually beneficial. / Credit: Egor Pasko from Moscow, Russia, CC BY 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons ACI Prensa Staff, Jul 8, 2025 / 08:00 am (CNA). With the arrival of summer in the Northern Hemisphere, many people take a vacation, a period of rest away from their routine but also a unique opportunity to reconnect with their faith.A bishop, a mother, and a priest shared some tips from their own experiences for “sanctifying vacations” and evangelizing at vacation spots.1. Take time to connect with God.Speaking with ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner, the bishop of Matamoros-Reynosa in Mexico, Eugenio Lira, emphasized that summer is a time of rest to “recreate” ourselves, that is, to “completely renew ourselves.”The prelate thus advised “dedicating time to prayer and contemplation” to “connect” with God and “better see the great gifts he gives us,” being aware “that we are unconditionally and infinitely loved.”In this context, the Mexican bishop invited the faithful to value more and be aware that “we must responsibly care for our lives.” He also advised dedicating time to reading good books, “talking with family and friends, and doing something for others, such as evangelizing, going on a mission trip, visiting the sick, prisoners, a retirement home or a nursing home.”Bishop Eugenio Lira of Matamoros-Reynosa, Mexico. Credit: Diocese of Matamoros-Reynosa, MexicoLira even encouraged people to use social media to “share a Gospel message that conveys faith, love, and hope. We can always do something to improve and help make the lives of others better.”2. Strengthen family ties.Leticia Sánchez de León lives in Rome with her husband and four children. Although she studied law in Madrid, she has been working in strategic communications since 2016. She currently has a blog on family communication and education and moderates family counseling courses.Sánchez de León shared several tips for “living a Christian summer, healthy, joyful, generous with others, where God is found in the small details and where all family members can recharge to return to their daily routine in September.For the mother, by putting these small things into practice, “we will go deeper into what it means for the family to be a domestic church in the midst of the society of our time and from which the individual can set out to build a more just, more welcoming, more peaceful, more convivial, and more deeply human humanity.”First, she advised strengthening family ties and rediscovering “harmony” among family members: “During vacation, we have more time to relate face-to-face with our spouse and our children and to listen more closely,” she said.Leticia Sánchez de León, a Spaniard, lives in Rome with her husband and four children. Credit: Almudena Martínez-Bordiú/ACI PrensaTo this end, Sánchez de León emphasized, it can be very helpful to “pray for them before the vacation begins.” She also encouraged spouses to maintain good communication and maintain harmony between them, since “on vacation people often get upset.” She also encouraged them to enjoy simple family plans: “Those memories will remain firmly fixed in their hearts, and tomorrow, what they will remember about what it is to be a family will be those plans together, where everyone had a voice, where everyone could choose, where everyone did things for each other.”3. Instill detachment and generosity.Sánchez de León also noted that sometimes we have a “distorted idea of ​​vacation.” She consequently reminded everyone that vacation is a time “to instill some values ​​that we struggle to transmit during the year, due to the lack of downtime.”In this sense, she highlighted two family values: detachment and generosity. Although during vacation “rules and schedules are relaxed,” she advised parents to say “no” from time to time, so that their children appreciate things more. “The virtues of detachment and austerity are not very fashionable these days and therefore attract a lot of attention when seen in other people,” she noted.“In families,” she added, “everyone has to pitch in and collaborate, always assigning small tasks appropriate to their age and helping them if we see they aren’t capable or need a push: taking out the trash, unloading the dishwasher, setting the table, watering the plants, emptying the beach bag, hanging up swimsuits, etc.”4. Take a vacation, but with God.All of these ideas, Sánchez de León clarified, “really stem from the intention to live out our vacation with a Christian sense of purpose,” since “everything is deeply connected to our life with God.”“How are we going to give meaning to vacation, plans, and moments of connection if we are distracted from the ultimate meaning of our lives? How can we bring Jesus to others during vacation if we don’t have him within us and within our summer home, between the beach towels and bags of potato chips?” she asked.“God also wants to be with us in the summer. He wants us