"For Travelers by Land, by Sea, and by Air..."

-Fr. John Dresko

Roll out those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer, those days of soda, and pretzels, and beer.

-Nat King Cole

For Americans, the summer season "semi-officially" begins with the weekend of Memorial Day. From Memorial Day to Labor Day in September, Americans just seem to live in a different "mode." Some might call it "lazy." Some might call it "restful." What the Church calls it is "temptation."

Since the very first days of the Church, part of our prayer in the liturgy has been for travelers - whether by land, by sea or by air (some now even include "in space"). This ancient tradition is well founded on a simple Christian awareness: any change in our normal life routines opens us up to many spiritual temptations. Summer, as a time when most Americans travel on vacations, usually because that's when the kids are off school, is a time of acute spiritual danger.

What is so important about "routine" for Christians?

The foundation of a Christian lifestyle is prayer - both personal and corporate. The only way to establish an exercise of prayer is through repetitive practice, just like any other exercise. Our daily prayer must be just that - daily! When we establish a routine of daily prayer, it becomes like brushing our teeth; we can't imagine living a day-to-day life without doing that! But personal prayer is not enough. We must gather as the Church in the corporate prayer of the liturgy to receive the Body and Blood of our Savior as the prayerful nourishment to continue living a daily Christian lifestyle. Just as we wouldn't exercise to run in a marathon without eating the proper foods to restore health and energy to our bodies, so we eat the proper spiritual food to restore health and energy to our souls. So routine - both personal and corporate - are vital to our spiritual well-being. We can see how the difference in "routines" affects our children. When school is in session, they are busy, even disciplined. But when summer rolls around, it's great for a few days, but then you hear "I'm bored." "There's nothing to do." The kids get "Nintendo paralysis" and "TV hypnosis."

When we pray for travelers, what are we hoping to "prevent"? When we pray for travelers, what do we hope they "accomplish"?

First, prevention. Of course, when someone travels, the first thing we hope to prevent is physical harm. We pray that their travels be safe and that they return safely to us. But more than that, we pray that they remember who they are and what they are to be as Christians during their travels. When that daily routine gets upset, all of a sudden it is as if we aren't Christians anymore. We stop our daily prayers. Who can pray when we get up at 6am to get the kids ready to travel? Who can pray when 8-10 hours a day is spent in a car - keeping the kids from killing each other? Even without kids, who can pray when there are NO time limits and we can leisurely spend hours in bed? Who thinks about liturgy when they are traveling? When I ask the operator for the Orthodox parish in some cities, I get the number for the local synagogue! (Forget the fact that I didn't simply ask my pastor for local contacts.) So for a Christian to remember who he is is important for us to pray about. Perhaps the disruption in routine can be minimized. Perhaps a traveler doesn't have to forget to pray or go to liturgy.

We also pray to prevent the passions which can overtake us. The anger when we aren't right on schedule, the impatience with the children or the stupidity of those "other" drivers, the simple laziness which accompanies vacation time, the amazing insensitivity which allows us to save hundreds or thousands of dollars to spend on a vacation while throwing five dollars in the collection plate, the lack of thankfulness to God for all that He has given us.

When we pray for travelers (and indeed, this prayer is for EVERYONE during the summer, traveling or not), what we as the Church hope to accomplish is very simple: we pray that our spiritual lives do not go on vacation. We pray that there be enough routine and spiritual discipline in everyone to search out an Orthodox parish when they go on vacation. To continue a daily prayer life. Most importantly, to understand that there are no vacations from God. It is amazing how many people live their lives as if the summer is a three-month sabbatical from God. Sleeping late on Sundays, being lazy, gluttons, drunks, etc., and then showing up back in church after Labor Day like nothing happened. All sorts of excuses exist - the yard needs care, the house needs care, the cars need care. But we forget that our souls need care also. So when we pray for travelers, we hope to inspire everyone with the Spirit of God to be good sound Christians - even during the lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer.