Word of the Day: Summon

summon sum-mon / sŭm-ən   verb 1. to call together, particularly for a meeting The drum then beat to quarters, and all hands were summoned on deck. From “The Heir of Kilfinnan” by W. H. G. Kingston, 1814 – 1880   2. to send for; to request someone to come Governor Hutchinson, soon afterward, was summoned to England, in order that he might give his advice about the management of American affairs. From “Grandfather’s Chair” by Nathaniel Hawthorne, 1804 – 1864   3. to order to appear at a specified place, particularly a court HAVING been summoned to serve as a juror, a Prominent Citizen sent a physician’s certificate stating that he was afflicted with softening of the brain. From “Fantastic-Fables” by Ambrose Bierce, 1842 – 1914   4. to order or call for a particular action or response Miracles are instantaneous; they cannot be summoned but come of themselves, usually at unlikely moments and to those who are least likely to expect them. Katherine Anne Porter, 1890 – 1980   5. to rouse or gather; to call forth a memory or particular thought I say an Our Father or a Hail Mary when I feel so spiritually barren that I cannot summon up a single worth while thought. Therese of Lisieux, 1873 – 1897   6. to cause to appear God loves us; we need only to summon up the humility to allow ourselves to be loved. Pope Benedict XVI, 1927 – 2022