11th Sunday in Ordinary Time 2023 - Father's Day lessons from Pope Francis

 Happy Father’s Day (weekend). There was a book published a few years ago, called “Our Father: Reflections on the Lord’s Prayer by Pope Francis”. And the book contains a conversation between Holy Father Francis and an Italian priest and prison chaplain named Father Marco Pozza. 

And in this conversation, Pope Francis offers his insight into the words that our Blessed Lord taught us to pray. What it means to call upon God the Father, and so on. But, he also reflected upon the importance of our earthly fathers. And I think it significant that Pope Francis has this conversation with a prison chaplain. Because so many of the imprisoned—in Italy, in the united states, and around the world, are men and women, who more than often have very broken relationships with their earthly fathers. 

Statistics are abundantly clear: when a child is raised without a father there is a greater risk of behavioral problems; they are more likely to commit a crime and go to prison. They are more likely to abuse drugs and alcohol, more likely to suffer obesity, more likely to drop out of school, and to experience poverty. Teen girls without fathers are 7x more likely to get pregnant as a teen.

On the other hand fathers involved in their children’s lives improve their children’s overall emotional and social well-being, those kids do better in school, they are less likely to carry guns and deal drugs. Good fathers reduce the parenting stress of the mothers. Fathers help their children to be honest, ethical, hardworking adults. 

The impact on religious life is also striking. Data shows if a father does not go to church, even if his wife does, only 1 child in 50 will become a regular church goer. But, if a father does go regularly, regardless of what the mother does, between two-thirds and three-quarters of their children will attend church as adults. 

Raising a family in today’s culture us tremendously challenging. So in the course of his conversation with that prison chaplain, Pope Francis offered five pieces of wisdom, which I will now share. 

“The first thing needed is this,” Pope Francis said, “that the father be present in the family; that he be close to his wife, to share everything, joys and sorrows, hardships and hopes. A father needs to be close to the children as they grow up; when they are playing and when they are working on a task; when they are carefree and when they are troubled.”

Presence. Closeness. Earthly fatherhood is to be a reflection of the Heavenly Father, and scripture speaks over and over of God’s closeness to his people. Deuteronomy asks, “what great nation is there that has gods so close to it as the LORD, our God, is to us whenever we call upon him?” Psalm 16 says, “Because God is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.” And Psalm 145 says, “The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, To all who call upon Him in truth.” Hebrews says, God will NEVER leave us or forsake us. So, earthly fathers must be involved, be near, and be present in all of those family activities and tasks. After a long grueling day at work, it is difficult to be “emotionally present” to one’s family. But’s it vital. 

Secondly, Pope Francis explains that God the Father gives earthly fathers an example to follow in patience. God loves us even when we are sinners, Paul says in the second reading today. And so Fathers have to be patient,” he explained. Love is patient. Children really can test one’s patience. But as Scripture says “God is slow to anger…so Be not quick in your spirit to become angry, for anger dwells in the heart of fools.” Learn to count to 10 and inwardly ask, “Is what I’m about to do or say going to help my kid or hurt my kid emotionally?”

And many times, the Pope admits, “there is nothing that can be done, like the father in the story of the Prodigal son, but wait in patience, kindness, generosity, and mercy, and pray.”

Now, patience doesn’t mean you aren’t to discipline your children. And that’s the third word of wisdom, Pope Francis says discipline, but don’t humiliate.  Scriptures says, “do not fail to correct your children…a child left undisciplined disgraces its mother” Children who are not disciplined often grow up rebellious, have no respect for authority, and as a result find it difficult to willingly obey and follow God. God Himself uses discipline to correct us and lead us down the right path and to encourage repentance for our wrong actions. Hebrews says, “No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it” 

Fourthly, Pope Francis explains that Father’s need to be a source of comfort in their children’s failures. “Children need to find a father who is waiting for them when they return from their failures. These children will do all they can in order not to admit their mistakes, not to let their embarrassment show, but they need this security. Not finding their father at the door opens wounds inside them that are difficult to heal.” Let your children know that they can come to you in their failures: business failures, relationship failures, moral failures. That you will help them overcome their challenges and to learn wisdom from their failures.

Finally, the Pope reminds earthly Fathers to have constant recourse to the heavenly Father in prayer and the practice of religion. “Without the grace that comes from the Father who is in Heaven,” the Pope says, “fathers lose courage and abandon the field.” Fathers please speak to your children about the importance of Faith. Tell them why you go to Church. Why you receive Holy Communion. How Catholicism is indispensable. 

Fathers, when the grace of God is evident in your life, that touches the hearts of your children like nothing else in this life. Your witness, your faith is indispensable, irreplaceable. The Pope says, “The Church, our mother, is committed to supporting the good and generous presence of fathers in families. Fathers: you are in our prayers, for your vocation is vital.

In the Gospel, we heard how “at the sight of the crowds, Jesus’ heart was moved with pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd.” So many in the world today are troubled and abandoned--fatherless. Perhaps, some of you have wounds of abandonment--physical or emotional. And the Lord looks upon all the abandoned and offers the healing of his sacred heart, and calls all the abandoned to mercy.

But the Lord sends us out as laborers, just like he did the apostles, to the troubled and abandoned of the world: to bring God’s love, God’s healing, God’s grace, the message of the Gospel, to be baptized, to have faith in Christ, to receive his body and blood. May we be generous and faithful in this holy calling of ours, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

 

12th Sunday in Ordinary Time 2021 - Stormy Seas and Fathers

 In Scripture, the roaring untamed sea is often a symbol of the destructive, chaotic powers of nature beyond the control of man. 

The very first page of the Bible speaks of “Tohu wa bohu” in the Hebrew, the primal chaotic waters. Yet, those untamed waters are quickly brought under the control of the Most High God and Lord of Creation who brings light and life out of the darkness as he breaths forth his Spirit and calls creation into being.

The book of Exodus contains another frightening body of water. As Pharoah’s chariots and charioteers close in on the Israelites, God’s people are trapped by the uncrossable Red Sea. It is not until God intervenes, demonstrating again that He is the Lord and Master of Creation, that the Israelites are able to cross the untamable sea, on their road toward freedom.

In today’s Gospel, the apostles become trapped and tossed about on a stormy sea. Again, the stormy waters stand for the chaos of life beyond our control—all those difficulties both interior and exterior, physical and psychological that beset us—the dark depths always threatening to swallow us up. 

Throughout the centuries Church fathers have explained that the boat traversing through the stormy sea in the Gospel today stands for the Church through the ages—the Barque of Peter making her way through the centuries amidst persecution and warring nations, the violent winds of worldly error.  The waves crashing against the boat, the winds whipping around them are symbolic of everything that besets the Church, and besets the individual Christian. 

In the course of the Christian life, the disciples of Jesus have to face chaos, anxiety, darkness, and bafflement .

The storm in the Gospel today must have been of unique severity, after all the apostles were experienced fisherman, experienced sailors on the Sea of Galilee. It was their home turf—well, their home “surf”—so to speak. They knew these waters well, they’d fished there before, with their fathers and their fathers before them.  They knew its changes and dangers. And for these experienced boatmen to have been so terrified speaks to how terrible this storm must have been. For in the midst of their terror they cry out “Lord, save us.” 

Those were the right words. Scripture is filled with such cries the Psalms especially:  Out of the depths I call to you, LORD; Lord, hear my cry! Says Psalm 130.  Scripture even instructs us to call out to God in times of trouble: Psalm 50, says, “Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I shall rescue you.”

When we find ourselves lost and in the shadow of death—when we are facing the great struggles and storms of life—the Scriptures teach us to call out to God. When in our desperation we feel utterly incapable of helping or saving ourselves, we are meant to turn to Almighty God, and cry, “Lord, save us”  

This Gospel especially teaches us that the Lord hears our cries. The Lord of all creation is in the boat with us. We are never alone. Just as the Spirit of God brought order out of chaotic waters in the book of Genesis, Jesus, the Incarnate Power of God, can bring order, and peace, and calm, and new life—new creation, out of the stormy darkness of our life. I don’t know about you, but that gives me comfort.

This reading always reminds me of a story. When I was younger, my father and uncles together purchased a boat. A beautiful 55 foot antique wooden Chris-Craft that they had docked in Fairport Harbor, about 15 miles west of my hometown of Madison. And, when I was about 8 years old, one summer day, my father announced that he and I would be paddling our rubber raft from the shore just north of our house, and my uncle would be picking us up on the boat. It was a grey day, windy and drizzling when we set off from shore, and not 10 minutes into this little trek, huge dark clouds came out of nowhere. The rain intensified, the waves whipped up. 

But my dad was there. And I felt safe. Come to found out, you’re really not supposed to do that, paddle into an oncoming thunderstorm on lake erie, but, I felt safe. Dad was there, just like Jesus in the boat today.

On this Father’s Day, we reflect on the role that Fathers have in the life of the church, in the lives of our families. No one can replace them. A man in the life of a child cannot be replaced. Our culture might say different, but our culture is of course confused about a great many things.

During this Year of St. Joseph we consider a particular man, chosen by God to have a role in the life of Jesus. A man who was guardian, protector, provider, and leader in the practice of the Faith for his Family.

St. Joseph took great efforts that Jesus lacked nothing he needed for healthy development. Faithfully guarding the Christ-Child’s life when the family was forced to live as refugees in Egypt. Instructing Jesus in his work as a carpenter.

In an age that needs strong, virtuous, faith-filled fathers, we do well to turn to Joseph, Ite ad Ioseph, go to Joseph, as a role model and a heavenly intercessor—that Catholic men may become fathers like the Father of Jesus—strong pillars of faith for their family. 

Many forces in our culture today contribute to the breakdown of the family, minimizing the role that fathers are meant to play in the lives of their children. As the family has broken down, so has the culture. So, our culture, our parish, and our church need men to step up and be active guardians, workers, strong models of virtue and faith. Not as the culture teaches, but as our Faith teaches and St. Joseph models.

Fathers filled with strong-faith are meant to be Jesus in the boat for us who bring calm to the storms of our lives.

Grateful for our fathers, grateful for the many ways that God has comforted us in the midst of the storms of our lives, the many ways that Jesus has quieted the storms and chaos surrounding us and within us, may we continue this eucharistic celebration with all thanksgiving and confidence in God’s saving help. And may the Lord transform us, that we may bring his peace and life-giving word into the lives and storms of others for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

May 1 2018 - St. Joseph the Worker - Will your children become workers or thieves?

It was very common for sons, in Jesus’ time, for young boys to learn the trade of their fathers. This was important so that the young man would be able to provide for himself and for his wife and family. There was even a saying among the Jewish men of Israel at Jesus’ time: "If you do not teach your son how to work, you teach him how to be a thief." A man who does not learn how to work will be a drain upon his family and his community.

St. Joseph, in raising Jesus as if he were his own true son, took Jesus into the carpenter’s workshop and taught him to use the tools and skills of a manual laborer. Jesus ministry and teaching was infused with practical knowledge and self-sacrifice that no doubt filled Joseph’s workshop. Contrast the spirit of hard work and discipline of Jesus, Son of the Father, Jesus Bar Abba, in Hebrew, with the thieving, murderous Barabbas, from the passion story. Perhaps, one of the great differences of these two sons was the presence of a father who taught them how to work with their hands.

The feast of St. Joseph the Worker was instituted in 1955 to emphasize the dignity of work, and this feast is needed now more than ever. There is a growing disdain for work among our young people. Many young people, boys in particular, are opting not to enter the work force, but would rather stay in their parents’ basement and engage in virtual fantasy worlds in video games. Many of our schools put so much emphasis on head knowledge now, to prepare students for a college degree they do not necessarily need, that the young people see no reason to develop real life skills.

The dignity of real work runs throughout the Scriptures. I think of how St. Paul laments the fact that some of the Christians in Thessalonica were leading undisciplined lives, accomplishing nothing for the Christian community, they were acting like busybodies, instead of working to support the Church. And to them, St. Paul says, “those who are unwilling to work, should not eat.” And he was speaking about eating at the communal Christian table and perhaps even the Eucharistic table.

The Christian community needs examples of laborers, who, as Pope Francis said recently, “work with integrity and skill in the service of their brothers and sisters.”

Young boys in particular may need special attention these days, so let us hold up St. Joseph as a model for fathers, men, and all adults to serve as good Christian role models for our young people, that through their hard work, they will continue to build up our young people and build up the Church for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That the Holy Catholic Church, entrusted to the protection of Saint Joseph, may continue to labor faithfully for the salvation of souls.

For Pope Francis prayer intention for the month of May: “That the lay-faithful may fulfil their specific mission, by responding with creativity to the challenges that face the world today.”

That our young people, especially those at risk of disengaging from society, may come to discover the fulfillment found in work and self-sacrifice.

For the unemployed and underemployed, and that all who work may receive a just reward for their labors.

That St. Joseph patron of the dying may help all those who will die today to know repentance of their sins and the grace of a peaceful death.

For the repose of the souls of our beloved dead, those who have supported us by their work, those who fought and died for our freedom, for all of the souls in purgatory and for X, for whom this mass is offered.

Gracious Father, you created us in your divine image, hear our prayers, and grant us the help we need to work always for your Holy Will, through Christ Our Lord. 

Corpus Christi Sunday 2017 - The Eucharist and the Father

We are blessed with a beautiful convergence of liturgy and life this weekend! As a nation, we celebrate Father’s Day. And liturgically, we celebrate the Feast of Corpus Christi, the Body and Blood of Our Lord.

What does these two celebrations have in common? I’d say, “quite a bit!”

On Father’s Day’s we thank our fathers. Without our earthly fathers, we would not have life. So many of our fathers provide for their families through the sweat of their brows. They make sacrifices so that their families may enjoy the good things of the world. Our earthly fathers teach us virtues like courage, fortitude, patience, patriotism, and self-sacrifice. So we thank our earthly fathers today both living and dead.

The Eucharist is also about thanksgiving. The very word Eucharist comes from the Greek New Testament ‘Eucharistia’ which means thanksgiving. Every time we gather for the Eucharist, we first and foremost give God thanksgiving for the gift of our salvation, for sending His Only Son to die for our sins. Without this sacrifice, there would be no hope of heaven.

And, the Eucharist is the great thanksgiving to the Father for all of his work. For everything He has accomplished in creation, redemption and sanctification, for everything accomplished by God now in the Church and in the world, for everything that God accomplishes in bringing the Kingdom to fulfilment. Thus the eucharist is the Church expressing her thankfulness for all God's blessings; she offers thanksgiving on behalf of the whole creation.

This is why a week without Eucharist, just doesn’t feel right. In the Eucharistic prayer the priest prays on behalf of the people and in the name of the Christ the Son: it is right and just, our duty and our salvation always and everywhere to give you thanks, heavenly Father.

Failing to honor and thank God for the blessings we enjoy throughout the week is serious matter. So the entire Body of Christ, all of God’s people, need to gather for Eucharist every week, and failing in this obligation is a serious sin, which must be confessed if one wishes to receive Holy Communion in a state of grace.

On Father’s Day we also honor our fathers, and we are reminded of the fourth commandment to Honor our father and mother, always. The Catechism says that honor and respect flows from gratitude for our parents.  So we recommit to obeying our Father’s in what they ask for the good of the family.
The Eucharist is about honoring the Father as well. For, obedient to His Father’s Will, Jesus poured Himself out for the salvation of the world, he instituted the Sacrament of His Body and Blood. We honor the Father, by uniting ourselves to Jesus in this celebration.

In Catholic Europe, Father’s Day has been celebrated on March 19, the Feast of St. Joseph, patron of Fathers, since the Middle Ages.  In the U.S. the third Sunday of June, is set aside for our Dads, only recently, coming as a sort of afterthought to complement Mother’s Day in May. Perhaps, this is a reflection of our sometimes-complex or strained relationships with our earthly fathers.

For some, Father’s Day evokes mixed feelings at best, hurt feelings at worst. Earthly Fatherhood is meant to be a reflection of the goodness and graciousness of the Heavenly Father. And yes, so many of our Father’s reflect God’s goodness. But sometimes, sadly, they don’t; or our expectations of them are unrealistic. Some father’s run away from their responsibilities, some father’s betray their children’s trust.

On Father’s Day we hope that some of the “Father-wounds” we carry around, can begin to heal.
And here is another important connection with the Eucharist. It is through the Eucharist, that the wounds of sin and division come to be healed. When we receive the Eucharist in a state of grace, there is healing of our spiritual wounds. Our relationship with the Father wounded by sin is healed, our relationship with our neighbor is healed.

Also the wounds that come from the wear and tear of life. Not to mention our own sin, but think of how many violent images, perverted images we see, stories of corruption of man’s inhumanity to man. The corruption of the world takes its toll. Our culture is like living in a poisoned underground mine filled with noxious fumes which obscures the true light of the sun. But in the Eucharist, the Father gives us a breath of fresh air, and glimpse of the light of the True Son, His Son, given for us all.
So, when we receive the Eucharist, our souls are oriented to the Father the source of all healing and life, our souls are oriented to the Son, who shows that the meaning of life is to do the will of the Father, and our souls are oriented to the Holy Spirit who restores the gifts from our Father which we lost through sin.

The Eucharist is the Father’s answer to the prayer His Son taught us: “Give us this day our Daily Bread”.

Where the world teaches self-reliance—to be independent of our fathers, Jesus teaches that our relationship with the heavenly Father must be different. Growing in holiness means become increasingly dependent on God and childlike, turning to God for our daily bread.

Sometimes we develop “trust-issues” with God, because our earthly trust has been betrayed or injured. Some people conclude that God doesn’t love them, or doesn’t exist, because they have been so betrayed.  But Jesus teaches us to trust that the Heavenly Father does love us, he cares us about us, he wants what is best for us, and wants us to turn to Him, to learn to rely on him, to trust, to obey, and to surrender to His Holy Will.

At the Eucharist we become children again, children of the Father. We honor our Father by obeying his command to keep holy the Sabbath. We sing like children, praising our Father in joy. We come before the Father humbly, admitting our failures to be the people he made us to be. We come to thank Our Father for his manifold gifts. We come to the Father to learn how he thinks, to hear His words, to be instilled with his wisdom. And we come to the Eucharist as children to be fed by the Father.

As we come forward to receive the Eucharist today, may we do so thankfully, humbly, and open to the healing the Father wishes to effect in our lives and the gifts he wishes to bestow upon us from His bounty for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

Homily: March 20 2017 - St. Joseph - Strong Christian Fathers

Yesterday, I came across a wonderful article that I am going to start sharing with my young engaged couples. The article is titled, “IF DAD TAKES FAITH IN GOD SERIOUSLY, SO WILL HIS CHILDREN” and contains some powerful statistics showing the invaluable role a father’s faith plays in his family—the religious practice of the father of the family greatly determines the future attendance at or absence from church of the children. If Dad takes faith in God seriously then the message to their children is that God should be taken seriously, for a father is to be a spiritual leader in his family.

For this reason, I believe, Our Father in heaven, chose Joseph to be spouse of Mary and foster-father of Our Blessed Lord.

Joseph is model of righteousness for all husbands and fathers. One of my favorite litanies calls him, “Joseph most just, Joseph most chaste, Joseph most prudent, Joseph most brave, Diligent protector of Christ, Guardian of Virgins, Pillar of families, Patron of the Dying, Terror of Demons”

Fatherhood and Christian Manliness are certainly under attack in the present age. Of course, so is motherhood and authentic Christian femininity. The devil certainly attacks us on multiple fronts. A restored devotion to the righteousness of St. Joseph is a powerful counterattack in the spiritual battle.
The US leads the world in the number of fatherless families, and that is having a terrible effect on our society. For as the Catechism states: “the authority, stability, and the life of relationships within the family constitute the foundations for freedom, security, and fraternity within society”—in other words, healthy families lead to a healthy society; disintegrated families lead to a disintegration of society.  Strong Christian fathers therefore must protect their families from being infected with selfishness, addictions, violence, materialism, and godlessness of our culture.

Pope Pius IX proclaimed Saint Joseph who was chosen by the Heavenly Father as protector of the Holy Family to be the patron of the Universal Church, meaning every Christian does well in looking to patronage, the example and prayers of St. Joseph—his sacrifice for his family, his trust in God, his faithful observance of the commandments, his quiet before God.

Joseph has a deep love and care for each of us, and he will show us, if we allow him, a way of deeply loving and following Jesus Christ for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

Through the intercession of St. Joseph, husband of Mary, may the Lord continue to bless the love of husbands and wives through the sacrament of marriage and bring healing and peace to all troubled marriages.

Through the intercession of St. Joseph, foster-father of Our Blessed Lord, may all fathers, foster fathers, adopted fathers, step-fathers, and spiritual fathers, may they teach their children well in the ways of faith, be models and righteous examples of faith and charity for their children, and know always the respect and obedience of their children.

Through the intercession of St. Joseph, terror of demons, that all those afflicted by any sort of demonic obsession or spiritual attacks may be delivered through the mercies of the Father.

Through the intercession of St. Joseph, patron of a peaceful death, that all those who lay dying or who will die today, may be consoled by the Father’s care.