Tag: fatherhood
Biblical Evidence for Calling Catholic Priests “Father”
“Call no one on earth your father; you have but one Father in heaven” (Matthew 23:9). Throughout history, including that time since the days when Jesus uttered these words, we have referred to others on earth as father. This title is used in different contexts. For example: In our secular lives, we refer to others [...]
Five Lessons from Saint Joseph
As the father of a teenager with high-functioning autism, I am sometimes challenged to give my oldest child the focus and patience he needs from me. I frequently feel inadequate when I advise and guide my 11 year old son through the minefields of today’s culture. My loving wife should expect my best efforts as [...]
What Does it Mean to Call God “Father”?
Editor’s Note: Reflection on the readings for the 12th Sunday in Ordinary Time, liturgical cycle A (Jer 20:10-13, Ps. 69, Ro 5:12-15; Mt 10:26-33) which often coincide with the secular American observance of Father’s Day. We will resume with reflections on the readings for Year B next Wednesday. Father’s Day invites us to ask a very [...]
The Challenges of Modern Fatherhood
Sometimes I can almost imagine myself as a great father to my children…then I do something to mess it up. A week ago the boys and I welcomed my wife home from a five-day trip to California where she had been visiting her sister. What started out as my great adventure with the kids at [...]
Responding to the Crisis of Fatherhood
Today, Catholic Americans mark two celebrations: Holy Trinity Sunday and Father’s Day. The feast of the Holy Trinity is an occasion on which not only Catholics seek to deepen their appreciation of the mystery, and enter into the reality, of the communion of persons who is our Triune God. In particular, it’s a day on [...]
The Story of Champions
Once upon a time there was a boy named David. His dad was a golf professional, and his family lived on the fifth hole of a modest golf course. Every day David spent hours hitting golf balls, tee to green, over and over again, until the hazy orange light of the setting sun could no [...]
The Drama and the Dilemma of Fatherhood
Toward the end of his international best-seller, Crossing the Threshold of Hope, Pope John Paul II makes the startling comment that original sin is, above all, an attempt “to abolish fatherhood”. Tradition teaches that our primal parents’ first sin was one of disobedience and pride. This is correct, but describes the disposition of Adam and [...]
The Meaning of Fatherhood
There is a certain immediacy about motherhood that cannot be said of fatherhood. Nature goes a long way in helping a mother know what it means to be a mother. Ovulation, pregnancy, childbirth, lactation, and breast feeding are natural and immediate experiences that teach a mother a great deal about the meaning of her motherhood. [...]
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