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Fatherhood
Most men expect someday to be fathers. How many, however,
are prepared for this? How many understand the awesome gift
and responsibility of fatherhood? What are the values we
have and what are the role models we have to make us good
fathers? Looking around us we see divorce rates of 50%.
Pornography is becoming more and more pervasive in books
and magazines as well as on TV and in the movies. Abuse
of wives and children, affairs, material values and loss
of faith among the youth are a scandal to today's fathers.
Birth control is accepted even by 70% of Catholics. Abortion
is the leading cause of death for babies. What is going
on? WHERE DID FATHERING COME FROM?
- Catechism
of the Catholic Church - The divine fatherhood is the
source of human fatherhood, this is the source of the
honor owed to parents. Gen 1:27,28 God created man in
his image; in the divine image he created him; male
and female he created them. God blessed them, saying:
"Be fertile and multiply; fill the earth and subdue
it. Gen 2:24 Therefore a man leaves his father and his
mother and cleaves to his wife, and they become one
flesh. Before creation God had fatherhood with His Son
and the Holy Spirit. Human families are but a dim reflection
of the Blessed Trinity. We are called in our families
to live in a loving bond of communion with the Father,
Son and Holy Spirit.
- Jesus
taught us to pray to God, "OUR FATHER" who art in heaven.
Contrast this with the Muslim view that people are mere
slaves. Scott Hahn tells of a conversation with a Muslim
scholar. This man became more and more offended that
Scott was referring to God as father until he finally
burst out, "Do not call Allah father!" Yes, he created
man and loved and cared for man but never should we
be so bold as to address him as father. Allah was God
– not father. He went on; I have a dog. I love my dog.
I have raised and cared for my dog since it was a puppy.
But now I am moving into an apartment. They do not allow
dogs in this apartment. I am going to kill my dog!
- What
an awesome and unheard of privilege we have to call
God Abba, Father, Pappa -- most intimate terms of endearment
from son to father. Because the Son of God historically
became man, the sons and daughters of man can through
Christ alone become the sons and daughters of God. Apart
from the grace of Jesus Christ and apart from the Gospel
which the Catholic Church alone has preserved pure and
intact, humans do not have hope to become children of
God.
- St
Paul in Galatians 4; As proof that you are children,
God sent the spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying
out, "Abba, Father!" So you are no longer a slave but
a child, and if a child then also an heir, through God.
- We
have value not on the basis of what we achieve but on
the basis of our dignity as God's children. We understand
who we are and what our true worth is when we realize
that God is our Father and we are His children and He
loves us very much.
- Jn
3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his only
Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not
perish but might have eternal life. Isa 43:1-4 But now,
thus says the LORD, he who created you, O Jacob, he
who formed you, O Israel: Fear not, for I have redeemed
you; I have called you by name: you are mine. When you
pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through
the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; When you walk
through fire, you shall not be burned; and the flame
shall not consume you. For I am the LORD, your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your savior…Because you are
precious in my eyes, and honored, and I love you.
- Passover
was celebrated in Jewish homes with the father acting
as priest, prophet and king. The family table was like
a sacred alter. Fathers are still to be priest, prophet
and king in their own homes to make the family a domestic
church, to take authority and responsibility by making
a commitment to providing love and nurture to children.
CHILDREN The covenant God has given us in marriage transforms
marital love into a life giving force. Marital love
produces a new child, created in the image and likeness
of God, with dignity and value that is inestimable,
a soul with eternal value, infinite dignity and a divine
destiny to become a child of the Blessed Trinity.
- A
father is elevated to be a "co-creator" with the Almighty.
- Anything
which blocks or thwarts the procreative aspect of marital
love is unnatural and dehumanizing and an offense against
the Creator. Catechism --" every action which proposes,
whether as an end or as a means, to render procreation
impossible is intrinsically evil… Let all be convinced
that human life and the duty of transmitting it are
not limited by the horizons of this life only: their
true evaluation and full significance can be understood
only in reference to man's eternal destiny"
- Ps
127:3-5 Children too are a gift from the LORD, the fruit
of the womb, a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a
warrior are the children born in one's youth. Blessed
are they whose quivers are full. Mt 19:14 Jesus said,
"Let the children come to me, and do not prevent them;
for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these."
- The
essence of our faith is exemplified by a child's trust
in his parents. Mt 11:25 At that time Jesus said in
reply, "I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven
and earth, for although you have hidden these things
from the wise and the learned you have revealed them
to the childlike. Mt 7:11 If you then, who are wicked,
know how to give good gifts to your children, how much
more will your heavenly Father give good things to those
who ask him.
- HOW
ARE WE TO FATHER It is possible for men to father children
and do little or nothing to protect and care for the
mother or their offspring. In some societies and cultures,
fathers have been minimally involved in family life
or else involved in so domineering a way that women
and children were regarded as property, used, abused,
and even killed at the whim of the husband and father.
The Old Testament presents a distinctive understanding
of God as a Father whose chief characteristics are faithfulness
and loving-kindness, and this Father became the model
for Jewish and Christian fatherhood. Yahweh was an involved
father who was compassionate, committed, and loyal to
one bride -- His people. Never in the history of humanity
had there been a God like the God of Israel, a God faithful
in His love, righteous and holy in His law. He called
forth from the men a degree of fatherly responsibility
unheard of in the ancient world, to get involved in
the education and nurturing of the children from the
earliest days. Proverbs 13:24 He who spares his rod
hates his son, but he who loves him takes care to chastise
him. (We are responsible for teaching and correcting)
Proverbs 10:10 He who winks at a fault causes trouble,
but he who frankly reproves promotes peace. Proverbs
6:23 A way to life are the reproofs of discipline. Proverbs
20:7 When a man walks in integrity and justice, happy
are his children after him! I Cor 15:33 Do not be led
astray: "Bad company corrupts good morals." Eph 5:1-4
So be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live
in love, as Christ loved us and handed himself over
for us as a sacrificial offering to God for a fragrant
aroma. Immorality or any impurity or greed must not
even be mentioned among you, as is fitting among holy
ones, no obscenity or silly or suggestive talk, which
is out of place, but instead, thanksgiving. Eph 6:4
Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but
bring them up with the training and instruction of the
Lord. Col 3:12 Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy
and beloved, heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility,
gentleness, and patience. Heb 13:5 Let your life be
free from love of money but be content with what you
have, for he has said, "I will never forsake you or
abandon you." I Thes 5:13-18 We urge you, brothers,
admonish the idle, cheer the fainthearted, support the
weak, be patient with all. See that no one returns evil
for evil; rather, always seek what is good (both) for
each other and for all. Rejoice always. Pray without
ceasing. In all circumstances give thanks, for this
is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.
- The
Christian father is expected to be involved in his family,
to be present to protect and care for his wife and children,
and to carry out his responsibilities faithfully, subordinating
his individual interests to the good of the family as
a whole. The father also must deal with the wider world
outside the home in order to obtain the necessities
of life and protect his family. He must pursue goals
and strive to meet standards of success.
- A
father's authority is more than simply power. Authority
is based on servant-hood and sacrifice whereas power
is based on force, fear and intimidation. Mother Teresa
had authority. In her life and in her sacrifice she
commands trust and authority that cannot be gained by
power or fear or force. The secret to fathering is gaining
authority, by serving, sacrifice and loyal commitment.
- I
Tim 4:12 Let no one have contempt for your youth, but
set an example for those who believe, in speech, conduct,
love, faith, and purity.
- PEDOPHOBIA
IN TODAY'S AMERICA
- Many
today see children as a burden. Children are expensive.
They restrict our life style. They require sacrifice.
We do not trust that God will provide what we need to
care for our children.
- So
many suffer without knowing that these sufferings are
the opportunities and occasions by which our Father
in heaven calls us to greater maturity through greater
and greater loving sacrifice. We have too much wasted
sufferings. Sufferings are all a part of a great curriculum
for Christian education, for Catholic maturity, for
growing up as sons and daughters of God.
- God's
law is an expression of His love for us. He calls us
to greater love, greater sacrifice, greater self giving
because He wants us to be more like Him, to grow up,
to be perfect as our Heavenly Father is perfect.
- We
want to make life easy for ourselves and our children,
but that is not the best way. Mt 7:13,14 Enter by the
narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is easy
that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it
are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard
that leads to life, and those who find it are few.
- THE
CHURCH AND FATHERHOOD
- From
creation God's goal was to father a family. At no time
in history was His fatherhood not expressed through
human representatives. Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses and
David are prominent examples. Genealogy was important
to the Jews because it proved that God was fathering
His family throughout all the ages and in all the difficulties
and all the crises down through history.
- When
Christ came the family expanded, all nations were called
to an equal standing as sons and daughters of God in
His family. Eph 3:14,15 For this reason I kneel before
the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on
earth is named.
- If
the Church is to be called the family of God would He
expect it to get along without father figures? Jesus
gave Peter the Keys to the Kingdom. In the Catholic
Church, God's family is maintained by the Popes - Holy
Fathers - in unbroken succession going all the way back
to St Peter. Individual parishes have their priest fathers.
God does not want his people to be fatherless.
- Judges
17:5,10 Will you be unto me a priest and a father… The
priesthood is spiritual fatherhood. St Thomas Aquinas
speaks of the priesthood as spiritual paternity. Priests
are called fathers because that is what they are. To
father means to communicate human life and human nature.
As the spiritual dimension to life is higher than the
physical, the priests who are granted the sacramental
powers to give us spiritual life through Christ to communicate
to us divine life are supernaturally more of "father"
than we are in the natural realm of life. God the Creator
redeems what He created by means of what He has made
(men - priests, bread, water, and wine).
- FAMILY
- Eph
5:25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ loved
the church and handed Himself over for her. I Pet 3:7
Likewise, you husbands should live with your wives in
understanding, showing honor to the weaker female sex,
since we are joint heirs of the gift of life, so that
your prayers may not be hindered. Heb 13:4 Let marriage
be honored among all and the marriage bed be kept undefiled,
for God will judge the immoral and adulterers. Mal 2:15,16
Did he not make one being, with flesh and spirit: and
what does that one require but godly offspring? You
must then safeguard life that is your own, and not break
faith with the wife of your youth. For I hate divorce,
says the Lord, the god of Israel.
- One
of the most serious problems in our society is the broken
home. Mt 19:4-6 Have you not read that from the beginning
the Creator made them male and female and said, For
this reason a man shall leave his father and mother
and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become
one flesh? So they are no longer two, but one flesh.
Therefore, what God has joined together, no human being
must separate.
- Role
Models: Mary, the mother of God, accompanied her son
to the cross. She gives us courage and strength to bear
our crosses. Joseph, the patron of the Catholic Church
and guardian of the redeemer, faithfully and lovingly
protected and cared for Mary and his foster child, Jesus.
- "At
the beginning of the New Testament, as at the beginning
of the Old, there is a married couple, But whereas Adam
and Eve were the source of evil which was unleashed
on the world, Joseph and Mary are the summit from which
holiness spreads all over the earth. The Savior began
the work of salvation by this virginal and holy union,
wherein is manifested his all-powerful will to purify
and sanctify the family - that sanctuary of love and
cradle of life. How much the family of today can learn
from these words of Pope Paul VI.The essence and role
of the family are in the final analysis specified by
love. Hence the family has the mission to guard, reveal
and communicate love, and this is a living reflection
of and a real sharing in God's love for humanity and
the love of Christ the Lord for the church his bride.
So, it is in the Holy Family, the original church in
miniature, that every Christian family must be reflected."
John Paul II
- Catechism:
2205. The Christian family is a communion of persons,
a sign and image of the communion of the Father and
the Son in the Holy Spirit. In the procreation and education
of children it reflects the Father's work of creation.
It is called to partake of the prayer and sacrifice
of Christ.
- Love
drawn from God's heart spurs the whole family to find
the time to attend to the elderly, to devote themselves
to the sick, to be involved in the difficult situations
around them, including regional problems and the more
general problems of the nation. The family does not
live its vocation to the full if it is not open to the
needs of the community. John Paul II
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