Dear Parishioners,

Happy Father’s Day! And what a great day it is. Even if we do not realize it, every father on earth is a reflection of God the Father in heaven. We are all God’s sons and daughters because we have been baptized into the sonship of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Fathers have a unique role in leading their family to understand who God is. If someone has had a bad experience of fatherhood, that will damage their relationship with God. Instead of seeing God as an all-loving Father, they will see their relationship as merely a servile one. That is why it is so important for men to live out their vocation of Fatherhood to the fullest, because it will either lead their children to God, or away from Him.

So many men fail to realize this potential. There are so many temptations that men are faced with today. There are so many men that treat their families poorly. Some have left their families. Some are disengaged and distant. Some have given themselves to pornography or affairs. Others are controlling or angry because they fear not living up to some self-imposed expectation. Some are lazy because they do not realize just how important they are. Then, there is the societal pressures that make fun of and undermine men in general. If men are told over and over again that they are not necessary, how else do you expect them to act? Men need to be affirmed and encouraged to live out their vocation, and God bless the ones that do.

Today is a day that we thank and honor and respect fathers. If a man is truly living out his vocation to fatherhood, then he is a man of integrity, prayer and sacrifice. He needs to be a man of integrity because he needs to teach his kids right from wrong and to be strong for them in their needs. He needs to be a man of prayer because his children will be more likely to practice their faith if they see that he is practicing the faith. He needs to be a man of sacrifice because in this fallen world, love is expressed most completely in a total gift of self.

Fathers, remember your great dignity and the role that you play within the family.

God bless!

Peace,

Fr. Carter