Dear Parishioners:
Today is Father's Day when we honor all Fathers and give thanks for the great gift of Fatherhood. Like all parenthood, Fatherhood is a vocation, a call from God. A vocation in which we recall a father's strength, guiding hands, wisdom, and help.
God the Father gave up his only Son, Jesus Christ, so we might be saved through him. He provides an example of the very vocation of Fatherhood. We give thanks today to our Fathers. St. John Paul II reminds us, "As the family goes, so goes the world." I might add: as the Father goes, so, too, goes the family.
There is a great deal of empirical and sociological evidence that many of the societal problems we face today are rooted in a dissolution of Fatherhood and the lack of good male role models, especially for young men. Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI said: "The crisis of fatherhood we are experiencing today is an element, perhaps the most important element, threatening man in his humanity."
In faith, too, absentee Fatherhood often makes it difficult to believe in God, "the Father," an authority who commands and loves without contradiction. Pope Francis writes in his apostolic letter, "Patris corde,": "Fathers are not born, but made. A man does not become a father simply by bringing a child into the world but by taking up the responsibility to care for that child. Children today often seem orphans, lacking fathers."
St. Joseph provides a sterling example of Catholic Fatherhood and of sacrifice and love. Pope Francis writes: "Joseph knew how to love with extraordinary freedom. He never made himself the center of things. He did not think of himself but focused on the lives of Mary and Jesus. Joseph found happiness not only in self-sacrifice but in self-gift. In him, we never see frustration but only trust. His patient silence was the prelude to concrete expressions of trust. Our world today needs fathers."
This Fathers' Day, let us be thankful for our fathers. Let us implore God by the intercession of St. Joseph to heal broken families. If you are a father, remember the dignity and divine grace that comes from the duties and obligations of being a father. Fathers have been given a divine mandate to show their children a love they will find perfected in the Almighty Father in heaven. Let us truly celebrate such an important vocation!
Today, we also celebrate the solemn feast of Corpus Christi. It is a doctrinal feast established to give God collective thanks for Christ's abiding presence with us in the Eucharist. This feast also teaches us to appreciate and use the great gift of the Holy Eucharist, both as a Sacrament and a sacrifice.
Although we celebrate the institution of the Holy Eucharist on Holy Thursday, the Church wants to emphasize its central importance in our lives of faith with a special feast, the Holy Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. St. Pio of Pietrelcina said: "It would be easier for the world to survive without the sun than without the Holy Mass."
St. Francis Xavier Church in Nigeria after attack.
Last week on Pentecost Sunday, gunmen threw explosives and fired guns at the congregation gathered at St. Francis Xavier Church in Nigeria, killing 50 people. Nigeria has sadly become all too familiar with such growing violence against Christians. We pray for the victims and their families.
The local Bishop Jude Arogundade expressed his shock at the violent attack and lamented the many people who died in the attack: husbands, wives, children, and entire families, including both parents of a seminarian of the diocese. In the face of the sorrow and pain, he notes that "our people are a people of faith and still call upon God at Mass."
Here in the U.S., we are blessed to practice our faith without the threat of violence. And so, as we give thanks today for the great gift of Holy Mass, let us never take this great gift for granted. Rather let us deepen our love and gratitude, and increase our honor for the Most Holy Body and Blood of Jesus Christ by remaining faithful to Sunday Mass each week.
Sister Emma has left for a visit to the Philippines. She is visiting with her family and the Franciscan Apostolic Sisters Community there. This trip is her first return home in over eight years. Please pray for her and for a safe return to OLM in August. Safe travels!
Be well. Stay safe. Do good. Happy Fathers Day!