From the Pastor’s Desk:
Next weekend we will celebrate Father’s Day. It is a day set aside to honor and show respect to our dads or to any man who has guided and cared for us as a father, whether they are here or no longer with us. Father’s Day was first proposed in 1909 by a Mrs. Dodd who wanted a special day to honor her father, a Civil War veteran. He was a widower who raised his newborn and five other children on a rural farm in the state of Washington.
The first Father’s Day was observed on June 19, 1910, in Spokane, Washington. The special day grew across our country so much that, by 1924, President Calvin Coolidge
supported the idea of a national day dedicated to dads. It was, however, President Lyndon Johnson who signed a presidential proclamation declaring the 3rd Sunday of June as
Father’s Day.
Being a father means facing many struggles and difficulties. A number of years ago the Catholic Church honored and celebrated St. Joseph the foster father of Jesus. As a father his life was not easy as he found his wife to be with child, a child he knew was not his. Following the birth of Jesus he fled the country with Mary and Jesus for fear of death. He had accepted a hard life as a father.
It is not easy for dads today, going to work, even when you prefer to stay in bed, because you know that your family depends on you. It means disciplining your children so that they might grow up to be mature men and women. It means constantly looking out for your family, making every effort to ensure that they are protected.
Thank God we have a Heavenly Father who does all this and helps the fathers here on earth to do the same. Not a single sparrow falls to the earth without the Heavenly
Father’s consent, says the Gospel; thus, our earthly fathers are under our Heavenly Father’s care and support. God our Father protects and nurtures His children, and makes His family a house of love.
Take some time this weekend to remember your dad, thanking him for all that he has done for you–for all the time he spent on your projects, being with you in many of your school activities, and for providing the examples of faith and love.