Happy Father's Day

06-17-2018Weekly ReflectionRev. John C. Granato

My Dear Friends,

Today is Father’s Day, and like Mother’s Day, it seems that one day a year to honor fathers just does not cut it.

Fathers, as well as mothers, are so important for the life of a child. Yes, there are many families that a father or a mother are missing, for a variety of reasons, but a father and a mother together, which image Jesus Christ and His Bride, the Church (Ephesians 5), stand as an image for the love that God has for each and every one of His children. In the Book of Genesis, it is stated that God created man in His image, male and female He created them. In the image of God is the coming together of a man and a woman, a complimentarity that is fruitful when new life comes forth from this union.

In our parish, St. John Paul the Great, we have so many examples of wonderful fathers who are great role models for our young people; men who attend Mass and participate in the life of the Church; men who treat their wives with love and respect; men who pray. Bishop Thomas Olmsted has written a wonderful little book called Manuel for Men, where he encourages men to become warriors for Christ and His Church. In this book, you will find how being a Christian man is far more than physical prowess or worldly power; why the world and the Church desperately need men to fight for them in spiritual combat; the vital importance of prayer and the sacraments in the life of every man; why fatherhood, fully understood, is so crucial for every man, the value of a devotion to a patron saint; and most importantly, how men have the perfect model of man in Jesus Christ, and how you can follow His example. There is a battle for the souls of every person, a battle for the souls of our families, and a battle within the world at large. A follower of Christ is called to engage in that battle. Let us pray on this Father’s Day, that all of our men, those who are fathers and those who are called to be fathers, will heed the call of Our Lord and help bring their wives and their children to Jesus Christ.

God bless,
Fr. John

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