IN PRAISE OF FATHERHOOD
Bishop Paul S. Coakley
Though Father’s Day is, at best, a contrived holiday, fatherhood is something to honor and celebrate! The meaning of fatherhood is not as obvious as it might seem. It is one thing to beget a child, but it is something altogether greater to truly father a child. So where do we discover the true meaning of fatherhood? We can do no better than St. Paul by, “kneeling before the Father, from whom every fatherhood, in heaven and on earth, takes its name” (Eph.3:21).
FATHER IS THE UNIQUELY Christian name for God. We have other names for God. God is Creator, for example. But God is Creator only after he creates something. God is Father from all eternity since from all eternity he begets his beloved Son.
Jesus, the only begotten Son who became man, has revealed his Father to us. Jesus also reveals his Father’s eternal plan to gather all people into one family. God desires to be “Our Father” by giving us a share in Jesus’ unique sonship through the gift of his Holy Spirit, who is their bond of love. In Christ, through his Spirit, we are brothers and sisters, sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father.
God continues to father his family in various ways. He is actively involved in begetting, guiding, providing for and correcting his sons and daughters. The spiritual fatherhood of the priest begets the life of grace in the hearts of the Christian faithful and helps bring that life to maturity. An obviously important way that God fathers his family is through human fatherhood. Human fatherhood is a created image of God’s fatherhood.
ST. JOSEPH TEACHES US something vitally important about fatherhood. He was not Jesus’ biological father. Jesus was miraculously conceived by the Holy Spirit in the womb of the Virgin Mary. It was from Mary alone that Jesus received his human physical make-up, his DNA. But it was St. Joseph whom God chose to care for Jesus as his guardian and foster-father. He was entrusted with the responsibility of forming the human character of Jesus. He taught Jesus the fundamental human values and virtues which are a part of every solid moral character: honesty, industriousness, integrity and more. Through his relationship with Mary St. Joseph taught Jesus the virtue of chastity and profound respect for women. He led the family in the religious observances of the Jewish people and taught Jesus reverence. He gave Jesus the lived example of both manly strength and gentleness. In the end, St. Joseph taught Jesus to be a man. This remains one of the most important duties of fathers--to teach boys to be men.
In response to the unique vocation revealed to him by the angel Gabriel, St. Joseph handed over his entire life to love and serve his betrothed wife and the child Jesus, who was not even his own flesh and blood (Mt.1:18-25). He claimed nothing for himself. His life was a gift of love. This was a father in the truest sense.
EVERY HUMAN FATHER (and spiritual father and adoptive father) is only an imperfect image of God’s fatherhood. Yet ours is the mission to make the Father known, as far as our human sinfulness and limitations allow. As G.K. Chesterton once quipped, “Anything worth doing, is worth doing poorly.” By the grace of God, we do the best we can. Thank God for fathers!