God as Father. How do we fit this image into our lives today?
Some people have valid concerns that fathers today do not live up to what a
father truly is to be, as defined by God. Since some men have misunderstood,
misinterpreted and misused the role as father, sons and daughters have grown up
with a skewed concept as to what a father should be, and how he was supposed to
influence their lives.
I will not venture to delve into the psychological and sociological
aspects of this deficiency in our culture. I will, however, attempt to bring to
light the nature of God the Father Almighty as it is understood by the Church.
The Catechism of the
Catholic Church states:
240 Jesus revealed that
God is Father in an unheard-of sense: he is Father not only in being Creator;
he is eternally Father in relation to his only Son, who is eternally Son only
in relation to his Father: “No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one
knows the Father except the Son and any one to whom the Son chooses to reveal
him.” (Matthew 11:27)
While the Israelites wandered in the desert with Moses and
listened to the prophets, they had know the name of God as 'I Am Who Am' - YHWH.
They knew He was their Father and that He provided for them, but still they
strayed. The prophets pleaded, chastised, demanded and cried for their people to know this love and return it to God, but hearts became hard still. And as a Good Father, God loved them always.
That is precisely what Jesus came to do, to reveal God the Father as no prophet ever could. Not only does
He know the Father in ways which sometimes are distant to us, but He can bring
us closer to the Father by our relationship with Him! Jesus, as the Son, can
reveal to us the immense love that the Father has for us and how we can love
Him in return.
Our role as Catholics, is to fully enter into the love of
God the Father and allow Him to be that great and glorious Father who is fully
present, fully involved and intimately desires to be with us forever. This is
why we celebrate mass on Sundays, to be present and involved with God, to
remind us of that love that He has through Jesus Christ His Son and to worship
and praise Him above all things. So many have said "I get nothing out of
mass...", well - that's not why we go! We go to GIVE! We go to be present
to Him! And in return, He showers us with gifts! The gift of His Son, the gift
of His mercy, the gift of his grace, the gift of His peace - endless gifts. In receiving
these gifts, we should not answer with expecting more, we should raise our
hands and hearts in gratitude of our wonderful Father who has given us life.
Let us pray to the Father that He reveal Himself to us
through His Son every day. Let us pray that we grow in love and charity every
day, and let us pray that we may rest in His Presence on our final day and live
with Him in eternity. Amen.
I hope I have enlightened you at least a little on this topic and may God bless you all in this New Year - The Year of Faith!
Deacon Jimmy
