So today’s greeting goes! If you are a father, you will certainly receive much more cuddles, phone calls or text messages today than you usually do. Today is the day when you joyfully and, why not, proudly celebrate the fact that you are a father. So, from the bottom of my heart I wish you: Happy Father’s Day Dad!
On this special day, the beautiful lyrics of that 1969 single composed by the American country pop artist Jim Reeves comes spontaneously to mind. The context of that unforgettable song is a charming dialogue between a father and his five-year-old son. The father complains that his five-year-old boy’s face is a dirty disgrace. Then he goes on bewailing the fact that his child scatters his toys and makes a hell of a noise. And, this little child of his is really pretty bad. He wakes his poor father at dawn when he wants to sleep on then eats the cookies even though his father does not approve. But, at one point in this wonderful and nostalgic single, the father admits that his child is so hard to scold. He is only a five-year-old boy!
The father moans that just as he has finished dressing him he goes to play with the puppy. And when he uses the phone his son won’t leave him alone. The little boy makes his sister wail because he pulls her pony tail. Not only, he also scratches the floor and even writes on the door! This uncontrollable child is surely testing his father’s patience by asking him silly questions. However, to all these lamentations, what does the five-year-old tell his father? But you love me daddy!
Here we are we! The child has no problem in entrusting himself to his father’s reassuring care. Why? Because he knows that his father will always be there for him. Because he is sure that his father loves him to bits. And no matter what he does his father will come to his aid to help him grow up, mature and progress in his life.
The great and patient love this father is continually showing to his energetic son reminds me of God the Father’s love for you and me. Pope Francis’ Bull of Indiction of the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy which will start on 8 December this year certainly manifests a God whose Fatherly attributes of patience and mercy will prevail in any life situation. “‘He forgives all your iniquity, he heals all your diseases, he redeems your life from the pit, he crowns you with steadfast love and mercy” (Ps 103:3-4)... “He executes justice for the oppressed; he gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets the prisoners free; the Lord opens the eyes of the blind. The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down; the Lord loves the righteous. The Lord watches over the sojourners, he upholds the widow and the fatherless; but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin” (Ps 146:7-9). “He heals the broken hearted, and binds up their wounds… The Lord lifts up the downtrodden, he casts the wicked to the ground” (Ps 147:3, 6). In short, the mercy of God is not an abstract idea, but a concrete reality with which he reveals his love as of that of a father or a mother, moved to the very depths out of love for their child. It is hardly an exaggeration to say that this is a ‘visceral’ love. “It gushes forth from the depths naturally, full of tenderness and compassion, indulgence and mercy” (§ 6).
Dear fathers, pass on to your children a wise heart! Be present in your families! Wait and forgive your children from the depths of your heart! This means both encouraging what is good in your children and gently but firmly correcting what is erroneous in their behaviour. Pray and fast for your sons and daughters!
These insights benefit us all: Pope, bishops, priests and consecrated people, too! Happy Father’s Day to you as well!
Fr Mario Attard OFM Cap
Paola