Yesterday at Mass the Pope said:
The desire to be a father is ingrained in all men...
Oh come on. I never, ever desired to be a father."When a man does not have this desire, something is missing in this man. Something is wrong. All of us, to exist, to become complete, in order to be mature, we need to feel the joy of fatherhood: even those of us who are celibate. " - Vatican Radio
Looks as if I don't fit in - anyplace.
Even now, with the 'new normal' of gay marriage - which I reject - I cannot be normal.
Keep yourself as a stranger and pilgrim upon the earth, and as one to whom the affairs of this world do nothing to appertain. Keep your heart free, and lifted up to God, because you have here no abiding city. Send thither your daily prayers and sighs together with your tears, that after death your spirit may be found worthy with much happiness to pass to the Lord. - Imitation of Christ[I hope that still accords with Catholic teaching.]
Today is the feast of Our Lady of Perpetual Help.
O Mother of Perpetual Help, grant that I may ever invoke thy most powerful name, which is the safeguard of the living and the salvation of the dying. O Purest Mary, O Sweetest Mary, let thy name henceforth be ever on my lips. Delay not, O Blessed Lady, to help me whenever I call on thee, for, in all my needs, in all my temptations I shall never cease to call on thee, ever repeating thy sacred name, Mary, Mary.
I wonder if your self-assessment is correct. On several occasions I think you've talked Thom off the ledge in a very fatherly way, and kept him in the fold (of your blog). At bottom, fatherhood is about patience, care, willing the good for the person and keeping a long time horizon (for when things go sideways).
ReplyDeleteI agree with Scott. Terry, fatherhood is also about protecting. My perception of much of what you right is about protecting - the teachings of Holy Mother Church and also reaching out to wayward souls to invite them back home. BTW thank you for Our Lady of Perpetual Help, She is so tender towards Her children. Beautiful Icon.
ReplyDeleteThanks Scott and Mari Kate - I never thought of it like that.
ReplyDeleteI'm a dad then! Cool!
Dad, did you get my email the third time I sent it? :)
ReplyDeleteTerry,
ReplyDeleteMari Kate and Scott are right, there are many ways to be "fatherly." My Dad taught me how to make things grow and build things, etc. Either genetically or from him teaching me or both, I can do things with my hands and make things grow,much to the amazement of my neighbors and friends and I love to help them out. That's my Dad ( I always feel him there when I am working in the garden or building something.) You do the same things with your faith beliefs and gentle nature..while you know I think the whole SSA thing is a bunch of theo babble,(IMO and you know what they say about opinions) you help people out who are struggling I am sure.
Its an unfortunate use of words, and one of the problem with the Church leaders and "insiders." Instead of creating a feeling of inclusion, they are creating a them vs. us. thing. I think it is in reaction to the decades of sex abuse scandals (its easier to blame something else then to take a look and say, "Hey we, you, I, all of us really screwed up here," ) now we have an almost hysterical reaction to anything that is just a bit different then "us." While I think your posting about being alone, and I can think of nothing worse then being shut up in a dark room and praying for hour upon hour I think that is odd, but its odd for me as I am not like that. Doesnt mean its "unnatural," or weird.
Though I do feel it was not the Pope's intentions to do so it was just a bad choice of words.
+JMJ+
ReplyDeleteMany years ago, someone asked a Jesuit priest named Father James Reuter why he always made sure to cast children in the stage productions he directed. He told the story of a time he heard a child calling out, "Father! Father!" and he turned to see the child running excited toward him. He said that although he had never wanted to be a father, at that moment he received the grace of a father's joy.
I love this picture of you. You're still the best.
ReplyDelete