Happy Father’s Day to all fathers, stepfathers, grandfathers and godfathers! I am sorry that I am not here with you to celebrate it. Five weeks ago, we observed Mother’s Day and offered Mass for our moms. We gave them special blessings, flowers and gifts. Today, on this Father’s Day, we are doing the same – offering our dads, living or dead, on the altar of God during this Holy Mass and invoking our Heavenly Father’s blessings on them. We give them special blessings and gifts. Today is more special because it is the Feast of The Most Holy Trinity.
It’s a Sunday we take to meditate on our personal relationship with the Holy Trinity. One Father, One Son, and One Holy Spirit perfectly united. The Jews understood God as Creator and Father of all that he made (Deuteronomy 32:6) and they understood Israel (the promised son and his heirs) as God's firstborn son (Exodus 4:22). Jesus reveals the true nature of God the Father in an unheard of sense. He is eternally Father by his relationship to his eternal and only-begotten Son, who, reciprocally, is Son only in relation to his Father (see Matthew 11:27). The Spirit, likewise, is inseparably one with the Father and the Son. Jesus reveals the triune nature of God and the inseparable union of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The mission of Jesus and the Spirit is one. The mission of Jesus and of the Holy Spirit are the same - to reveal the glory of God and to share that glory with us by uniting us in a community of love with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. That is why Jesus tells his disciples that the Spirit will reveal the glory of the Father and the Son and will speak what is true. Before his Passover, Jesus revealed the Holy Spirit as the 'Paraclete' and Helper who will be with Jesus' disciples to teach and guide them "into all the truth" (John 14:17,26; 16:13). The ultimate end, the purpose for which God created us, is the entry of God's creatures into the perfect unity of the blessed Trinity. In baptism we are called to share in the life of the Holy Trinity here on earth in faith and after death in eternal light.
GOD, OUR HEAVENLY FATHER (Rom. 8:15, Gal. 4:6) is “The World’s Greatest Dad,” who is our spiritual Daddy, actively involved in all areas of our lives. It is he on whom we lean in times of pain and hurt; it is he on whom we call in times of need; it is he who provides for us in all ways — practical, emotional, and spiritual. Many of us pray the “Our Father” day after day without paying attention to, or experiencing the love and providence of, our Heavenly Father. Let us pray the Our Father during this Holy Mass, realizing the meaning of each clause and experiencing the love of our Heavenly Father for us. May all earthly fathers draw strength from their Heavenly Father! On this Father’s Day, please don’t forget to pray for us, your spiritual Fathers, – men who are called to be Fathers of an immensely large parish family through the Sacrament of Holy Orders.
Let us pray: God our Father, we give you thanks and praise for fathers young and old. We pray for young fathers, newly embracing their vocation; may they find courage and perseverance to balance work, family and faith in joy and sacrifice. We pray for fathers around the world whose children are lost or suffering; may they know that the God of compassion walks with them in their sorrow. We pray for men who are not fathers but still mentor and guide us with fatherly love and advice. We remember fathers, grandfather, and great grandfathers who are no longer with us but who live forever in our memory and nourish us with their love. Amen.