Next Sunday is Father’s Day. May our fathers experience the love and grace of God which they need in order to follow Christ and be gentle leaders. We have many reasons to honor our fathers and remember all the good they have done. I am truly grateful for my father and I love him. 
      The hard part of father’s day is meeting and remembering those fathers who are not honorable, not wise and not gentle. Too many fathers have been irresponsible and violent. Some have been cowards and abusers. 
      Fathers and mothers of today: Now is the time to raise an even better generation of fathers for the future. When you teach your children and teenagers how to be humble, respectful, generous, attentive, hopeful, ready to learn, forgiving, and compassionate, then you are doing a great thing. IF, however, your children are learning from you how to be immoral, vengeful, selfish, violent, self-centered, and mean, then we are failing.    Nonetheless, let us be grateful that God can redeem even the children who are poorly raised and who are taught to disrespect the other and only love their selves. We can all learn to be better people. We can say “please forgive me,” and then work to demonstrate a more respectful and loving way of relating to others.
      So, fathers who were poorly taught and given bad example by your parents or other adults, NOW is the time to change. It is never too late to learn. Go to your own sons and daughters and tell them you love them and that you are sorry for any way that you mistreated them or deceived them. Be patient. Your adult children may need time to accept your request for forgiveness. Seeking forgiveness as the one who caused the pain is difficult because you must wait for the response. You cannot force it. You cannot condemn anyone for needing time to heal. If you demand that they forgive you, then you have only changed your words and not your behavior.
      Good and holy fathers, may you rejoice at the goodness of your own parents and give thanks for redemption in your own life. Thank God for all the ways that you are approaching holiness, wisdom and perfection. Blessed John Henry Newman once said: “To live is to change, and to be perfect is to have changed often.” Let our fathers make the changes needed to better demonstrate their perfection and holiness. God Bless our Fathers!

Peace Fr. Andy