“The vocation of being a father”
A little late for Father’s Day, but still….
We need a cultural conversation about this.
I devoted two hours of radio to a discussion of fatherhood, families, children, the culture, men’s organizations and efforts to support them all. It was edifying.
Fr. Sammie Maletta, a pastor in St. John, Indiana, told me about a men’s group preparing to take the ‘Courageous Pledge’ on Father’s Day. It was started by the ‘Iron Disciples’ and required a rigorous preparation. He hoped he’d get as many as 50 men signed up. He got 230.
Fr. Maletta read the Pledge and I jotted notes as fast as I could. These men are claiming a dedication ‘to love, protect, serve and teach,’ he said, and I missed a bunch of words in between. Those are the highlights. Here are some more:
To be the spiritual head of my home…to bless my children and teach them and train them…
To pursue justice and love mercy…to provide…repent and reconcile…
To model and teach integrity and honor and faithfulness…with resolve.
And I couldn’t write fast enough to keep up with him.What a great witness to manly men, not daunted by political correctness but concerned with moral correctness. St. John, Indiana thus becomes a shining city on a hill.
Bishop Jose Gomez just wrote about the vocation of fatherhood.
Even after a long day of work, even if he’d rather be doing something else—instead he will smile and laugh and take delight in spending time and playing games with his kids. Because that’s what fathers do. They keep their promise to love.
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