To all of our fathers, thank you for all that you do in witness of the life of Christ. From our Cathedral family, we wish you a truly blessed Father's Day!
The following is a message from Monsignor Rupert.
"I will guide you in the way of wisdom and I will lead you in upright paths. When you walk, your steps will not be hampered, and when you run, you will not stumble".
Proverbs 4:11-12
My dear friends,
Let us give thanks this day for the fathers in our lives while we recall the many sacrifices they make for their children and families. Let us be thankful for the ways - both big and small - that they guide and nurture their children to achieve dreams thought beyond reach. We remember also adoptive and foster fathers and all those who have taken on the mantle of fatherhood to help fill the void when fathers pass early or are absent: grandfathers and uncles, brothers, cousins, and godfathers.
We look to the example given to us in St. Joseph. Even though God was Jesus' father, St. Joseph lovingly took on the paternal role and taught the young Jesus various skills, the value of work, reverence for the Lord, and fidelity and obedience to God’s will. St. Joseph's great mission was to be a guardian to Jesus and Mary. That guardianship extends to our fathers today. Call upon St. Joseph in your time of need and he will answer you with the same kind compassion and loving fidelity he had for Jesus.
For all our fathers who have died, especially those we have lost to the relentless coronavirus, let us pray that God will grant them the rewards they so richly deserve. For those who have suffered the loss of their child, may they be comforted by the Father's warm embrace, most especially on this day. Through the intercession of St. Joseph, may he sustain all living fathers to continue to be devoted to God and their families.
May the love of Christ guide all fathers and grant them the strength to do well by their children and by our heavenly father! Let us all contemplate the trials, fears, and anxieties that St. Joseph faced while raising Jesus. In many ways, they are the same fears we face today. His trust in God kept him from losing faith in God and in His love. I pray that we learn from him that only trust in God can turn doubt into certainty, evil into good, and darkness of the night into a radiant dawn.
Monsignor Dale R. Rupert