Perfection of masculinity is in fatherhood

Being a biological father is easy; fathering a child is challenging.

There has been a decline in the holy vocation of fatherhood in past decades. As a result, Fathers’ Day celebrations, for many, can be bittersweet.

Watching only a few hours of television demonstrates how gravely the image of fatherhood has been defiled. Fathers are portrayed as lazy, wimpy and ignorant. As respect for them declines, they are also being rendered dispensable through reproductive technology and as disposable in broken marriages.

A father’s absence (physical or emotional) has a devastating effect on families. It leads to higher delinquency rates, lower self-esteem, and an increased risk of early sexual involvement. A father’s presence, even if his involvement is minimal, provides children stability and security. 

Fatherhood also involves spiritual nurturing. A child first experiences God through his relationship with his parents. God’s attributes represented by the father are different than those by the mother. Both are needed for the healthy development of the child’s relationship with God.  Furthermore, research shows that a father’s commitment to church worship has a vastly greater effect on the child’s churchgoing in adulthood than does the mother’s. 

Restoring the dignity of earthly fatherhood requires an understanding of Divine Fatherhood. Even before God was Creator, He was Father.  From this divine Fatherhood is generated the eternally begotten Son. This revealed truth has wonderful implications for earthly fathers. While both men and women are created in the image of God, the male, in his masculinity, is the icon of divine fatherhood on earth.

In this profound representational role, men can find their identity and mission as fathers. Emulating God’s fatherhood, they can embrace its eternal aspect by being a lifelong presence for their children– imitating God in their total gift of self, providing for their material and spiritual needs, protecting them, and loving them unconditionally.

“Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” – Epistle of St. Paul to the Romans (Romans, 12:21)

The Ascension informs of Jesus’ second coming

The Feast of The Ascension is celebrated on the 40th day after Jesus’ Resurrection.  This Holy Day, which this year falls on June 2, commemorates an important historic event –Jesus’ departure from earth.  More significantly, it is a reminder of God’s plan for our salvation and Jesus’ role in its fulfilment.

The Ascension is documented in various Biblical texts. The Acts of the Apostles recounts that Jesus taught for 40 days after His Resurrection. At a gathering near the Mount of Olives, near Bethany, Jesus told the apostles they will receive the power of the Holy Spirit and commanded them to spread His message about the Kingdom of God to the world. Then, Jesus was taken up and received by a cloud. 

Two angels appeared and announced that Jesus will return in the same manner as he was taken. While the Gospel of Mark says Bethany was the site of The Ascension, it also says that Jesus "was taken up into heaven,” and that He then “sat down at the right hand of God" (Mk. 16:19).

Thus, The Ascension fulfilled the covenant made with David in the Old Testament. David was promised that one of his descendants will permanently reign at God’s side, and Jesus’ lineage traces back to David.

Having entered Heaven, Jesus intercedes for us as the mediator who assures us of the permanent outpouring of the Holy Spirit. 

The events of The Ascension inform us of the second coming and reveal that when the risen Lord returns again to Earth, God’s will for mankind will 
be fulfilled.

Lessons of the first witnesses of Jesus’ Resurrection

On the third Sunday of the Easter season (May 8 this year), our Church commemorates the first witnesses of Jesus’ Resurrection -- the women who came to His tomb with myrrh to anoint His body. The men who buried Jesus, St. Joseph of Arimathea and St. Nicodemus, are also honoured on this Sunday.

Jesus Christ was crucified on Friday. He was hastily anointed, wrapped in linen and buried by Sts. Joseph and Nicodemus that same day because the next day was the Sabbath, when it was unlawful to work. When the Sabbath was officially over, in the morning’s early hours, a small group of faithful women who wanted to anoint Jesus’ body properly, set off for the tomb with myrrh and expensive fragrant oils.

The group, according to the Gospel of Mark (16:1-8), included Mary Magdalene, another Mary (referred to as the mother of James), and Salome. They said “Who will roll away the stone from the door of the tomb for us?” but found the heavy stone had already been rolled away.  An angel nearby said to them: “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He is risen! He is not here! …Go, tell His disciples – and Peter – that He is going before you into Galilee...”

The Gospel of John (20:14) recounts that Mary Magdalene, crying at the tomb, saw the Resurrected Jesus, but did not recognize Him until He called her by name. From this incident, we are reminded that knowing and recognizing God is a spiritual experience and that the soul has primacy over the outer physical body.

All women called to spiritual motherhood

This year, Mothers’ Day coincides with the Sunday of the Myrrh Bearing Women emphasizing the two aspects of motherhood – biological and spiritual.

God, in creating woman, bestowed on her the gift of motherhood. Inherent in every woman is the ability to bring new life into the world and a sensitivity that lends itself to spiritually nurturing others.

For ages, motherhood was the basis of the formation of a new generation. Girls were raised with an understanding of this responsibility and the sacrifice it demanded. Children were welcomed as gifts to the family, even in times of hardship.

Various secular movements, especially in recent decades, have brought about a dramatic change of attitude. Children, once great gifts, have come to be seen by many as burdens that interfere with careers and lifestyles.

What would have happened if Mary had rejected the invitation to become the Mother of God? Our salvation was dependant on her willingness to trust God and to accept His gift.Christian women today can look to Mary for the strength to resist the culture that sneers at women who bear more than one or two children and to overcome the fear of the unknown – to trust in God’s providence, embrace motherhood and restore it to its original dignity.

Mary was biological mother to only one child, Jesus, but she is a spiritual mother to many. Not every woman will become a biological mother, but all women are called to be spiritual mothers. The Desert Mothers of Early Christianity and numerous subsequent saints are excellent examples of spiritual motherhood. Prayer and God’s grace gave them the insight to guide others in their spiritual journeys and the courage to speak the unpopular truth on moral issues.

Such spiritual motherhood is desperately needed today, to defend the teaching of the Church, especially on issues that have been damaging to family and marriage (abortion, contraception, cohabitation) and to be true witnesses of Christian life.

The challenge for Christian women today is to embrace the gift of motherhood, be it biological or spiritual, with joy and confidence in God’s help.