\u00c2\u00a0 June 15, 2008<\/p>\n
11th<\/sup> Sunday in Ordinary Time<\/p>\n Ex 19: 2-6a; Rom 5:6-11; Mt 9: 36-10:8<\/p>\n Dc. Larry Brockman<\/p>\n Way back in 1910, Mrs. John Dodd did something that affects all of us today.\u00c2\u00a0 You see, her dad, William Smart, was a civil war vet, who returned home to his farm in Spokane Washington only to find his wife had died in childbirth, bearing his 6th child. \u00c2\u00a0Mr. Smart brought up the 6 children and ran the farm, too, all by himself.\u00c2\u00a0 It wasn’t until Mrs. Dodd grew up and had children of her own, that she fully appreciated the strength and selflessness her father had shown in raising 6 children as a single parent.\u00c2\u00a0 The strength came from belief in God and from love; and the selflessness demonstrated that love put into action.\u00c2\u00a0 To show her appreciation, Mrs. Dodd organized the first “Father’s Day” in Spokane, Washington on June 19, 1910.- a special day to honor fathers who had given so much to their children in the selflessness that had been an inspiration for their children.\u00c2\u00a0 By 1924, Father’s Days were being celebrated throughout the country, but not all on the same day.\u00c2\u00a0 It wasn’t until 1966 that President Johnson signed a presidential proclamation that set Father’s Day as the 3rd Sunday of June each year.\u00c2\u00a0 Today, we celebrate Father’s Day.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n Now in today’s gospel, Jesus summons his disciples and sends them out to do God’s work.\u00c2\u00a0 to proclaim the Kingdom of God to everyone.\u00c2\u00a0 This image prefigures the role of the Church today.\u00c2\u00a0 The Church sends out Bishops and Priests and Deacons to proclaim the Kingdom of God and bring people together.\u00c2\u00a0 But this summons and the mission that follows it doesn’t just apply to priests, deacons and religious; it applies to all of you as well.\u00c2\u00a0 Only instead of being summoned to proclaim the Kingdom of God to the community at large, the Church; you are called to proclaim the Kingdom of God in your families, the domestic Church.\u00c2\u00a0 That’s what parents are called to do for their children, to live and proclaim the word of God in their families.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n In the second reading, St. Paul tells us that Christ died for all of us, a good man dieing for the ungodly.\u00c2\u00a0 He says that “..only with difficulty does one die for a just person, though perhaps for a good person, one might even find the courage to die”. \u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0But isn’t that what a good Father does for his children all the time?\u00c2\u00a0 Once a man becomes a father he is constantly called upon to makes sacrifices.\u00c2\u00a0 He works to feed and provide for his family.\u00c2\u00a0 He spends time being with and teaching his children.\u00c2\u00a0 In a sense, he dies a little to himself over and over, so that his children can have a better life.\u00c2\u00a0 His children represent his hopes, the happiness of his children gives him great joy.\u00c2\u00a0 And so, Fathers are willing to sacrifice their own wants for their children.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n And yet, there is more to Fatherhood than making those sacrifices.\u00c2\u00a0 First, children need Fathers who are motivated by love in all that they do.\u00c2\u00a0 Truly selfless motivation is the key that transmits the love.\u00c2\u00a0 Sometimes, that motivation isn’t recognized for what it is until much later, like it was for Mrs. Dodd.\u00c2\u00a0 But, that’s OK, the important thing is that love is the motivation.\u00c2\u00a0 \u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n Second, children need to see that their dad’s actions are based on a solid foundation.\u00c2\u00a0 That foundation should be values firmly based on belief in, faith in, God.\u00c2\u00a0 Because it is that kind of Faith that will awaken God’s spirit in your children.\u00c2\u00a0 Ultimately, parents have the primary responsibility for passing on Faith.\u00c2\u00a0 Not the school, not the Church, not the grandparents; but the parents.\u00c2\u00a0 Children see how you perceive and relate to God in your life and that speaks louder than anything we can teach them as a Church.\u00c2\u00a0 In particular, the father has a special place in the family.\u00c2\u00a0 Because, as St. Paul has said, the father is the “Head” of the family.\u00c2\u00a0 Children look to the father to provide leadership.\u00c2\u00a0 Fathers who lead are a stabilizing and centering influence in their children’s lives.\u00c2\u00a0 They know what’s right; they say what they mean; and what they say and do is consistent with the values they preach.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n Third, children need to know that their fathers are human.\u00c2\u00a0 All people make mistakes, but good fathers admit it when they make mistakes.\u00c2\u00a0 That means saying “I’m sorry” when you are wrong.\u00c2\u00a0 That teaches forgiveness and compassion, virtues the world desperately needs today.\u00c2\u00a0 \u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n As I look out on all of you today, I see all kinds of families.\u00c2\u00a0 There are fathers and grandfathers and great grandfathers.\u00c2\u00a0 There are children and grandchildren and great grandchildren.\u00c2\u00a0 This is a good time to reflect on your Dad, living or dead, to recognize the acts of selflessness that your Dad made for you; to reflect on how you can be a better child, or a better Dad.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n During the American Revolution, a Frenchman of so-called “low parentage” \u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0Named Pierre Beaumarchais played a key role in getting the French to help our revolution.\u00c2\u00a0 He was aware that others demeaned his family origins, but he had this to say:\u00c2\u00a0 “I can only reply that I never saw a man with whom I would exchange fathers”.\u00c2\u00a0 Do you feel that way about your Dad? \u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u00c2\u00a0 June 15, 2008 11th Sunday in Ordinary Time Ex 19: 2-6a; Rom 5:6-11; Mt 9: 36-10:8 Dc. Larry Brockman Way back in 1910, Mrs. John Dodd did something that affects all of us today.\u00c2\u00a0 You see, her dad, William Smart, was a civil war vet, who returned home to his farm in Spokane Washington […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=27"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=27"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=27"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=27"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}