Father's Day is a day we set apart to reflect on the gifts and the privilege of being a father. My first thoughts go to St Joseph the Foster father of Jesus. What a blessed and just man Joseph appears to be in the scriptures. We know that he could have walked away from everything and left Mary in a very difficult time in her life. But he moved towards the positive, he knew that Mary was special, and this child that she was carrying was equally special.
Oftentimes we forget how honored each of us is in our own way in regards to having our own father. I know in some families sad as it is may have had just the opposite experience, it may have been a bad experience with their father. He may have been an abuser of some sort, but I'm talking about the just man the one who steps up to the plate and offers himself to God to his wife and children as a complete unit a total and complete relationship with each other.
For those of us who have lost our dads, it can be a difficult day, because it's that day like this present day Father's Day we recall the many wonderful gifts our fathers brought to us. How many of us were bailed out of situations that, dad took care of. Dad for some reason always was there, kind of in the background watching, nurturing, and encouraging, even if we fell, and had to get up again, and again, and again.
Today I want to give thanks to each of you dads, those of you who are grandfathers, and those of you who are great grandfathers. And for those of you who like St Joseph fostered children in some form of way, thank you for stepping up and caring. Being a father doesn't mean a biological miracle, no, being a father means loving and caring for other persons as Christ cares for the church as St Joseph cared for Jesus.
I can remember my scoutmaster when I was a Sea Explorer at Joliet Catholic High School, he was a single man and he was a father to so many of us in many ways. He took the time to listen to us, create wonderful trips for us as a group. We learned how to do so many things as a brotherhood, we learned how to expand our lives through his eyes. And as we did that we were creating our own journeys that would take us far from Joliet and then back to Joliet.
In my days in high school, we had the privilege of being taught by Carmelite friars. The Carmelites instilled in US love for God, love for Mary, Queen of Mt. Carmel, our family, and each other as brothers. There are many pros and cons for all-boys schools and all-girls schools, I was a school administrator for 20 years in a coed Catholic school and it was wonderful. But at the same time I remember being in an all-boys Catholic High School in Joliet, and in that environment, we learn how to be leaders, friends, but most of all brothers to each other, especially when things were just not going right for us. 50 years later and more we are now old men, some of us who reconnected we're not even connected every day when we were in high school but we had that four years of formation as a brotherhood. It didn't matter we were still part of the Carmelite family and we had friars watching over Us and guiding us to be the best versions of ourselves.
So on this day, Father's Day refect and a give thanks for your dad and all the dads in your life that have watched over you and guided you to where you are today.
May St. Joseph the patron saint of fathers watch over each of you all the days of your life.
I will reflect on the fathers in my own life:
My own wonderful and caring dad, Ed
My grandfathers, Bill, Art, and Mike
My Uncle (Dick) Richard A. Arambasich
Father Cloud, OFM
Father Remy, OFM
Father Viator, OFM
Brother Francis, OFM
Brother Canute, OFM
Father Kurt, OFM
Mr. Robert Skopac
Father Cyprian, O. Carm.
Father Russell, O.Carm.
Brother Dan, O.Carm.
Brother Alexis, O.Carm.
Brother Cleatus, O. Carm.
Brother Guy, O.Carm.
Brother Charles, O. Carm.
Abbot Thomas, OSB
Abbot Hugh, OSB
Abbot Dismas, OSB
Father Peter, OSB
Father Jerome, OSB
Peace and all good,
Brother Ed, OFM
The picture below is of Chief Joe Henning with his children.
A man of faith, integrity, and dressed with courage & determination!
