As we recognize and celebrate our natural and spiritual fathers this weekend, I thought I would share some qualities of a good father that I wrote about in my big paper for seminary in 2017.
My hope is that this will give us a framework for appreciating where we have been loved by the father figures in our life and inspire us as men to step more fully into our vocation and mission to be fathers to our natural and/or spiritual children.
**Keep in mind that the Father does all of these things first for us, especially through His Son Jesus. Unless we are fathered by Jesus, we won’t be as fruitful as fathers…we can’t give what we don’t have!**
A good father…
*allows himself to be fathered by God and father figures in his life*
1. seeks out his children and invites them into deeper relationship with himself and others
2. spends much time with with children
3. lovingly serves his children
4. guides his children into mission, to lay down their lives for others
5. lays down clear teaching (about life, faith, morals, relationships, etc)
6. shows mercy towards his children in their faults
7. prays in intercession for his children
8. makes daily sacrifices for his children and offers sacrifice with Jesus at Mass
*allows himself to be mothered by Mary and mother figures in his life*
Of course, this is not a comprehensive list of all the good qualities of a father. We could do a deep dive into each of these points, but for any man that is reading this, I would challenge you to find one area that you can focus on growing in for the boys, girls, men, and women that have been entrusted to your care.