this year, which is also the
First Day of Summer, or the Summer Solstice. Neither of
these are, properly speaking, religious holidays, yet both
should inspire a deeply felt reflection on our Faith and what
it means to us in our daily lives.
The Fourth Commandment enjoins us to honour our
Father and Mother that our days may be long on the earth.
The first three of the Ten Commandments deal with our
relationship with God. It is telling then that the First
Commandment, after those detailing with what we owe to
God, states what we owe our Fathers and Mothers, and
that it is put positively, telling us what to do, rather than
what not to do. Just as we owe honour to God so too, we
owe honour to our Fathers and Mothers. And, it is to our
benefit to do so, that our “days may be long in the land the
Lord has given . . .”
Those of us who are blessed with loving Fathers find the
Fourth Commandment easy to observe. Not only that, but
when we have loving Fathers it is easier for us to truly enter
into a filial relationship with God, saying together with
Jesus, “Our Father . . .” A loving Father, by his very
nature, leads us to The Father.
However, for a multitude of reasons not all Fathers are
what they should be. And, some have difficulty, not only in
observing the Fourth Commandment, but also find it
difficult to relate to God as Father. This is a tragedy that
can only be overcome by opening up to God the Father
through His Son Jesus Christ, and thus letting The Father
in to heal our wounds. In that way God The Father can
help those whose own Fathers have hurt them to come to a
point of understanding, forgiveness and even Love.
This Father’s Day also marks the First Day of Summer,
the longest day of the year, after which the days grow
steadily shorter. Knowing now that the days grow short, we
might pause and contemplate our mortality and that of our
Fathers. All too often we take for granted the days that are
given us, and do not take the time to tell those we love that
we love them. We assume we have time to rebuild bridges
that may have been burnt. Let us take time today to do so
with our Fathers, to let our Fathers know that we love them
while at the same time letting in to our own selves the Love
that God the Father has for us.