Dear Saints,

G. K. Chesterton once said that “God chooses ordinary men for fatherhood to accomplish his extraordinary plan.”

The dad who reluctantly signed up to coach his four year old son’s soccer team because no one else would do it; the one who promised he wouldn’t cry and then fought back tears at his daughter’s wedding; the one who lies awake at night wondering how he’s going to keep a roof over his family’s head; the one who can’t figure out how to heal the rift with his estranged children: God chose them all. And it’s not like he chose them for some marginal task that doesn’t matter. On the contrary, he continually sends a bunch of regular dads on a mission to reveal and reflect his own fatherhood to their families.

It’s not the first time God has entrusted a rag-tag group with a project beyond their capabilities. He has a long track record of building the most magnificent castles with the most ordinary stones. So it should probably come as no surprise that mere men have been called to embody God’s most fundamental relationship with his children.

But he doesn’t simply leave dads to their own devices as they navigate the daunting task of rearing children rightly in an upside down world. As St. Vincent DePaul said, a man of prayer is capable of everything; in other words, divine assistance is readily available to all who tap into it.

This Father’s Day, I hope all fathers and father figures will remember that theirs is a truly extraordinary mission, but not one they take on alone. I pray they will be revered and respected for the responsibilities they shoulder. And I offer a particular note of gratitude for my own father. His example of patient, generous, and good-humored love is a beacon that inspires and guides me every day.

Happy Father’s Day!

Christ’s Peace,

Father Daniel

δοῦλος Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ