Of the Most Holy Trinity, the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches:
…by sending his only Son and the Spirit of Love in the fullness of time,
God has revealed his innermost secret: God himself is an eternal exchange
of love, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and he has destined us to share in
that exchange. (#331)
That might not mean a whole lot to many of us today, especially to those young people who believe themselves invincible and not in need of any divine power or assistance. But, it should mean something to all of us as Christians, because this teaching makes an astounding claim: God isn’t somewhere out there and far beyond us and our experience. No, the Church claims God has transcended space and time to dwell within us by sharing in an exchange of love. That teaching is not only astounding but also important: If only we were to realize God’s indwelling in its fullness, our lives would be turned upside-down and inside-out. Much of life as we know and experience it would be changed.
How so? We would, as Saint Paul wrote the Corinthians, mend our ways rather than point the finger of blame. We would encourage rather than find fault. We would agree rather than continuously disagree and bicker. We would live in peace rather than engage in conflict. In short, we’d be like God as we invite others to share in an exchange of love that has, at its core, God’s dwelling in us.
Isn’t mending our ways, encouraging one another, agreeing with one another, and living in peace with one another something we all long for in just about every aspect of our lives—in our relationships, in our marriages, homes, families, neighborhoods, and workplaces as well as in our nation and world? It isn’t a matter of “Just can’t we all get along?” as Rodney King once famously asked. No, it’s a matter of “Why don’t I love others as God loves and dwells in me?”
For that dream to become reality, the Church teaches, we first must realize that God is within each of us, not outside of each of us, that God near to each of us, not distant from each of us. God is “in here” not “out there.” This is the astounding truth the Christian faith presents for us to contemplate: God—as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—has transcended space and time to dwell within His people.
With today being Father’s Day, let’s consider that God dwells in fathers. How does this indwelling in its fullness possess the power to turn our lives upside-down and inside-out?
Let’s consider, first, the “gift” of fatherhood. Note well: Being a father isn’t a consequence of biology. No, it’s more so the culmination of what children see emanating from their biological father’s character: the power of love. That’s God’s indwelling!
Cooperating with their mother, a father demonstrates this love by providing a secure, loving home wherein each child knows with absolute certainty that his or her father loves and values each of his children as unique individuals. Consider this idea: Authentic self-discovery doesn’t take place as children strive to be like and imitate everyone else, but as they strive to become who they are as members of the particular family into which God has placed them. As a father’s character demonstrates his love for his children by cooperating with their mother to provide a safe and secure, loving home, he provides for his children the structure they need to become those unique, once-and-for-all, and in all of human history, individual person God created each of them to be and to offer themselves and their lives in love to the world.
In addition, a father demonstrates this love by honoring, obeying, and respecting his wife. Nowhere is this more true than in those inevitable times of tension and difficulty that arise in marriage and family life, if only because husbands and wives aren’t perfect. But, they do love one another enough to work assiduously to perfect themselves and one another in holiness as a team. As children observe their father’s character exuding the love he has for their mother, his children not only feel more secure in themselves and their surroundings, but they also realize that forgiveness is a gift and their need for this gift. Consider this idea: The only place where children learn to love and to forgive is by observing their parents. “How could they possibly remain married?” children sometimes periodically wonder about their parents. It’s because love and forgiveness go hand in hand. Fathers who love their children model forgiving and being forgiven to their children, teaching them that being imperfect isn’t a sin. However, failing to strive to become more perfect by forgiving and seeking to be forgiven is mortally sinful to their ability to love.
One additional way a father demonstrates this love is his abiding interest in what interests his children. In these days, the marvels of technology—smart phones, computers, and other electronic devices—consume the time and interest of too many fathers. Consider this idea: Fathers who love their children are interested in and spend their time interacting with their children, demonstrating a deep and abiding interest in their ups and downs. These fathers are attentive to the questions their children raise, as boring, uninteresting, and potentially embarrassing as those questions may be.
Sounds great, no? Who wouldn’t hope to have a father like this?
Unfortunately, from the perspective of faith and the Church’s teaching about the Most Holy Trinity, even this isn’t enough. A father must know that God dwells within him.
When a father knows that God dwells within him—that God “in here” not “out there”—this father demonstrates his love for his children as his character emanates the joy that come from his life of faith, even in those inevitable rough patches and dark days. As his children behold their father, they witness what is truly good in God’s eyes. Consider this idea: These children see a man, imperfect as he may be, who seeks to be authentically good in every aspect of how he conducts himself, not “talking the talk” about Christian virtue but actually “walking the talk” of Christian virtue amid the challenges and stresses associated with daily life. They also see a man, imperfect as he may be, who casts aside his personal interests and desires for others who are in need, modeling charity in deed not merely in word.
More importantly, this father knows and understands his absolutely critical role in forming the children God has entrusted to his ministry as father. He knows these are not “his” children. They are God’s children whom God has entrusted to this particular man for God’s particular reasons, known only to God. Seeking to discern those reasons, this father participates actively at weekly Sunday Mass. What his children see is a man who bends his knee in submission to God. They also see a man who doesn’t fail to lead his family in daily prayer before meals. They also see a man who spends some time each day in prayer as well as in reading Scripture and other sources of spiritual reading.
In these and so many other ways, this father’s character exemplifies God the Father’s love for his children, teaching them the importance of nourishing one’s relationship with God. Consider this idea: For this father, God is not the “Great Absent One,” who is allotted hopefully no more than 40-45 minutes each Sunday. No, for this father, God is within both himself and his family members. Like God, this father demonstrates his abiding love for his children by being near to them as they endeavor to live out their daily lives and become the unique person God has created each of them to become. He encourages each of his children to live with the knowledge that God is within.
I noted earlier that God dwells in fathers and this indwelling in its fullness possesses the power to turn our lives upside-down and inside-out. Imagine if every child had such a father! Nothing but good could possibly come from this man, despite the fact that he—like all of us—is imperfect.
Now consider this: Love and fear of one’s father go hand in hand. Experiencing the good that emanates from this imperfect man’s character, no child would ever want to let that man down by doing anything that would fall short of the standard he has set by the example of his life. His children’s love for him is real, yes, just as their fear of him is real. But, that fear is motivated by the awe his character inspires. Which do you believe would hurt his child more: For this father to take that child out to the woodshed because he or she has forgotten that God is within? Or, the knowledge that one has failed to live up to the standard set by his father’s character?
This is how a father teaches love of God and fear of God. If any of us is ever to abandon ourselves into the loving arms of God our Father, we must first experience the love of God that would make us fear ever offending God by offering evil in return for good.
Jesus used the Hebrew word Abba—“Daddy”—to describe his heavenly Father, reminding us that God is like a father who is so near that he envelops and protects us, giving us hope where fear and self-reliance would otherwise prevail. Yet, that experience comes at a cost: Humility, obedience, and docility to God’s will which breed in us conviction, joy, and courage to become the person God created us to be. Yes, God has created us for a purpose and it is our life’s work to bring that purpose to fulfillment, as we humbly, obediently, and compliantly allow God’s love to conquer us. At the same time, don’t forget that fear of God—“fear of the Lord”—is the beginning of wisdom. It’s a gift of the Holy Spirit—God indwelling. Through this gift, our world is turned upside-down and inside-out as we realize that God—not ourselves—is the center of our lives.
Fatherhood is God’s gift to a man, just as motherhood is God’s gift to a woman. More importantly, for you and me, is recognizing and giving thanks for the gift of a father who knows that God is within. No amount of money, worldly prestige, career heights, or consumer goods can equal the joy of knowing that God the Father dwells within our fathers and the love, mercy, forgiveness that he extends us is meant to awaken our awareness of the God who dwells also within each of us.
Even if our fathers may have fallen short in this regard, the simple fact is that what the Church teaches us about God the Father possesses the power to turn our lives upside-down and inside-out. All we need to do is to reach out to the God within and to let him teach us what true love is and what it requires. And, of course, to pray for the gift of our fathers so they will fulfill their God-given purpose in life. Or, if our fathers have died, to give thanks to God for this gift, entrusting their souls to God’s eternal love, compassion, and mercy.
…by sending his only Son and the Spirit of Love in the fullness of time,
God has revealed his innermost secret: God himself is an eternal exchange
of love, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and he has destined us to share in
that exchange. (#331)
That might not mean a whole lot to many of us today, especially to those young people who believe themselves invincible and not in need of any divine power or assistance. But, it should mean something to all of us as Christians, because this teaching makes an astounding claim: God isn’t somewhere out there and far beyond us and our experience. No, the Church claims God has transcended space and time to dwell within us by sharing in an exchange of love. That teaching is not only astounding but also important: If only we were to realize God’s indwelling in its fullness, our lives would be turned upside-down and inside-out. Much of life as we know and experience it would be changed.
How so? We would, as Saint Paul wrote the Corinthians, mend our ways rather than point the finger of blame. We would encourage rather than find fault. We would agree rather than continuously disagree and bicker. We would live in peace rather than engage in conflict. In short, we’d be like God as we invite others to share in an exchange of love that has, at its core, God’s dwelling in us.
Isn’t mending our ways, encouraging one another, agreeing with one another, and living in peace with one another something we all long for in just about every aspect of our lives—in our relationships, in our marriages, homes, families, neighborhoods, and workplaces as well as in our nation and world? It isn’t a matter of “Just can’t we all get along?” as Rodney King once famously asked. No, it’s a matter of “Why don’t I love others as God loves and dwells in me?”
For that dream to become reality, the Church teaches, we first must realize that God is within each of us, not outside of each of us, that God near to each of us, not distant from each of us. God is “in here” not “out there.” This is the astounding truth the Christian faith presents for us to contemplate: God—as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—has transcended space and time to dwell within His people.
With today being Father’s Day, let’s consider that God dwells in fathers. How does this indwelling in its fullness possess the power to turn our lives upside-down and inside-out?
Let’s consider, first, the “gift” of fatherhood. Note well: Being a father isn’t a consequence of biology. No, it’s more so the culmination of what children see emanating from their biological father’s character: the power of love. That’s God’s indwelling!
Cooperating with their mother, a father demonstrates this love by providing a secure, loving home wherein each child knows with absolute certainty that his or her father loves and values each of his children as unique individuals. Consider this idea: Authentic self-discovery doesn’t take place as children strive to be like and imitate everyone else, but as they strive to become who they are as members of the particular family into which God has placed them. As a father’s character demonstrates his love for his children by cooperating with their mother to provide a safe and secure, loving home, he provides for his children the structure they need to become those unique, once-and-for-all, and in all of human history, individual person God created each of them to be and to offer themselves and their lives in love to the world.
In addition, a father demonstrates this love by honoring, obeying, and respecting his wife. Nowhere is this more true than in those inevitable times of tension and difficulty that arise in marriage and family life, if only because husbands and wives aren’t perfect. But, they do love one another enough to work assiduously to perfect themselves and one another in holiness as a team. As children observe their father’s character exuding the love he has for their mother, his children not only feel more secure in themselves and their surroundings, but they also realize that forgiveness is a gift and their need for this gift. Consider this idea: The only place where children learn to love and to forgive is by observing their parents. “How could they possibly remain married?” children sometimes periodically wonder about their parents. It’s because love and forgiveness go hand in hand. Fathers who love their children model forgiving and being forgiven to their children, teaching them that being imperfect isn’t a sin. However, failing to strive to become more perfect by forgiving and seeking to be forgiven is mortally sinful to their ability to love.
One additional way a father demonstrates this love is his abiding interest in what interests his children. In these days, the marvels of technology—smart phones, computers, and other electronic devices—consume the time and interest of too many fathers. Consider this idea: Fathers who love their children are interested in and spend their time interacting with their children, demonstrating a deep and abiding interest in their ups and downs. These fathers are attentive to the questions their children raise, as boring, uninteresting, and potentially embarrassing as those questions may be.
Sounds great, no? Who wouldn’t hope to have a father like this?
Unfortunately, from the perspective of faith and the Church’s teaching about the Most Holy Trinity, even this isn’t enough. A father must know that God dwells within him.
When a father knows that God dwells within him—that God “in here” not “out there”—this father demonstrates his love for his children as his character emanates the joy that come from his life of faith, even in those inevitable rough patches and dark days. As his children behold their father, they witness what is truly good in God’s eyes. Consider this idea: These children see a man, imperfect as he may be, who seeks to be authentically good in every aspect of how he conducts himself, not “talking the talk” about Christian virtue but actually “walking the talk” of Christian virtue amid the challenges and stresses associated with daily life. They also see a man, imperfect as he may be, who casts aside his personal interests and desires for others who are in need, modeling charity in deed not merely in word.
More importantly, this father knows and understands his absolutely critical role in forming the children God has entrusted to his ministry as father. He knows these are not “his” children. They are God’s children whom God has entrusted to this particular man for God’s particular reasons, known only to God. Seeking to discern those reasons, this father participates actively at weekly Sunday Mass. What his children see is a man who bends his knee in submission to God. They also see a man who doesn’t fail to lead his family in daily prayer before meals. They also see a man who spends some time each day in prayer as well as in reading Scripture and other sources of spiritual reading.
In these and so many other ways, this father’s character exemplifies God the Father’s love for his children, teaching them the importance of nourishing one’s relationship with God. Consider this idea: For this father, God is not the “Great Absent One,” who is allotted hopefully no more than 40-45 minutes each Sunday. No, for this father, God is within both himself and his family members. Like God, this father demonstrates his abiding love for his children by being near to them as they endeavor to live out their daily lives and become the unique person God has created each of them to become. He encourages each of his children to live with the knowledge that God is within.
I noted earlier that God dwells in fathers and this indwelling in its fullness possesses the power to turn our lives upside-down and inside-out. Imagine if every child had such a father! Nothing but good could possibly come from this man, despite the fact that he—like all of us—is imperfect.
Now consider this: Love and fear of one’s father go hand in hand. Experiencing the good that emanates from this imperfect man’s character, no child would ever want to let that man down by doing anything that would fall short of the standard he has set by the example of his life. His children’s love for him is real, yes, just as their fear of him is real. But, that fear is motivated by the awe his character inspires. Which do you believe would hurt his child more: For this father to take that child out to the woodshed because he or she has forgotten that God is within? Or, the knowledge that one has failed to live up to the standard set by his father’s character?
This is how a father teaches love of God and fear of God. If any of us is ever to abandon ourselves into the loving arms of God our Father, we must first experience the love of God that would make us fear ever offending God by offering evil in return for good.
Jesus used the Hebrew word Abba—“Daddy”—to describe his heavenly Father, reminding us that God is like a father who is so near that he envelops and protects us, giving us hope where fear and self-reliance would otherwise prevail. Yet, that experience comes at a cost: Humility, obedience, and docility to God’s will which breed in us conviction, joy, and courage to become the person God created us to be. Yes, God has created us for a purpose and it is our life’s work to bring that purpose to fulfillment, as we humbly, obediently, and compliantly allow God’s love to conquer us. At the same time, don’t forget that fear of God—“fear of the Lord”—is the beginning of wisdom. It’s a gift of the Holy Spirit—God indwelling. Through this gift, our world is turned upside-down and inside-out as we realize that God—not ourselves—is the center of our lives.
Fatherhood is God’s gift to a man, just as motherhood is God’s gift to a woman. More importantly, for you and me, is recognizing and giving thanks for the gift of a father who knows that God is within. No amount of money, worldly prestige, career heights, or consumer goods can equal the joy of knowing that God the Father dwells within our fathers and the love, mercy, forgiveness that he extends us is meant to awaken our awareness of the God who dwells also within each of us.
Even if our fathers may have fallen short in this regard, the simple fact is that what the Church teaches us about God the Father possesses the power to turn our lives upside-down and inside-out. All we need to do is to reach out to the God within and to let him teach us what true love is and what it requires. And, of course, to pray for the gift of our fathers so they will fulfill their God-given purpose in life. Or, if our fathers have died, to give thanks to God for this gift, entrusting their souls to God’s eternal love, compassion, and mercy.
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