This past weekend, I heard yet another inspiring homily by our friend, Fr. Schumer. In pondering more on his words and the readings, I wanted to share with you some of my thoughts regarding being a Catholic husband and father. Here we go...
As a husband, whose marriage was blessed by God and witnessed by many, I have the challenge of leading my wife to Christ. If I do not use the grace offered me in the Sacrament of Matrimony and do not ask for the guidance of the Holy Spirit, there is truly no reason to go on. I might as well sit around with a blank look on my face as I watch life go by without paying much attention. That is not what I am called to do...that is not the call of a Christian husband. I must strive to give myself completely, first and foremost, to God: every thought, word, and action. In doing so, I give myself completely to my wife. I must love my wife "as Christ loved the Church." How did He love Her? He gave up His life for Her, completely. I must be willing to sacrifice all I have for love of my wife. This is love: "to lay down one's life for one's friends." A husband is not his own...he is Christ's and Christ's alone. I must be for my wife what God wants me to be. That is the major challenge in this day and age especially for Christian husbands. Christ needs men to stand up for their brides and say 'yes' to true love: sacrificial giving of oneself to the point of losing everything for the sake of God; 'no' to the societal view of love: receiving as much pleasure as possible and not worrying about how it may hurt another. The call of the Christian husband is to be Christ to our brides, helping to bring her into close intimacy through prayer especially in the Sacrament of the Eucharist. There we meet our Lord and Savior, the One to Whom we are called to go! There is no other way. It is through Christ, and Christ alone!
All that is mentioned above can just as well be said for the Christian father. My duty, my call is to bring my children to Christ. This responsibility is so crucial...it is a must. Whatever our children's calling--may they respond to it--we must nurture and support. I have thought about the day when I may "marry" off my daughter. If it comes to be, so be it: may it be for Christ and Christ alone. If my daughter is called to give herself fully to Christ as a professed religious, so be it: may it be for Christ and Christ alone. In the meantime, I am called to love my daughter with the heart of Christ, offering myself completely for her. What a calling! Sometimes I shutter to think what this means, but usually I am lead to think about the life of St. Joseph. Not only was he called to be Mary's husband, but he was given the grand calling of being the earthly father of the Son of God! What an example for us husbands and fathers! So little is known about St. Joseph, yet how loved he is by the Church. Humbly, quietly, simply, lovingly did he live his life. He seems to have made no effort to be noticed. That is what makes him great. He wanted the Son of God to come to us, through Mary. He desired to draw no attention to himself so that everyone would be drawn to the one we are called to draw near, the one to whom we are called to go. What a blessed life...what a blessed man! Christian husbands and fathers need someone like St. Joseph to model their lives after. What a gift he is to us: through his example, through his intercession. May we strive to live as Joseph: humbly, quietly, simply, lovingly.
I will leave you with this: I am reading a book on St. Joseph called The Mystery of Joseph by Fr. Marie-Dominique Philippe, OP (thanks to Fr. Schumer). I recommend it to any Catholic man. In Part I under the section "Guardian of the Virgin," Fr. Philippe says this: "This requirement (of being guardian of the Virgin) demands that his love as a spouse, the love he lives in his heart as a man, be sacrificed to God, so that charity can take hold of everything and become the more significant love" (pg. 38). How true...and it can be applied to fatherhood as well. To husbands and fathers who read this, and to myself, I say: sacrifice your love for spouse and children to God...may He reign in your hearts! God bless you all and happy feast of St. Augustine!
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