Fr. Simon's Letter - June 18, 2023

On Father’s Day, we celebrate a dad's role as a mentor, provider, protector, and caregiver without ever expecting anything in return. Even so, he gets our love and respect, which grows over time, sometimes when it's too late to show it. Perhaps we have a timeless, natural, unconscious desire to gratefully recognize one of the most influential people in our lives.

Consider this: there will be more than one occasion when we look back and realize, at times in a compelling way, that without our father, life today would not have been so beautiful and rewarding.

However, many homes and families have not been as fortunate, and never had a father figure. This is where mothers have had to fill the demanding role of both parents. It brings to mind how single mothers, and an increasing number of single fathers, have performed miracles in this way for their children. But often, those single mothers and single fathers have gained a true pillar of strength by having had a loving father in their own younger lives.

And there are homes and families where fathers have failed, and there seems to be no love at all, leaving a profoundly empty place in each child's heart. Yet even in this instance, we celebrate the idea of responsible fatherhood. It is when some of us have the chance to be good fathers ourselves, to protect and provide for our loved ones in ways we may never have had. In a sense, those fathers who never really had a father of their own can compensate and generously carry out that vital, fatherly role in their children's or step-children's lives, filling that space in their children's hearts that never happened for them, and erasing that void in their own hearts at the same time.

And one need not have children to gain the wisdom of fatherhood. “It is easier for a father to have children than for children to have a real father,” said Pope St. John XXIII. Happy Father’s Day to all the dads, all who play a dad's role, and all the dads-to-be!

This weekend we also say 'Thank You and Farewell' to Fr. Andrew Bartosz. Fr. Bartosz will leave for Poland this week for a short vacation, and when he returns, he will take up his next assignment at St. Brigid Parish in Wadsworth, IL. We wish him the very best in his next parish.

Blessings!!