very year when we celebrate Father’s Day weekend I am reminded of all the characteristics of the ideal father revealed to us by God the Father Himself. Throughout the Old Testament we encounter the God who establishes a covenant relationship with His people: “I will be your God and your will be my people.” A Father who leads His people, who provides for them; the God who calls them back when they stray and one who forgives time and time again. He is a God who always offers His love and salvation but never forces Himself upon His people. He is a God who has been there through all the changes the years have brought, but He has been a constant unchanging presence.

Every Father’s Day we also think about our own fathers, living and deceased. While none of us has/had the perfect father, we all have our own memories and experiences. Most father’s do their best to provide physically and emotionally and spiritually for their families. And today we find ourselves expressing gratitude for their presence in our lives.

I also remember others through the years who provided fatherly care in my own life. AS I look back many of them were priests and ministers who mentored me and encouraged me and helped me become the person I am today. They also taught me how to be a father in the spiritual sense.

So let us pray for all fathers today and all those who take on fatherly roles. It is a challenging but also a gratifying calling. May God the Father bless and continue to teach them the ways fatherhood today!