A Father’s Voice

We all well know that the holiday season we are in can be hectic and crazy, and can really use up all our time very quickly- as evidenced by my not having any posts last week between traveling and having to put in extra hours at work. Nothing to fear though, as I am back to my regular posting schedule. The Christmas season is essentially upon us (next week being the first week of Advent), but before we get there we can't forget about the feast we celebrate today. The Sunday before the start of Advent always marks the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe. Today's reflection is focused on the reading out of the Gospel of Matthew, and I think this passage does a wonderful job of reminding us of the spirit we should have entering this Advent season and ultimately year round. It reads as follows: Jesus said to his disciples: "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit upon his glorious throne, and all the nations will be...

I wanted to talk to you today about virtues associated with fatherhood, but there has been something so heinous happening in England that I need to speak about that instead.  If any of you have been following the news, you may have heard the story of Indi Gregory. Indi was an 8 month old girl who has been suffering from a rare mitochondrial disorder where her cells could not produce energy. She had been on life support until this past weekend, when the courts in the UK determined that keeping her alive was no longer worth what it cost to do so. Indi sadly passed away on Monday. For some context here, parents in the UK have next to no rights. The UK has socialized medicine and the actions of the NHS are completely controlled by the courts. What the courts did to Indi and her family was disgusting, not just because they ignored the wishes of the parents, they also disregarded valid treatments that could have saved her.  Indi's parents had been fighting the courts for months, and...

Introduction   This Sunday, we heard three readings all focused on the importance of staying awake and alert in the faith. Only those who persevere to the end will be saved, and since it is not for us to know when our last hour on this earth will be we must remain vigilant in the faith at all times. This is difficult to do, but there is hope as well and we saw a message of hope in the second reading that we heard from the first Letter of Saint Paul to the Thessalonians. It reads as follows: We do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters,  about those who have fallen asleep, so that you may not grieve like the rest, who have no hope.   For if we believe that Jesus died and rose, so too will God, through Jesus, bring with him those who have fallen asleep.   Indeed, we tell you this, on the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will surely not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself, with a word of...

 I intended to make this post on Saturday, but ironically the title of this post kept from writing it.  I got off work shortly after 5 pm and come home to my exhausted wife, whom I don't blame at all-wrangling a 5 month old is tiring work- struggling with the dishwasher. There was a blockage down in the drain and my assistance was required. So, between fixing the dishwasher, cleaning the kitchen and getting dinner made, my available brain cells had been used up, and instead of writing I sat down and watched Fiddler on the Roof.  All drama aside, let's get to what I wanted to talk about. It is a joy to be needed. Now, this is not an open invitation for people to intentionally be needy to bring joy to others, because that has been proven time and time again to annoy someone half to death.  When I say it is a joy to be needed, I'm referring to having a purpose. To clarify, your purpose is a task that has been given to you that you specifically are needed for. It might b...

I mentioned in my initial post of this blog that on Wednesdays we were going to be discussing the virtues of masculinity that are proper fatherhood. It order to do this, I think it is appropriate to first discuss virtue itself and have a precise definition of the term.  The first thing that will come to most minds when thinking of virtue, is that it applies to actions that are linked to morally good traits.  While this is correct, this definition needs to be fleshed out some to really grasp what it means to virtuous. From my perspective, one of the more thought out and precise definitions of virtue comes from Aristotle in his Nichomachean Ethics.  Aristotle says that virtue is a habit. Habits can be classified into several kinds, but Aristotle is focused on one particular kind.  In the Greek, the word Aristotle uses for habit is "hexis." A hexis refers to an active condition of the soul. Since it is active, it is not referring to our dispositions or our base habits, ...

Earthly Father, Heavenly Sacrifice This series of reflections starts with a passage that is key to the role of an earthly father, as priest of the church at home. The passage, from the first reading this past Sunday, is from The Book of the Prophet Malachi and reads as follows: A great King am I, says the LORD of hosts, and my name will be feared among the nations. And now, O priests, this commandment is for you: If you do not listen, if you do not lay it to heart, to give glory to my name, says the LORD of hosts, I will send a curse upon you and of your blessing I will make a curse. You have turned aside from the way, and have caused many to falter by your instruction; you have made void the covenant of Levi, says the LORD of hosts. I, therefore, have made you contemptible and base before all the people, since you do not keep my ways, but show partiality in your decisions. Have we not all the one father? Has not the one God created us? Why then do we break faith with one another, viol...

An Introduction My name is Ryan. As a new father, with my daughter 5 months old at the start of this journey, I have done a great deal of thinking on the state of fatherhood in the modern world. I believe that it is my time to share my thoughts in hopes that you and I together can remind the world of what a father, and more so a man, is meant to be.  Cliché Buzz Words of Modernity Many men are lost. They do not know who they are supposed to be. There is an unjust attack that has begun against them, an attack that is very much a product of modernity. The world tells us that masculinity is toxic. Men around the world hide in the shadows, afraid to speak up for themselves out of fear of being labeled as such.  I am not afraid of this threat, for it is a lie. There is no such thing as toxic masculinity; it is a phrase that bears no real meaning. True masculinity can never be deemed as toxic, for true masculinity equates to a set of character traits and virtues proper to men i...