A REFLECTION FOR FATHER’S DAY

Father’s Day is more than a date on the calendar. It’s a celebration of love and commitment.

I think every father experiences, in his own way, the profound love God has for his children. From the moment a child is placed in a father’s arms, an unbreakable bond is formed. I remember holding each of my own two daughters as newborns, their tiny bodies against mine, and being overwhelmed by the joy of the miracle of life, knowing that these precious souls were entrusted to my wife and me to nurture, to protect, and to love unconditionally.

You never stop being a dad. “Dadhood” evolves with time, but the love remains unchanged. It’s in the sleepless nights spent comforting a crying child, in the countless lessons you teach them early on, in the encouragements before a big challenge, and in the strong emotional moments that mark the culmination of years spent watching them grow.

I’ll never forget walking each of my two daughters, Isabelle and Christine, down the aisle on their wedding days, holding back tears of pride and joy in the bittersweet moment of seeing them start a bright new chapter in their lives, while realizing how quickly time had passed. I still get choked up every time I think about it, or when hear the inspirational song I loved her first by Heartland, about a father sharing those thoughts with his new son-in-law:  

I loved her first, I held her first,

And a place in my heart will always be hers.

From the first breath she breathed,

When she first smiled at me,

I knew the love of a father runs deep,

And I prayed that she’d find you someday,

But it’s still hard to give her away.

At my oldest daughter’s wedding, Isabelle, she and I danced to that song. With Christine, it was to the music of What a wonderful world by Louis Armstrong, sung on that day by her new husband:

I hear babies cry, I watch them grow,

They’ll learn much more than I’ll never know,

And I think to myself

What a wonderful world.

And what a wonderful world it is, indeed, the world and life of a father, watching your children grow, despite the fact that you never really stop worrying about them, no matter how old they are or how far they go in life. The worries change, the scraped knees and lost toys are replaced by life’s deeper struggles, but you can’t entirely shut off the fatherly instinct.  

Father’s Day is also a celebration of the important contribution fathers make to society. By helping his children acquire a foundation of confidence, love, and the social values that will shape their lives, he helps them become part of the solution for the world.

Saint Joseph, the earthly father of Jesus, was a great model for all fathers. He didn’t look for recognition, but was a man of action and quiet devotion who carried his responsibility as a father with grace. His shining example reminds us that while fatherhood is in the everyday moments, the love given is eternal.

St. Joseph, pray for all fathers and for all of us!

Eugene Aucoin is a retired human resources director and university professor. He spoke around the world about nurturing human potential, but his passion is sharing his love for the teachings of Jesus. His first book Has Science Killed God? won Asia’s best Catholic book of the year in theology in 2020. His latest book, with Novalis, is The Beatitudes: Eight Steps to Inner Peace and Happiness. Eugene also gives seminars about faith.