LIFE, MARRIAGE & FAMILY: A fatherly tool kit for leading souls to Heaven
By Mark Griffin, Director of Life, Marriage & Family
As we recently celebrated Father’s Day, it is worth reflecting upon the great responsibility that comes with fatherhood. A father is required to care for the earthly lives and material needs of his children, but as the spiritual head of the family, he is also required to nurture and defend their souls. This duty is so great that it carries with it eternal consequences.
Everything in this world will be gone in a flash, when compared to eternity. How well prepared will he be to respond? With all manner of evil that the world will throw at children throughout their formative years, what is a father to do?
Just as an athlete should prepare for competition, or an army prepares for military warfare, so, too, a father needs training to prepare for the responsibilities that fall to him. But how can he prepare? The old saying will tell us that children don’t come with a manual, but I would strongly refute that.
For generations, the Church has offered profound wisdom when it comes to raising children, providing guidance in the areas of human, spiritual, intellectual and apostolic formation.
I can recommend a wonderful resource that specifically addresses these four areas, entitled Forming Families: Forming Saints, by Fr Carter Griffin (no relation to me!). When a man is educated in such areas, he will have many useful tools for his fatherly tool kit.
Some of the most important tools for a father to possess are the virtues, which include: Prudence, Chastity, Humility, Fortitude & Generosity, to name a few. Virtues can be defined as good habits. These virtues will be strengthened or weakened throughout our lives, depending on how we apply, or ‘exercise’ them.
A father is required to form his children in the correct use of virtues, but he won’t be able to teach them what he has not been working on to obtain for himself. Hence, the need for him to focus on his own spiritual growth—practicing these habits so that he can teach the next generation of their eternal value.
How can a man pursue and practice virtue? Firstly, a man will be immeasurably strengthened by ensuring that God comes first in his life and that he seeks to place God’s will ahead of his own. In addition, he should seek out one, or many men, who already possess immediately recognizable, virtuous qualities and learn from them.
When men form healthy, fraternal bonds with other men, they can strengthen each other throughout life, just as iron sharpens iron.
Too often we see fathers portrayed in mainstream media as the ‘goofball’ of the family, while the mother holds the family together. Men today need to reject this image of masculinity and fatherhood and, as the spiritual head, need to step-up to lead their families well.
Fathers can provide for their children in all manner of material ways but, ultimately, providing for their spiritual needs is what will best serve them eternally.