Pope Benedict XVI Teaches Us about the Fatherhood of God

By Deacon Keith Fournier
2/2/2013
Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)

It is in the Lord Jesus that we fully see the benevolent face of the Father who is in heaven

God is a Father who never abandons his children, a loving Father who supports, helps, welcomes, forgives, saves, with a fidelity that immensely surpasses that of men, opening up to an eternal dimension. (Pope Benedict XVI)

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CHESAPEAKE, VA (Catholic Online) - "For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that he may grant you in accord with the riches of his glory to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inner self, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the holy ones what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God."(Ephesians 3:14 - 19)

These words were written by the Apostle Paul to the early Christians in Ephesus. The Greek word for Father and family are connected. Paul is using them in a sort of play on words to make a profoundly important theological and existential point. Fathers are the foundation of families, they give them identity and meaning in both life and in death. The Catholic Catechism says, "The divine fatherhood is the source of human fatherhood; this is the foundation of the honor owed to parents." (CCC#2214)

Fathering is a gift and a responsibility. I cannot live it without grace and neither can anyone who participates in it in either the natural or the spiritual order. Grace is Divine Life given to us through Jesus Christ and mediated through His church, in Word and Sacrament. In the Holy Eucharist we receive Jesus, the Source and means of all grace. Jesus reveals the fullness of the father and shows us who we are becoming. "Christ, the final Adam, by the revelation of the mystery of the Father and His love, fully reveals man to man himself and makes his supreme calling clear." (GS #22)

The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains that "Grace is a participation in the life of God. It introduces us into the intimacy of Trinitarian life: by Baptism the Christian participates in the grace of Christ, the Head of his Body. As an "adopted son" he can henceforth call God "Father," in union with the only Son." He receives the life of the Spirit who breathes charity into him and who forms the Church." (CCC#1997)

As we stand in Jesus, we stand in the relationship which He has with His Father. We become partakers of the Divine Nature. (2 Peter 1:4) We actually become sons (and daughters) in the Son. By receiving Jesus we receive the power to become the sons (and daughters) of God. (John 1:12) This gift of Divine filiation is the heart of the Christian message. God is our Father. His fatherly love invites us to continual transformation, as we cooperate with grace, into the Image and likeness revealed fully in the Beloved Son.

In the 20th chapter of John's Gospel records a post-Resurrection encounter between Mary Magdalene and Jesus when she finds the tomb empty. "But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb; and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet. They said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping?" She said to them, "Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him."

"Saying this, she turned round and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus. 15 Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom do you seek?" Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away."

"Jesus said to her, "Mary." She turned and said to him in Hebrew, "Rab-bo'ni!" (which means Teacher). Jesus said to her, "Do not hold me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brethren and say to them, I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God." (John 20:11-18) The identification will be complete when he is seated at the Right Hand of the Father - His Father is now our Father and we are invited into the Trinitarian communion.

On Wednesday, January 30, 2013, Pope Benedict XVI, the one we call "the Holy Father" participates in the Fatherhood of God in his Petrine ministry. His teaching is truly profound and we are so fortunate. He dedicated his Wednesday Catechetical instruction to the Fatherhood of God. I am please to present portions of this beautiful talk below.

*****
Dear Brothers and Sisters,

In last Wednesday's catechesis we reflected on the words of the Creed: "I believe in God." But the profession of faith specifies this affirmation: God, the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth. Thus I would like to reflect with you now on the first, fundamental definition of God that the Creed presents us with: He is our Father.

It is not always easy today to talk about fatherhood. Especially in our Western world, the broken families, increasingly absorbing work commitments, concerns, and often the fatigue of trying to ...

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1 - 8 of 8 Comments

Anthony Coffey
3 months ago
LOOK WITH FAVOR ON YOUR CHURCH’S OFFERING,
AND SEE THE VICTIM WHOSE DEATH HAS RECONCILED US TO YOURSELF

Comment

This statement is horrible in absurdity, it is a lie from start to finish.

God the Father is being asked to look with Favor on Our Lord Jesus Christ. ! ! !

The Church belongs to Our Lord Jesus Christ, not to God the Father...

Man is only reconciled to Our Lord Jesus Christ,
If forgiven our Sins, by a Priest,
By obtaining the Sacrament of Confession.

Hopefully God the Father will forgive us for this diabolical insult.
Bill Sr.
3 months ago
In Honor of Deacon Keith, I offer this for discernment.
Seeking the Graces of God our Father through the Joy of Prayer
There is nothing we can ever do that is better for ourselves and mankind than turning our attention to our Infinite God humbly in thanksgiving, offering our lives and our work and praising him for his. But the problem is that we often without realizing it permit our finite thoughts and activities or work to overcome us by thinking we are or can become anything more than simply a child of the Father we call God.
We must first realize and accept that being his child is quite enough for anyone. What more could you want than that? For heavens sake, is that not the greatest thing you could imagine, being the offspring of the God of the universe? Once you take the time to put your arms around that truth you can begin to understand just what you are, where you are, and gain control of your thoughts in order to properly direct the life graciously given to you by your FATHER.
Jesus, the one you call Lord, the one you hope to follow, the one who teaches us, the one who was sent from the Father to redeem us from our confusion and sin first and always acted, taught, prayed and worked …in the name of the Father. The business of His Father was all he ever had on his mind and he could not wait to begin being involved in it even as a child.
Do you really think there is a better thing to do with your life than what Jesus did with his? It is good that we try to follow the lead of Christ in our daily lives giving help to those in need and spreading the message of truth and love, mercy and forgiveness. But never ever forget that what he said or did and the message he gave was that of the Father through their Holy Spirit. This is the same spirit which he sent to his church at Pentecost and through the disciples on to us after he returned to the Father.
Understanding this we, like Christ, recognize it is the Father's work we too must be doing and as such we report to him, we go to him for instruction, we ask him for help, and we praise and thank him for our being. How wonderful it is to know and be known by the one who Christ addressed as our father (who is) in heaven and what power and majesty he possesses and that he knows each and every one of us by name and all he asks is that we acknowledge Him for who He is. This is the secret that leads us to the joy of personal prayer.

You see, through the works he preformed, our master the Teacher came humbly in human form into our world with great love to gather and instruct us. He proved to all to be God among us as the Spirit had named him at the time of His conception. Thus our merciful and almighty God revealed He would humbly go so far as to be human…. for our sake. Now, the Spirit of Love at Pentecost comes to the disciples, and through them, to all humanity to give us the strength and courage to go forth in His name accepting the challenge to do on earth the work of the Father …. for His sake.
Our own spirit, made in the image of our creator, now calls upon our humility before the God of the universe, our own Father, to accept the relationship and realize we are not alone anymore. We have all the backing we will ever need to live our life in peace no matter what the challenges of this world sends our way. Know that your ever loving, mercifully forgiving always available Father is eternally in control.
It all comes down to this. We have in Christ through the Divine LOVE of the Father for mankind the armor for the battle against the Evil One who was able in the beginning to convince the first of mankind they were designed to be more than the simple beloved children of the living God. The Deceiver, a more powerful spirit than man but no match for the creator, proved to be a kidnaper of the Fathers children hoping to lie and make all who would join him captives of corruption. Jesus, the very Word and Truth of the Father was mercifully sent to dispel the lie and reclaim the misguided lost and stolen for Him. All those who will believe in Him, regardless of their errors, are welcome to return home with Christ to the love and protection of the Father who alone can give eternal comfort to their spirit. Those who chose not to believe and reject the love of the Father will be lost forever along with the Evil One who despises the Truth.
Pray then, as Jesus did, to your Father in heaven seeking his help and guidance as any obedient child would do knowing how much they are loved. Be mindful always that the Father gives solutions not as this world would conceive but as His eternal Truth would in justice have it. Trust, as Jesus did, that what you ask and what you seek within the Divine Will of our all knowing and loving Father, in his time and with his wise judgment, shall be granted to you.
This surrender to Truth will set your heart free in humility and honor to approach the One who loves you. That heart, at ease with our almighty Father, before it even begins to speak will hear his voice saying …Peace to you my child… and our burdens are lifted, life and prayer become joy.
jh
3 months ago
Terrific explanation of the God the Father. May God bless all fathers that they may reflect Him.
youkokun
3 months ago
If these are only parts of the document, may i ask where the full one can be found? Lately I'd been looking specifically for doctrine on the Father, so this article took me by surprise. That part about how sometimes we're not able to approach the Father because of the flaws of our earthly fathers really struck home for me. It's been a struggle of mine and the next points are intriguing.
Thanks Deacon Keith for bringing this up on the main page!
abey
3 months ago
The word "Father" means the Origin(having no beginning or end) of all things & this we understand from Jesus who declared God as "My Father" & unto us through the Lords prayer. To the word Fatherhood come down from Him branching into Mother hood, brotherhood, sisterhood etc, in short to say Fatherhood forms the very basis of the family, & to also know that it is the Fatherhood come unto man called the Fatherhood of man to the human family, that is under attack today.
Joseph Rogers
3 months ago
Excellent article! Fatherhood is an extremely spiritual experience that is often taken for granted and wrongly joked about it. I am glad this is getting some attention from the Pope. I will definitely reference this in my next piece.
Tom McGuire
3 months ago
People with poor relationships or no relationships with a father require patient loving guides to walk the difficult way to God the Father. My experience has shown that for some God the Father never becomes what the scripture tells us. They suffer and their prayer is "God why have you forsaken me." Let us men model the loving father and walk with those who lack such a person in their life.
Bill Sr.
3 months ago
Keep it up Deacon Keith,
This is so important for us to remember.
You have been on a roll for some time now. We love you.
You are solidifying every truth of our faith for us and strengthening us for the battle on the horizon.
Thank you, God Bless

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