My Sunday Thought for Father's Day: 2015

I gave careful consideration to writing another post on Father's Day, but after rereading the post from last year,  Father's Day: Time to "Man UP" - Revisited, I opted not to.  For the time being, anyway, this post covers my thoughts on the subject as a whole.

Having said this, I thought of the young man that just shot up the church in Charleston and killed nine people.  I remembered my mother wondering how his parents must feel; what they must be thinking about the parenting job they did.  Every time I hear of another young person committing treason against this country by supporting, or fighting for, radical Islam, I wonder what their parents must think.  What do you say to everyone around you, and is it necessary to say anything?

Is a child born to be bad or good?  It would seem that no matter how hard you try as a parent, inevitably the choice to destroy your life, and the lives of your parents and others, rests solely on the individual.  In today's world, many parents fail for lack of trying, yet many children succeed in spite of them.  On the other hand, many parents try their damnedest to get parenting right just to see the child fail at every turn.  I would be the first to point an accusing finger toward a lackluster parent, but sometimes the parent suffers more for the failure of their child than anyone.

Good parents love their children.  Good parents love their children even when that love becomes tough, and when hard decisions have to be made for the child's own good.  Parents always hope the child will grow to understand and appreciate all that was done, and the sacrifices that were made for their sake.  After all that my father did for me throughout my life, we had our differences.  My father and I still go at it, occasionally, two adults arguing over who is right or wrong, vying for top dog.  At the end of the day it does not detract from the love I know he feels for me, nor that which I feel for him.  He is, after all, for better or worse, my father.  I will always respect and love him.

This Father's Day might be an appropriate time for fathers to take stock of their parenting and evaluate how they might do better.  If you think you're perfect, understand that you aren't.  If you give your child everything, maybe they require less.  And, if by everything, you mean material goods, maybe you should consider weekly trips to the ice cream parlor, park, zoo, etc., where you can become a part of your child's life, not just a cash machine.  You both might find that being there as a father is more meaningful to both of you than just being a father.  Sometimes the emotional attachment is a much better gift, and a father showing some emotional vulnerability is priceless.

Sister Wanda and I would like to wish all the "fathers" out there a happy Father's Day.  As much as I would love to stir the righteous pot at the monastery, I will not be including this picture of Sister Wanda when I post this to the monastery blog.  Some things you just know will make certain people, like the League of the Perpetually Offended, lose their little minds.

I wonder, if all the nuns had looked like Sister Wanda, would I still be a devout Catholic.

I wonder if Sister Wanda had used the ruler on me, would I have been a better person, or just learned to enjoy the ruler.

Things that make a father go, "Hmmmm..."  

Editor's Note 

(re: disclaimer cum "get out of jail free" card) 

Before you go getting your panties in a bunch, it is essential to understand that this is just an opinion site and, as such, can be subjected to scrutiny by anyone with a differing opinion. It doesn't make either opinion any more right or wrong than the other. An opinion, presented in this context, is a way of inciting others to think and, hopefully, to form opinions of their own, if they haven't already done so.

It is my fervent hope that we keep open and active minds when reading opinions and then engaging in peaceful, constructive, discussion and debate in an arena of mutual respect concerning the opinions put forth. After over twenty years as a military intelligence analyst, planner, and briefer, I have come to believe engaging each other in this manner and in this arena is the way we will learn tolerance and respect for differing beliefs, cultures, and viewpoints.

We all fall from grace, some more often than others; it is part of being human. God's test for us is what we do afterward, and what we learn from the experience.

Frank Anthony Villari (aka, Pastor Tony)

Pastor Tony is founder of the Congregation for Religious Tolerance and author/editor of the Congregation's official blog site, "The Path."