On the meaning of 'Father'

Monday, February 7, 2011

*Father Luis A. Rivero - Archdiocese of Miami

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Have you ever wondered why we call priests “Father?” Perhaps you never thought much about it, but it is an interesting concept that we as faithful should all understand. Furthermore, it is something that our Christian brothers and sisters who profess another creed often times challenge by citing Scripture: "Call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven" (Matt. 23:9).

Yet to look at this passage with a myopic perspective or using a fundamentalist approach would be an error. As you who have been riding along with me on my journey toward the priesthood of Jesus Christ may already know, I was entrusted with this title on May 8, 2010, precisely in the Year of the Priesthood. While the journey was a long one with various ups and downs (as I have mentioned in my previous blog posts), to be called Father is one of the greatest rewards and truly a humbling experience.

During the time I have spent here at St. Agnes, in the Island Paradise of Key Biscayne, I have come to understand more profoundly what it means to be Father. This is not a title that gives priests power over the faithful or allows us to enjoy perks here and there. It is not a title that entitles us to lord over people or to demand special treatment in any way, shape or form -- that would be a distortion of the office entrusted to us. Rather, to be called Father is to have a heart that beats in sync with the heart of Christ: To look with the eyes of Christ, to love with the love of Christ, to sense, to feel and to have mercy as Christ himself did.

Priests are called by the Lord to serve Him, to be mindful, to exercise diligently, faithfully, humbly and courageously His priesthood. Every time someone addresses me as Father, in the parish school, in the office, or out and about the Village of Key Biscayne, I am humbled and reminded that -- not because of my merits -- I have been entrusted with a “grave responsibility” by our Lord.  It is humbling and challenging at the same time.

I and my brother priests have been entrusted to be with the people of God in the good times and the bad, in moments of spiritual or emotional crisis, in times of great joy and great turmoil. Many are the moments in which we have to come out of our complacency and comfort zones and witness to the Lord. Like biological fathers, we must nourish, instruct, challenge, correct, forgive, listen to and sustain those who come to us. Furthermore, we have to care for their souls and provide them with a food that does not perish, a food that will bring us all to eternal life.

My friends, the journey is beautiful because of that which I do not deserve but have been called to do by the Lord: Namely, to preach with enthusiasm, fervor and conviction, to continue the path toward holiness, stopping along the way at the spiritual oases that surround us.

To be called Father is to embody the role of the father in the parable of the Prodigal Son (cf. Luke 15:11-32), reconciling sinners who have gone astray and offering God’s forgiveness. Priests have been entrusted with a spiritual fatherhood that is beyond what the senses can fully grasp. This is something I have encountered firsthand since my ordination.

Some may feel that because one is young chronologically or because one has a certain friendship with a priest, it is alright to strip from him the office with which he has been entrusted and not call him Father. In doing that, one consciously or unconsciously severs the mystery that we live, downplaying the spiritual dimension of the relationship.  For it matters not how long or whether you knew a priest prior to ordination; it matters not whether you get along with him and have a great connection and friendship; to call a priest Father is perhaps the best service you can offer, for in doing so you remind us of our great responsibility to fidelity and to care for the many souls we encounter.
   
So we need to pray for our priests, not necessarily so that we will be efficient, as society challenges us, but more importantly so that we may be faithful to the office with which we have been entrusted.

Can you recall those moments in which you’ve experienced the Loving Fatherhood of God through a priest?