Why is it great to be a Catholic dad?

If you went to mass this morning, I am sure the Gospel passage struck you as well. Someone asked Jesus: “Lord, will only a few people be saved?” The answer was not what probably an average Catholic would expect it to be. “Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I tell you, will attempt to enter but will not be strong enough.” (Lk 13,22-30) Wow!!! In Jesus' own words many will go to hell.

So, why is it great to be a Catholic dad? Because you have the chance to help someone to get heaven in whose creation you collaborated with God. You have the opportunity to teach your kids how to enter through the narrow gate. In fact, this is not only an opportunity, but much more a duty. It’s so eloquently phrased in the recently issued Youcat: “We are here on earth in order to know and to love God, to do good according to his will, and to go someday to heaven.” (Section 1, Question 1)

Do you see the picture within the picture? We have to help our children to live out this vocation to love God and to follow his will in order to save our souls, which is our very vocation itself. By teaching them this simple but profound truth and helping them to understand this reality we are living out our vocation. A Catholic parent that fails to do this fails to enter the narrow gate. It is mostly done through our example. How hard this is at times, and how easy it is to skip morning or evening prayer in family, or before and after meals. How hard it is to show respect to others even when our blood is boiling; to be selfless and charitable with the family when they don’t let us snuggle up in our cave.

It is only great to be a Catholic dad if I strive to be a great Catholic dad… every day. That’s our challenge gentlemen!

The greatest inheritance and the greatest gift

My children are fascinated when I turn cherry tomatoes into sun-dried mangos, or when I pull one out from behind their ears. My son thinks daddy can do it any time, so he often appears holding a tomato in his little hand, asking me to turn it into what he really likes. This is my fishy way of doing transubstantiation.

This got me thinking of what was the greatest gift I could give my children. I can hardly be a magic trick, even if they show so much enthusiasm when I do it. It could be the time spent with my children, which is also precious, and it is definitely more of a gif, because it requires giving not only something I have, but the giving of my time and attention. Helping them acquire habits and grow in human virtues is even more important, as it does not only last in their memories, but will help them for life. However, it is only faith in Christ that will help them to reach eternal happiness.

Faith in Christ as Holy Mother Church teaches it has been passed down to us from the first followers of Christ, and it has been defended sometimes with apologetics, other times with sword, but always with firm conviction. This is the best I can give to my children too. At the end of the day what matters is whether they are saved or not.

While teaching the doctrine is essential, faith can't be handed down as a magic trick, and cannot be acquired from a textbook, but it needs to be lived out every day. It is how you pray, work, interact with family and entertain yourself.

A picture is worth a thousand words, and I think this one captures it quite well.

In the meantime I continue turning tomatoes into mangos. It might come in handy to give them a vague idea of the real transubstantiation.

The real Halloween

Today I took the kids to an All Saints party. There was one little problem though... the party was yesterday. When I got to the Faith and Family Centre (the location of the party) there was not a single car parked outside. I called my wife and told her what had happened (and BTW she had told me that the get-together was today). She suggested that I should ring up some really close friends and ask them if we could call in for a little All Saints fancy dress party. They said OK, and we arrived at their house less then 10 minutes later. To my amazement all the three of their daughters were already dressed up as saints: St Agnes, St Elizabeth of Hungary and St Kateri. Even their mom was dressed up as St Joan of Arc.

My daughter A. dressed up as Our Blessed Mother, holding baby Jesus in her arms, and she insisted that his brother M. would be dressed up as St Joseph. Being a terrible two that he is, he did not let us put the chequered table-cloth on his head with an old tie. He also refused to take the stick of a dustpan as his staff. He did not want to put on anything at all. I wish I had snapped a picture of him as he trew a tantrum. He ended up coming in a pair of trousers that were a bit too short for him and a pair of boots, which together gave the impression of a poor little boy from the 1920's. And then we knew which saint he was going to be: Lolek, aka Bl John Paul II as a boy!

Here is another little picture of A. dressed up as St Kateri on the day of her canonization. What a great way to prepare for All Hallows' Evening! The real Halloween... Blessed be God in his angels and in his saints!

The mysterious beggar

Yesterday I went to buy a new pair of trousers while my wife was with the children at the playground (remember, it was my turn for confession, which I had done just a few days before). It was one of the first really chilly days this year. Winter is definitely drawing near.

Across the street from the store a beggar was sitting on the ground asking for money. As I got closer I noticed that he was wearing only a sweater and a pair of shorts. He pulled up his knees to his chest and pulled down his sweater on his shin, all the way to his ankles. He was wearing no shoes and no socks either. He was shaking from the cold.

My first thought was that he surely had some extra clothes in the bag he had near him. But one thought came back insisting: Amen I say to you, as long as you did it to one of these my least brethren, you did it to me (Mt 25:40). So I decided that I would help him. I saw some people trowing some coins into the cup he was holding in his hand, but I felt that this man needed something else.

In I went to the store and straight to the blankets. I picked a nice, warm one for my beggar. I even spent some time choosing the color. I took the blanket with me to pick the pair of trousers for myself. I took it with me to the fitting room as well. While trying on some jeans I decided that I'd also get him a hot chocolate and engage in a short conversation with him.

Before lining up to pay, I went to the door to double check if my beggar was still there, but he was already gone. I ended up paying for the jeans only and left the blanket in the store.

Who was that man? Was he a person really in need or one of those who unfortunately fall victims of organized crime to collect money for their masters like the poor boys depicted in Slumdog Millionaire? One thing is for sure: one way or the other he was a person in need, Christ present in the street for me.

Was God only testing my generosity and promptness to give? I don't know, but I wish I had acted faster.

I confess(ed)

I went to have confession the other day. I had been meaning to go for some time now, but it was quite hard to find a chance. In fact, I did not even go to any parish, but I just took advantage that my boss at the school is a priest.

You would imagine that in the "Catholic Ireland", which sent missionaries by the hundreds all over the world, you could just go into any church any time and find priests confessing. This is not the case. In most churches confession is available only on Saturday mornings for about 30-45 minutes, depending on the demand.

If you are not so fortunate as to have a priest boss (which is not always an advantage), you really need to plan out well your penitential day. My wife and I like to organize it this way. The whole family goes to church for mass. Mom goes to confess, dad takes the kids to the playground, who can't wait in silence anymore after mass. Then mom hurries to playground, dad runs back to church as fast as he can to find the priest in the confessional. This works most of the time. We like to organize our confessions on the same day. It is definitely a great way to strenghten our marriage.

As for this time, my wife went to confession alone today. And I did not have to break a sweat for my absolution either.