I’m told it’s Fathers’ Day. Nobody ever remembers me or my fellow CSCs on Fathers’ Day. Yet nobody calls their patrilineal progenitor Father any longer. You only call us Father. But I’ve gotten over that…the BVM told me to.
Those of us whom you still call Father bust our humps as chaplains both in your dorms and on the battlefield (sometimes there’s very little difference). But let me assure you that, though we may not have children of our own, the loss of a son or daughter at college or in war is a desolation.
We may seem distant or aloof. We are not. We are absorbed in prayer. If you’re not making amends to The Lord for your sins, we are. We pray for you constantly…that you may be good, that you may be successful, that you may be happy.
We try to be good, as we all should. But every day, your Fathers go to the altar and beg God to be worthy of the trust you put in us. We thank you for that confidence, and we strive every day to live up to the task. We truly love you, the children we never had.
I look at so many hundreds of thousands of young men and women who have graduated under the Dome, and I feel accomplished. I don’t care about the buildings or the money. Neither did Ted. I care about the people. I love the people. And so should you.
If I have any request on this Fathers’ Day, let it be this: be good to those who love you, and remember your Papa. Give him a hug and a kiss. And you might say a nice word to your priest.
EFS CSC
- Good Fridays w/Padre: WORTHY! - November 30, 2018
- Good Fridays w/Padre: The Horror - October 26, 2018
- Good Fridays w/Padre: BALLS! - September 7, 2018
Bayou Irish
Thank you for this.