Dear Parishioners:
Happy Fathers’ Day! May God bless and guide our fathers and may God the Father reward all our dads for all their sacrificial love for their children.
The first Fathers’ Day was celebrated on June 19, 1910 in the state of Washington. However, it was not until 1952 that the day became a national holiday (58 years after President Woodrow Wilson made Mothers’ Day a national holiday).
Some Fathers’ Day “fun facts:”
• There are more than 70 million dads in the USA, with about 1/3 with kids under 18.
• Fathers’ Day is the 4th biggest day for greeting cards (after Christmas, Valentine’s Day and Mothers’ Day).
• Fathers’ Day is celebrated in other countries as well. In Europe, since the Middle Ages, Fathers’ Day was connected with St. Joseph’s Day since St. Joseph was the foster father of Jesus. Now, however, many European countries have also placed the celebration on the third Sunday of June.
• In Germany, on Fathers’ Day, men drink all day at beer gardens.
• In Thailand, Fathers’ Day is celebrated in December, and everyone wears yellow. Fathers are given bright yellow canna flowers (similar to a lily).
• In Nepal, there is a ceremony in which sons touch their heads to their father’s feet and daughters touch their heads to their father’s hands.
Pope Francis has made some comments about fathers:
Fatherhood is giving life to others.
Like St. Joseph, fathers, too, must be guardians in age, wisdom, and grace.
Nothing could better express the pride and emotion that a father feels when he understands that he has handed down to his child what really matters in life, that is, a wise heart.
Being a father is not easy since it requires a lot of grace and patience.
Pope Leo XIV has frequently spoken about the importance of earthly fathers and the spiritual concept of God as our Father. His teachings focus on the foundational role of fathers in family life, the nature of God’s fatherhood, and the Church Fathers.
Here are some of his teachings regarding fathers:
The Vocation of the Father: He encourages fathers to act as examples of integrity, nurturing their children’s growth through a balance of freedom and obedience.
Addressing God as Abba: Pope Leo XIV frequently highlights the Lord’s Prayer as a guide to approaching God with “filial trust” and “certainty of being loved.”
Remember: Together, we can do something beautiful for God.
In Christ,
Msgr. Brian McNamara
Fr. Brian
PS: A special “thank you” to all those who made Fr. Cona’s Farewell celebration so special: Altar servers, choir, Knights of Columbus, Rebecca Darmanin (school principal) and her husband Rick, Rachel Nucci, Bernice Fehringer, Helen Murray (and her hospitality crew), and Becky Reilly for the setup/cleanup and photo display! If you missed the video tribute, see our website.