June 17 this year was Father’s Day. Just a month ago, on May 13, it was Mothers’ Day that was celebrated. What’s the difference between the two? Apart from gender, there was one marked difference that Fr. Jun Sescon, Greenbelt Chapel Chaplain, observed: Father’s Day seemed more festive.
As with Mother’s Day, there were booths that offered free services, such as, blood pressure check-up, sugar level testing and other screening tests for middle-aged persons, as well as booths that promoted wellness products. There was also the photo booth, which turned out to be the crowd-drawer. Families lined up to have their free pictures taken in various poses – from serious to wacky. It was truly a day for the whole family.
In his homily during the 6:00 p.m. Mass, Fr. Jun observed that Father’s Day must be “payback time” for the fathers. All year long, fathers work hard to provide for their families. Now, on Father’s Day, the family members are the ones who work out something that would be the best treat for their father.
Yet Fr. Jun felt that fathers needed more than just material treats for one day; they need a special blessing. They needed the blessing to be more patient. With mothers, patience seems to come naturally as it is second nature to them. Fathers, however, seem to need to exert extra efforts to be able to display this virtue.
Talk about hitting the proverbial nail on the head – A blessing for Patience for fathers (and for everybody else)! That Sunday’s Gospel, wherein a sower scattered seeds on the field and waited for the seeds to grow and bear fruit, was about patience.
Fr. Jun noted that, like the sower in the Gospel, we too do a lot of waiting and, sometimes, we lose patience or even give up. Worse, we sometimes give up on God. Fr. Jun observed that we sometimes feel that we have done everything, yet, God does not seem to grant what we ask for. It may be getting a job, passing the board, finding a Prince Charming, getting healed from diseases or whatever.
But for all our impatience, it may be that God Himself is waiting for us, instead. He may be waiting for us to respond to His call or to turn a new leaf. So, in as much as we are waiting for something, we must have the discernment to know what it is that God “is waiting for us” to do or to be.
Fr. Jun also counseled the community to realize that while there are many things we can do to achieve our goals; there are also many things which are beyond our control. The sower, for example, has the wisdom to know that he cannot control the weather or the growth of the seeds. He entrusts these to the Lord. We too must have the wisdom to accept the things which are beyond our control. We then entrust these to our God. After all, as sowers, we are working for His kingdom – and not for ourselves.
Come to think of it, Father’s Day may well be a celebration for the one Father who is in control of everything. At the end of the Mass, Fr. Jun called the fathers to the front for a special prayer and blessing. After which, Fr. Jun asked the community to give the fathers a clap offering.
But the loudest clap offering was reserved for God our Father, the One who is in control of everything and the One who is patiently waiting for us all.
To our Father in Heaven, Happy Father’s Day – today and forever!
- by Mario Ampil