Thomas Griffin 6/14/24
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To be drawn into a Father’s heart is to know your identity and your worth. The Father: 30 Meditations to Draw You Into the Heart of God by Fr. Mark-Mary Ames, CFR beautifully accomplishes this task.
I had the privilege of journeying with Fr. Mark-Mary on this book project and it has transformed me from its very first stages. It truly is a testament to the way that God loves us as Father, through the experiences of real dads. This Father’s Day, there could be no better gift for a dad or for anyone special in your life.
In the introduction, Fr. Mark-Mary notes that the Christian faith is not about following “a set of guidelines” nor is it about “self-fulfillment. Rather, Jesus comes to give us the fullness of the truth that we have a heavenly Father who loves us and is the best of fathers.” Conveying this all-important fact about humanity is the goal of this book.
We can experience the goodness of the Father in our earthly dads and spiritual fathers, but they all fall short in some way. We also know that some people have wounds from their relationships with their dad’s and these experiences might hinder their ability to see God as Father. The hope is that this work allows for healing to take place in the way that we all view God. No matter what our experience is of our own dad’s, we are called to come to see the love that our God has for us, particularly as a Father.
“When earthly fathers accept their vocation to fatherhood,” Fr. Mark-Mary continues “with God’s grace, they become tangible, accessible, and powerful examples that reveal profound truths about the heart of God. When we see how deeply, passionately, and sacrificially good fathers love their children, we can come to realize that these attributes are even more fully to be found in the heart of our heavenly Father.”
Each daily reflection in the book follows the process of the experience of a spiritual or biological father followed by a Scripture passage and a section that draws out what this truth means for us. The true stories bring the Scripture to life and allow the reader access to an aspect of God that they have either taken for granted or been unaware of. The beauty of this process is that this is what we often do with our own father’s. This is why we need Father’s Day once a year.
It is an opportunity to truly take stock of one of the most important relationships we have as human beings. Father’s can too often be overlooked by their children. We can neglect to show them affection or we can be numb to the fact that they are always there for us, always thinking of us, and always concerned for our well being. The good fathers in our lives are defined by their children.
How much more is our Father in heaven defined by us? He does not need us, but He yearns and craves to be closer to us. All He desires is for us to allow Him to give Himself over to us. All He is interested in is loving us more than we can ever imagine. These are nice words and can seem abstract to us. However, when we read about the fascination of real dad’s with their newborn child or about the way that a dad cares for his child with disabilities each morning, we can see that truth differently.
Placing a Scripture passage inside of each reflection pushes the reader to pray with these reflections and Bible passages. We are invited to sit with the reality that is being presented each day and to reflect on its vitality in the silence of our own hearts. I have found that this is the critical ingredient to this work: each of the 30 reflections are meant to change our view of God and that happens most powerfully when we read them slowly and intentionally. This book truly belongs as a part of your prayer, it is not merely about a summer read.
The reason why is because the most important things in life are meant to be taken seriously. So, this Father’s Day take your relationship with your dad seriously and speak to him in a way that conveys your love and appreciation. And, in order to grow in what it means to be called a son or daughter of God the Father consider getting a copy of The Father. Take your connection to Him seriously and accept the invitation to truly be changed by what you read and hear by making it a part of your prayer routine.
He is waiting for you. The Father is drawing you in – let Him and be changed forever by viewing your truest identity: you are His.
Thomas Griffin is the chairperson of the religion department at a Catholic high school on Long Island where he lives with his wife and two sons. He has a masters degree in theology and is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Empty Tomb Project: The Magazine.
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