LIKE MAMA

Like mama

 

So Jesus answered and said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, a son cannot do anything on his own, but only what he sees his father doing; for what he does, his son will do also.” – John 5:19

 

When my daughter Mac was eight years old, she wanted to do a lot of things. She always gave me a different occupation every time I asked her what she wanted to be when she grows up.

So one day I told her, “Why don’t you list down all the jobs you want to do so we can review it regularly? Then if you change your mind about any of the jobs listed, we can remove it from the list.” She came up with her list the following day. What surprised me was not the number of occupations she listed but the last item on her list.

• Nun or sister

• Teacher

• Stewardess

• Actress

• Banker

• Chef

• Restaurant Manager

• Nurse

• Businesswoman

• To be like Mama

We too were all created in the image and likeness of God. Let’s always pray that we will have the desire to be like our Creator and Heavenly Father.Alvin Fabella (alvinfabella@yahoo.com)

 

REFLECTION:

“So God created human beings, making them to be like Himself.” (Genesis 1:27)

 

Lord, make me and mold me to be like You.

A Unique Blessing From Fathers

 

I believe that one reason for the crisis of Filipino families today is the phenomenon of “absent fathers.” A good number of value-oriented and virtuous families experience the absence of fathers who have to go to work in the urban centers or abroad, wherever they could find better-paying jobs to support the material needs of a growing family. A growing number of “natural families” experience the absence of fathers who, in the first place, are absent because they have other families. (Yes, there are more and more men and women who have children through an adulterous live-in relationship.) There are also a growing number of “natural families” where illegitimate children are born out of teenage affairs that subsequently end with the abandonment of the family by psychologically unprepared biological fathers. The traditional view is that all these circumstances are manageable, provided there are mothers who take care and rear their offspring.

There is, however, more to fathers’ roles in families, more than that of their biological participation in the natural conception of babies and that of their pragmatic contribution for the physical and material upkeep of families. Jesus’ intimate words in our Gospel show us God’s reason why families have the “male factor” side by side with the “female factor.” Mothers are the womb: the nurturing and caring models in the families. Fathers — amidst their silence — inspire stability, peaceful confidence, sensitive availability in all circumstances. While mothers are often regarded as the smooth and gentle hands, fathers are

appreciated for their strong and steady grip. Fr. Domie Guzman, SSP

 

Reflection Question:

What positive experiences do you have regarding the presence of your father in the family? Spend time thanking Father God for your father, the “early shadow” of God’s providence.

 

Thank You, Lord, for giving me my father. You have shown Your kindness to me through him. May You bless him and draw him closer to You.

 

St. Gertrude of Nivelles, pray for us.