“My Father is at work until now, so I am at work.”

Today, the gospel reading is from John Chapter 5. The quote above is the start of the gospel, but the one that sticks out the most for me is “Amen, amen, I say to you, the Son can not do anything on his own, but only what he sees his Father doing.” Ponder that one for a little while. Think back on your own father for a moment. If they were anything like my father, they were not much of a role model, and they left a lot to be desired when it comes to being anyone who you would want to emulate in life. I don’t know of anyone who comes out and says, yeah, sure, sign me up to be the alcoholic dad. I am sure my dad didn’t, but he did turn out that way, and even after all this time, his actions left a void in my life that I searched to find for a very long time.

I know that Jesus was talking about God in this context, because God is his Father. I can only hope to emulate God on a daily basis. I know I fall short, but I strive to try anyway. It also made me think about my children. It is so true, they copy everything. One thing that I did not really get exposed to at a younger age, or in my teenage years was a sense of religion. I knew I was Christian, and I had been to Church a few times, but nothing like my commitment as an adult now. One thing I do hope to pass on to my kids is my new found love for God and Catholicism. I have never been one to force my ideals on anyone, but for my children, I hope that this is one thing they will copy, and it will help them through life.

There was something else that I couldn’t get out of my head about this one little sentence today. How many broken homes, where the children have no real fathers, do we have in this country today? We have so many, and we have so much negative things going on. My hometown has shooting after shooting on a daily basis. Communities are broken, and that is a fundamental issue stemming from broken families. It is sad to think about. All the more reason why I want my children to understand the way a family is supposed to be, and how important of a responsibility one is. It all is fundamental, but it is so important. Strong faith, strong family, that equates into stronger communities, which leads to a stronger country. Tonight I am praying for change in our world, a change to our families.