Dad’s Coming! Winslow Homer (1873)

HAPPY FATHER’S DAY! To be a good father takes courage, hard work, perseverance, humility, patience, and fortitude. My warmest wishes to all fathers today. I hope you are surrounded by gratitude and appreciation.

All the hard work of fatherhood is better than the alternative. I think of all those men who have not reached their potential as fathers, who could have had children or had many more. If only more of them would have the courage to speak of their sadness and be open about the personal costs of the Sexual Revolution.

I spoke with a father who is my neighbor earlier this week. He looked sad and emaciated. He is 81 years old and lives alone. His wife has lived separately from him for decades. He told me he has not been able to function well in recent months. The doctors say he is in fine health. “I think the loneliness finally got to me,” he said.

Fatherhood demands a special kind of humility. It took humility to admit he had been defeated.

The most important institution — fatherhood — is often the least celebrated. The deference and respect that is due to men as the head of their homes has undergone ceaseless attack. May God help us celebrate our fathers, but also restore what has been lost.

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