Dear Friends,

This past Father’s Day at every Mass we invited all Fathers forward to surround the altar. (We also do this on Mother’s Day). 

First of all, I need to state that I am so impressed that the large majority of men accepted this invitation to leave their pews and gather together at the altar. I personally get to see the faces of the men (and women) and the great joy they experience. The strong voices are powerful in prayer and song. I saw one father who recently lost his wife stand next to his son who is a father-to-be very soon. I witnessed, along with the entire assembly, these men coming to Mass, praying and serving God in so many ways. After Mass, the comments from some of the men included how it was the best Father’s Day they ever had. Another said it was amazing to gather with other men at the altar. So many other comments really touched my heart. The sad story is many Catholic parishes miss out on trusting that the people of God can experience such awe and wonder. The people of God are not to have barriers placed before them at the altar. The separation leads to missing one of the most sacred signs in the sanctuary, the people of God as stated in our liturgical documents.  

God is a God who wants to be close to us, Jesus shows us countless times his desire to be close to us. He came to remove barriers to the Father.

To have men hear the invitation to come forward to witness their service to God in front of the community is truly a gift to our parish and other parishes who encourage this idea.  

Peace in Christ,

Fr. Eric