Happy Father’s Day
Fr. Francis Di Spigno, OFM,
Pastor
A Happy Father’s Day to all of our dads!! Did you know that Father’s Day did not become a federal holiday until 1972? The beginnings of Mother’s Day go back to the late 1860’s after the civil war. It became a federal holiday in 1914. According to the History Channel, the State of Washington was the first state to have a statewide celebration of Father’s Day in 1910. That came about because Sonora Smart Dodd wanted to establish an official equivalent to Mother’s Day because she recognized the heroic actions of her widowed father who raised her and her five siblings. The idea of celebrating fathers slowly caught on and in 1924, President Calvin Coolidge urged state governments to observe Father’s Day but it wasn’t until 1972 that Father’s Day become a federal holiday.
Interest to note is that in Europe and Latin America fathers are usually honored on March 19th, the Feast of St. Joseph. If you think it took a long time for fathers to be recognized in the United States, it wasn’t until May 2013 that St. Joseph was finally added to the Eucharistic Prayers of our Church. Tradition has always told us that St. Joseph was a very patient father.
Many blessings on all of our fathers and all those father figures in our lives. May God continue to bless you all with Peace and All Good.
Fr. Francis J. Di Spigno, OFM
Pastor Bless Our Fathers
Heavenly Father, we ask You to bless our fathers for the many times they reflected Your love, strength, generosity, wisdom and mercy.
We honor our fathers for putting our needs above their own convenience and comfort; for teaching us to show courage and determination in the face of adversity; for challenging us to move beyond self-limiting boundaries; for modeling the qualities that would turn us into responsible, principled, caring adults.
We ask your blessing on those men who served as father figures in our lives. May the love and selflessness they showed us be returned to them in all their relationships, and help them to know that their influence has changed us for the better.
Give new and future fathers the guidance they need to raise happy and holy children, grounded in a love for God and other people.
We pray that our fathers who have passed into the next life be welcomed into Your loving embrace.
In union with St. Joseph, whom you entrusted with Your Son, we ask Your generous blessings today and every day on all of our fathers. Amen.
- Tony Rossi [adapted]
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