The Gift of Fatherhood

This past week I had the pleasure of participating in my 5th March for Life and the many events that are associated with it. Thankfully, this year was different. It marked the first march in 50 years in which Roe vs Wade was no longer the law of our land. This year’s march marked a new chapter for the pro-life movement in the United States and brought with it many crowds. For me, seeing the large crowds of young people was very edifying because they are an example of how Our Lord is actively working in the world today to bring forth the next generation of those aflame with love for Him.

An event that attracted many of these faithful young people was the Life Fest put on by the Sisters for Life and the Knights of Columbus. During the Mass, the homilist briefly talked about the value of a strong father or male figure in the life of an expecting mother. He said that mothers struggling with their pregnancy can repeatedly hear from different women that she has support and should not fear, but oftentimes, these words of encouragement do not pierce beyond surface level to the deep fears that reside in the mother’s heart. However, when a trusted male or the father of the child says words of support and encouragement to her, it often has a profound effect that assures the mother that she can continue with the pregnancy. The homilist emphasized that true and strong masculinity is especially valuable in our society today and he encouraged the men of the crowd to foster in their own lives a masculinity that is strong, protective, and genuine. I could not help but experience a personal call from his words to be a spiritual father who encourages those who are living in fear.

In addition to attending the Life Fest, I was also able to march with many high school students that drove from my home diocese of Bismarck to Washington, DC. It was great to get to know these students better and see in my heart a desire to be a priest in the lives of these students. I saw that I could be a spiritual father for them. This desire only increased when I saw the joyful witness of the young priests that chaperoned the students. They are a great example of true masculinity and joyful fatherhood.

Through both events I was able to see my own desire to be a spiritual father. The seminary, in forming us to one day become priests of Jesus Christ, also gives us many opportunities to foster the virtue of spiritual fatherhood. The priest formators give us opportunities to experience the joy of spiritual fatherhood through their own example and teaching. Furthermore, we see our brother seminarians who are also working to embody fatherhood in their lives. Most importantly, at the center of each of our days at the seminary is time spent with Lord in Eucharistic Adoration where he reveals the Father to us. The March for Life was an event outside of the seminary that allowed me to see my own desire to be a spiritual father, and the seminary is the perfect place for cultivating this desire and bringing it to Jesus for him to reveal his salvific plan for my life.

Mr. Schon is a College III seminarian for the Diocese of Bismark.