The Father who is present.

What is a father without a child? It is the child who gives the father his fatherhood because without the child, their can be no father. What a beautiful paradox. The father gives the child life through the mother, and the child gives parenthood back to them.

Due to my own weakness, I struggle to simply be present to my children. Yes, I must teach them; that is my duty. Yet this symbiotic relationship is here too. I have discovered that being present to my children's sense of wonder, I can be a much better teacher. It's much harder for me to do this; it really takes effort and love. In the end, it really amounts to the children teaching me about what I need to teach them.

I had this realization very powerfully this past week when I took my six year old for a walk in the woods. He asks hundreds of questions. Then he asked the clincher: "Why do you always say that, Dad?" You see, to many of his requests to go here or there, I would always say "We had better not." It was out of habit, and I might just as easily have replied with an other similar habitual demand for obedience. But his question was genuine and it struck me immediately. I thought it through and saw that there was simply a true innocent observance of the fact that I do often reply without being truly present to his question.

Yes, let's go down that path into the meadow, I agreed. It was a magical moment where my son taught me without knowing it, and I was suddenly drawn into his presence and wonder fully, and I saw the true gift that he is to me. What I taught him, I hope, is that he can trust his dad, that exploring is not to be feared, and perhaps he even learned unwittingly to be present to others.

God the Father is present to us continually, and if we communicate with Him and trust Him with the innocence of a child, if we really go to Him as Abba, He will surely reveal the wonders of His creation beyond our imaginings. To St. Faustina Jesus said "The more you trust me, the more I will bless you!" Jesus, I trust in You!

'Philip said to him, "Lord, show us the Father, and we shall be satisfied." Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you so long, and yet you do not know me, Philip? He who has seen me has seen the Father; how can you say, 'Show us the Father'? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the father in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority; but the Father who dwells in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father in me; or else believe me for the sake of the works themselves."

John 14: 8-11