Dear Parishioners,
A fundamentalist Christian once approached my friend, Father Ignatius, and myself on a packed New York City subway car. It was clear that we were both Roman Catholic priests. My friend was dressed in his Franciscan habit and sandals, whereas I was in the traditional black clerical suit complete with Roman collar. The nameless Christian, proud of himself, asked us, “Why are you called Father, when the Scriptures say, “Call no man on earth, ‘Father?’” (Mt. 23: 9) True to my Brooklyn roots, I paid the man no attention. My Franciscan confrère was much more charitable in having an ecumenical discussion.

Fundamentalist Christians, along with others, use that text to ‘prove’ that the Catholic Church is un-biblical.  A question I have for these bible-thumpers is what do they call their own earthly fathers? Sir? That is best reserved for juniors to their seniors in the armed forces. Mister? Its usage can be formal or rude depending on the context. Progenitor? That sounds like a technical term from the latest science fiction novel. Let’s go back to the Scripture in question. The Savior, for everlasting memory, said “Call no one on earth your father; you have but one Father in heaven. Do not be called ‘Master;’ you have but one Master, the Messiah.” (Mt 23: 9-10)  Monsignor Calise, my high school seminary rector, was fond of saying, “Read between the lines.” A very plain reading of the text would suggest the viewpoint of the subway fundamentalist. A contextual reading would lead us to understand that Christ was warning His followers not to laud religious titles and honorifics over each other like the Pharisees and scribes. If anything such titles must be at the service of others and never for one’s own vainglory. Our Lord then proceeds to condemn the hypocrisy of the religious establishment at great length and detail. (Mt. 23: 13-35)


It would seem very odd, within the greater context of Scripture, for Jesus Christ to denigrate the title ‘Father.’ He invites the Apostles, and by extension, all of us, to call God “our Father.” (Lk 11: 1-4). Moreover, throughout the Gospel of John, the Savior repeats that He and the Father are one. (Jn 10: 30). Or most powerfully, on the night before He died, Christ gathered with those in the upper room said, “As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you.” (Jn. 15: 9) The invocation of God as Father, on the part of Christ---and by extension, every believing Christian--- is to enter the intimacy of divine life and love. The care and concern of good earthly fathers---biological, spiritual, otherwise---in, a sense, point us to the goodness of Almighty God. Hence, the profound tragedy when men fail to show up (or step up) to be fathers. It should be no surprise when some people have hang-ups referring to God or any man, “Father.”
I thank God, this weekend, for my late father, Idowu S. Kingsley, as well as other mentors, some living, some dead, who modeled for me what it means to be a good man, and a good Christian. Their example and witness encourage me daily to take seriously my own title “Reverend Father.” A title that is meant to be service of all those I minister to daily. 

 May God bless and keep you and your families this Father’s Day.

In Christ,
Fr. Daniel O. Kingsley,
Administrator