Fatherhood is an immense gift given to men by God Himself, who asks them to care for and cherish the children He gives them.
Good fathers lead. Strong fathers help shape their children and their children’s faith. And faithful fathers help create faithful children who care about the well-being of others. Fathers matter, and they create a profound and lasting impact not only on their own families but on the people their families reach.
I know this firsthand because my father is an incredible dad, husband, and man. Not only did he serve our family with faith, love, and understanding, but he served our country as a Marine Corps officer and led those under him with that same faith, love, and understanding. He is one of the best people and best Catholics I know.
And if every child were able to say My father is one of the best people and best Catholics I know, imagine how much stronger our society would be.
Yet the dismissive attitude of many these days downplays the role of the father or even claims—in the cases of IVF or surrogacy—that he is not necessary.
Statistics show that is inherently false, and they paint a dire picture of fatherless families.
The truth is that “fatherless families are 4x more likely to live in poverty” than married families, and fatherless children are more likely to exhibit delinquent behavior, abuse drugs, and suffer from depression. Fatherlessness affects mental health as well, as studies show that “63% of youth suicides are from fatherless homes [and] 85% of children who exhibit behavior disorders are from fatherless homes.” Further, “In a study of 56 school shootings, only 10 of the shooters (18%) were raised in a stable home with both biological parents.”
The list of detrimental effects of absent fathers goes on and on. But even more detrimental is the damage that absent fathers—whether physically or spiritually absent—inflict on children and their faith.
Families need strong fathers
Studies show that a father’s religious practices and devotion to God predict whether his children will remain faithful in adulthood. Ignited by Truth reports on a Swiss study from the 1990s (no recent studies have been conducted) saying that the study found that “74% of a couple’s children continue practicing their religion at least irregularly when dad sets the right example. Without dad’s lead, the statistics decline dramatically.”
Without a dad’s faithful example, children often feel lost and aimless. Nothing seems to make them happy or fulfilled. That’s why it’s a father’s job to lead his family to church, to a study of the faith, to faith-filled behavior, to volunteerism, and ultimately to heaven.
A good and faithful father shows his children how to react to and live in the world. He lives out the faith. He goes to Mass regularly. He makes sure his children receive the sacraments. He serves others. He does all this because he cares about the souls of his children. That is his responsibility.
As St. John Paul II said in Familiaris Consortio, “A man is called upon to ensure the harmonious and united development of all the members of the family: he will perform this task by exercising generous responsibility for the life conceived under the heart of the mother, by a more solicitous commitment to education, a task he shares with his wife, by work which is never a cause of division in the family but promotes its unity and stability, and by means of the witness he gives of an adult Christian life which effectively introduces the children into the living experience of Christ and the Church.”
It’s not an easy road. The secular world today bombards families and children with sin, enticing them to embrace what’s fun and good here and now without much thought to eternity. Without a strong father to lead, children become more likely to fall away from the faith, thinking that it’s meaningless or even useless.
Understanding this, St. Paul VI taught, “Fathers, do you pray with your children, with the whole domestic community, at least sometimes? Your example of honesty in thought and action, joined to some common prayer, is a lesson for life, an act of worship of singular value. In this way you bring peace to your homes: Pax huic domui. Remember, it is thus that you build up the Church.”
Building up the Catholic Church is a charge Jesus gave when He walked this earth. He told his apostles to go “and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” This building up of the Church starts at home.
Strong fathers lead their children to heaven
Pope Leo recently articulated that “families are the cradle of the future of humanity.”
Society fails when families fail. So, fathers, you must take care of the spiritual life of your families. This job—the most important of your life—entails your constant and daily attention. That means leading by example when it comes to matters of faith. Apathy and inaction shout loudly that it’s okay to put other things before God. Skipping Mass shows that God isn’t that important. Omitting God from daily conversations shows that He isn’t really in your heart.
And when God isn’t in your heart, He likely won’t be in your children’s hearts.
We need fathers who aren’t afraid to boldly lead their families to God and to teach the truths of the faith. Fathers, remember that you are God’s hands here on earth. Let your children see you taking part in the Mass, becoming a Eucharistic minister or a lector, singing in the choir, or befriending your parish priest. Surround yourself with faith-filled people. Join men’s groups at church or the Knights of Columbus.
When you need help or guidance, pray and turn to God or to saints such as St. Joachim, Mary’s father; St. Louis Martin, the father of St. Therese of Lisieux; St. Joseph; or St. Thomas More.
Most of all, dispel any fear you have about teaching your children the faith. I’ve heard fathers say that they don’t want to “push religion” on their children because they are afraid they will push them away from God, but this apathy does the exact opposite. It tells your kids that you don’t care.
Expressing and living your love for our Father in heaven, taking children to Mass, involving them in the sacraments, teaching about the sanctity of life, and guiding them in making good and faithful decisions is not pushing them. It’s leading them. Saying you don’t want to push them is a cop-out. It takes the responsibility off you and gives it to the world, which doesn’t care one bit about your child’s soul.
Fathers, it is your duty to protect the souls of your children, and to do this you must step up and lead. We face a meaningless existence if our eyes aren’t on our eternal reward, and if you fail your children spiritually, theirs will not be the only souls in jeopardy.
This article first appeared in LifeSiteNews at lifesitenews.com/blogs/families-need-strong-catholic-fathers-to-lead-them-to-heaven/?utm_source=most_recent&utm_campaign=catholic.
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