His Excellency,
The Most Reverend Edward K. Braxton, Ph.D., STD
Bishop Emeritus
Diocese of Belleville
Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time
June 21, 2026, 9:00 AM Mass
Saints Luke Parish
God The Father and Father’s Day
(This is the text as originally written. During the actual delivery, some passages were omitted and other comments were added spontaneously. Nota bene: This text has not been thoroughly proofread. Therefore, there may be errors in spelling, grammar, and punctuation.)
Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ:
When I was studying theology in the seminary, I became curious about what my parents, Cullen and Evelyn Braxton, who were converts, personally thought and believed about Christianity. I knew they went to Sunday Mass faithfully, prayed the blessing before meals, prayed the Rosary, the Stations of the Cross, and, most significantly, I had seen them, since my childhood, praying night prayers at the side of their bed every night, on their knees. Still, I had never had an in-depth conversation with them about their personal faith.
One day, I took my dear father to lunch at Chicago’s world famous Berghoff Restaurant. While we were having his favorite desert, vanilla bean ice cream with chocolate sauce and fresh strawberries, I told him I wanted to ask him a few questions about religion. He said, “Shoot”. “Papa, do you really believe that God exists? “Have you ever had an experience of the presence of God?” “Do you think Jesus Christ truly rose from the dead?” “What do you think happens to us when we die?” These and other questions kept us at our table long after the ice cream was all consumed. After some hesitation, my father opened his heart to me and told me his personal beliefs and how they had changed over the years. I learned that he struggled with certain teachings of Christianity. Some he really didn’t understand. He wondered about Catholic teachings that he could not find in the Bible. I shared with him my personal religious beliefs and questions as well. At the end, we prayed together in our own words for the first time. This long conversation at The Berghoff brought about subtle changes in our father/son relationship.
You may be surprised to learn that it was only in 1972 that President Richard Nixon formally declared Father’s Day a national holiday. But, for faithful Christians every day is, or should be Father’s Day and Mother’s Day.
We all know many fathers who are outstanding Christian gentleman. However, all are not. Some fathers are indifferent to the needs of their children. They do not show them the love and concern they crave. Some harm their children and violently abuse them. Others are unfaithful and abandon their wives and children. Sadly, some die young leaving their wives in sorrow and their sons and daughters without the paternal love they need. On this Fathers’ Day we express deep gratitude and love for our fathers, living and dead and we pray for all fathers including those who have not been the kind of selfless fathers Jesus Christ would want them to be.
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This morning, in Matthew 10:26-33, Jesus speaks about God as our Father and reminds us that every day should be “God, the Father’s Day.” As you know, some Christians, including some Catholics, are uncomfortable speaking of God as Father, arguing that God is pure spirit, neither male nor female. They think Michaelangelo’s towering image of God the Creator as an elderly European man with a white beard reinforces a patriarchal image of God and supports cultural biases suggesting that women and mothers are inferior to men and fathers. So they pray, “In the name of the parent, and of the offspring, and of the Hold Spirit.” In spite of this debate, we cannot deny that in the gospel Jesus speaks often of His intimate relationship with His Father and our Father in Heaven.
We all know that God does not relate to us as Father in the same way that our human fathers do. He does not ordinarily break into human history to grant us the things we ask for when we pray. Nor does he alter events to save us from violence, disasters, and suffering in the same way that our human fathers attempt to do if they can. In what sense do you experience God relating to you as your father? In what sense do you not experience God relating to you as your father?
When Jesus is sending His apostles off to proclaim His Good News, He knows that they will be criticized, rejected, and even persecuted. He encourages them to fear no one, to “speak in the light”, to “proclaim His message on the housetops”. He insists that they should not be afraid of those who can kill their bodies but cannot kill their souls. Then, in a reference to His Father, He says they should be afraid of the One, that is His Father, who can destroy their bodies and their souls by separating them from God for all eternity. Comparing us to sparrows that can be bought and sold for pennies, Jesus says, “not even one sparrow falls to the ground without your Father's knowledge.” So, we should not be afraid of anyone who rejects us because we speak openly about our Christian faith. Jesus assures us that God, His Father and our Father, who has counted all of the hairs on our heads, loves us far more than He loves the birds of the air.
Jesus is actually teaching his followers how to be street preachers. He wants us to have the confidence needed to go about sharing our love for Him and our faith in Him as Messiah and Savior with complete strangers. We know that the members of the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints do this with impressive zeal and enthusiasm. But many Catholics might feel uncomfortable striking up a conversation with a total stranger and talking about their faith in Jesus Christ. It may seem socially unacceptable. People might rebuff us, “I’m not interested.” “Keep your religion to yourself.” Yet, Jesus is teaching His disciples and us that Christianity is a public faith and that we need to be courageous about sharing our faint with others. Catholics tend to share their faith by their good example, acts of love and kindness, and by generous Christian service to those in need, rather than by actually talking to others about Jesus. Why do you think this is?
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Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
Some Catholics think of their faith as a personal private matter. It is something that was kindled in them by their parents or by their husband or wife. Not only are Catholics not inclined to be street preachers, but also many are not even inclined to talk about their faith with those whom they love the most. Many married couples who go to Mass and Communion regularly may never talk about why listening to the Word of God and receiving the Body and Blood of Christ is important to them. Nor do they think about the impact of receiving the Eucharist on their daily lives. Having breakfast after Mass, husbands and wives may not speak of centrality of Jesus in their lives, discuss the scripture readings, or the Sunday sermon. When Catholic families are relaxing, they may speak about sports, politics, and local news. But they may never discuss their personal beliefs about God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit. Mary, the saints, sin, life after death, Church teachings on sexual morality, or Pope Leo XIV’s new encyclical Magnifica Humanitas on the challenges of Artificial Intelligence. When someone dies, family members may simply go to the Liturgy of Christian Burial and mourn separately without knowing what other family members actually believe. They may not comfort each other by sharing their personal faith concerning the mystery of death and the life of the world to come.
This seems to ignore Jesus’ words this morning, “Everyone who acknowledges me before others I will acknowledge before my heavenly Father.” Jesus clearly wants us to be His witnesses, not to be ashamed of our Christian faith but to shout it from the housetops! “What I say to you in darkness, speak in the light.”
Father’s Day could be a time to ponder the ways in which God is or is not a Father to us. For many families, Father’s Day is an occasion to honor their fathers with a favorite meal and to give them a special gift. However, it could also be an opportunity for family members to reflect on their spiritual relationship with their earthly father. It was not easy for me to ask my Dear Father to share his faith Journey with me, but by God’s grace, I did. And I am forever grateful that I did. And, by that same grace, you can do the same by talking with your father, your mother, your husband, your wife, or your children on this Father’s Day about your personal beliefs concerning the Lord Jesus Christ and the Catholic Church. It may not be easy for you to share your faith journey in this way, but if you do, I assure you that you will be forever grateful that you did!
Praised be Jesus Christ! Both now and forever. Amen!