Love your father despite his failings
is Father’s Day. A teacher asked her sixth-graders to write about their personal heroes. One little boy brought his essay home. His father was much flattered to discover that his son had chosen him. “Why did you pick me?” He asked expectantly.
“Because I couldn’t spell correctly Andres Bonipasiyo,” the boy replied. Poor father, his ego was deflated.
Today let us thank and honor all fathers for without them there could be no mothers. Let us thank and honor our father PRIESTS who continue to guide us and pray for us. let us pray especially to St. Joseph, the exemplary father of Jesus, for all fathers — married, separated, or widowed; wise or otherwise.
I recall how our late father Francisco, who was a district engineer — a.k.a. d’strict engineer — in the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), would become cranky and irritable, thinking how he could send all five of us siblings to high school, then to college.
His crankiness and irritability were aggravated by his choleric Spanish blood (from the Llanes clan) and high blood!
But he possessed the Ilocano frugality with which he was able to stretch his meager income and saw all of us finish our courses.
We often rebelled against our father’s authoritarian treatment but later in life, we learned the value of such discipline and how he wanted us to become responsible, worthwhile, and God-fearing, children.
“My dear Papa, I may not have expressed my love to you emotionally while you were still with us but deep down, I do love you and thank you for all your counsels and reprimands when we were misbehaving. I pray we’ll be together someday in heaven with you and our heavenly Father. Amen.”
And to children, here’s a timely reminder from the book of Sirach, “My son, take care of your father when he is old, grieve him not as long as he lives. Even if his mind fails, be considerate with him… For kindness to a father will not be forgotten, it will serve as a sin offering.” (Sir 3, 2-6).
Love your father despite his failings and weaknesses.
THE LIGHTER SIDE. A father was telling other fathers, “When my wife is angry, she starts shouting at me, my children, and even at our dogs, and nobody dares answer her.”
One of the friends asked, “And when you are angry, what do you do?”
The man replied, “I also shout angrily and none dares to answer back.” “Why?” they asked. “Because the windows and doors of our house cannot answer back.”
SAD FATHER PRIEST’S DAY. FR. RICHMOND NILO of the diocese of Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya, who was gunned down last June 10 while celebrating Mass in his church, was interred last Friday.
Fr. Nilo was the third priest killed in a short interval after Fr. Mark Ventura was slain last month in Lallo, Cagayan.
Previous to that in December 2017, Fr. Marcelito Paez was also gunned down in Jaen, Nueva Ecija.
A foreign priest working in the Philippines remarked: “Why do people in a predominantly Catholic country kill their own priests?”
SICK INDIGENTS. I am appealing on behalf of some indigent sick we are helping, like Dante Cabansag, who is on hemodialysis, a cancer patient, Stage 4; also M. Maranga, J. Lopez, R. Cayunda sick of pulmonary ailments.
GOD BLESS — our latest donors: DON GREGGY LICAROS, GERRY “MR. FREEZE” SANTOS, EFREN SANTOS, JO VALENCIA, JIMMY-LINA ONG. at: Others who wish to help may e-mail me