麻豆约拍

A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Canon Anne Easter

Good morning!

My Dad always joked that my sister and I had made a very good choice of parents. The youngest of seven, five of them sisters, my Dad had led a busy childhood spent mostly with women and he went on to marry and have two daughters. My parents got together at a dance hall in their teens and stayed together all their lives, talking, singing and occasionally yelling at each other, and facing the early onslaught of my Mum鈥檚 multiple sclerosis with courage.

My dad鈥檚 job meant that he was often home in the afternoons, and it was he who taught my sister and me to cook and sew and to tell a good story. When I took him into hospital for the last time, his main concern was whether I had enough cash to get home; that was twenty five years ago, and I still miss him.

But I am very well aware that my experience of a father is not everybody鈥檚. I know lots of children who don鈥檛 have a father in their lives and many others whose fathers are abusive, belittling.

And that鈥檚 when St Joseph, who we celebrate today, can help. The Bible tells us that St Joseph was a carpenter but not much else about him. But I think that Joseph must have been good and kind, because it was he who taught Jesus how to be a man. And Jesus often said that we are his sisters and brothers so, if we鈥檙e looking for a father, we can claim Joseph for ourselves, knowing that he will care for us and pray for us too.

Dear God, please bless all fathers today; help them follow the example of Joseph, and to be patient and encouraging as he was.

Amen