Happy and Blessed Father’s Day to you.

I want to exhort father’s to give something they have, their blessing.

I remember studying blessings in seminary, and the teacher emphasizing that when a father blesses children, it is a ‘real’ blessing. I remember being surprised by this, as it was in the context of discussing the power of the priesthood to bless persons and objects.

It is simple, make the sign of the cross on their foreheads, when you tuck them in at night, when you send them to school, whenever you can. I share with you this recollection from Pope Benedict XVI, in his book “The Spirit of the Liturgy.”

I shall never forget the devotion and heartfelt care with which my father and mother made the sign of the Cross on the forehead, mouth, and breast of us children when we went away from home, especially when the parting was a long one. This blessing was like an escort that we knew would guide us on our way. It made visible the prayer of our parents, which went with us, and it gave us the assurance that this prayer was supported by the blessing of the Savior. The blessing was also a challenge to us not to go outside the sphere of this blessing.

Blessing is a priestly gesture, and so in this sign of the Cross we felt the priesthood of parents, its special dignity and power. I believe that this blessing…should come back in a much stronger way into our daily life.

Don’t be stingy, children need to live secure in the blessing of their father and their Father.

Pax et bonum,

Fr. John Mosimann