Vol. III February-March 2000

God the Father in Public Life

There is a great little prayer which goes as follows:

You might ask why refer creation to God the Father? Was it not the Trinity, all three persons who created us? While it is most perfectly true to say that we were created by the Holy Trinity, it is also true to refer this work especially to God the Father. The reason is very simple: The first work of God was that of creation. It was, so to speak, the very first way in which he demonstrated his great love for us. What could be more basic, more fundamental than the free and loving act by which God created each one of us out of nothing? Because it is the first act of God's love it is attributed to God the Father, who is the first person of the Blessed Trinity.

The second great act of God's love was to redeem us from our sins. This came about when God sent his Son into the world. By his life, death and resurrection Jesus Christ redeemed us. It is therefore very easy to see why salvation is attributed to God the Son.

It is the Holy Spirit who sanctifies us. Neither is this difficult to understand. We all know that our sanctity, our true holiness consists in love. To be authentically holy means to love God and our neighbor. But the Holy Spirit is love. He is the love of the Father and of the Son. It is for this reason that we refer the work of our sanctification to God the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Holy Trinity.

Understanding Creation More Profoundly

But let us get back to the work of creation. We could ask how did God create us? Did he make of each man an island? Is the human person capable of reaching happiness on his own, treading his own path, caring for no other, concerned with himself alone? It is very evident that God did not create us to be islands: "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them" (Gen 1,27). The fact that God created us "male and female" shows that he created us to live together. "Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and cleaves to his wife, and they become one flesh" (Gen 2,24).

God created us for "marriage and family". This is the ordinary vocation of the human person. Now "marriage and family" represent the beginning of society. The most basic society that exists is the family. Put in other words: the family is the first society that sprang from the Heart of God. Immediately after creating our first parents he blessed them and said: "Be fruitful and multiply ..." (Gen 1,28). Here we not only see how the family is dependent on God for its very existence but also how God desires and loves family life.

Yes, the very first society is the family. But as every parent knows, no family is totally independent. Neither the human person, nor the family, is an island. To bring all members of the family to true fulfillment the family needs the support of the school, of business and of medical services. It is for this reason that counties, states and countries exist. They exist in order to provide and organize those services which neither the individual nor the family can provide for themselves.

Here we are seeing that God created us dependent on others, and others dependent on us. If it were not so there would be no possibility of practicing charity towards others. God created us to live in society. God is the author of society. But for society to function well it must have leaders. It is for this reason that St. Paul can affirm: "Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God" (Rm 13,1).

Yes, the very existence of our governments is based on God's will. The authority that kings, politicians and presidents enjoy comes from the creator. But do they recognize this?

Practical Conclusions

Seeing that the family "sprang from the Heart of God" we must ask ourselves: should God not have a place in family life? To exclude God from family life is to fail to recognize from where the family came. It is to fail to recognize the origin of family life.

On recognizing that God is the font of "marriage and family" we see that it is most reasonable that God be given a central role in every family. How can the family acknowledge its debt to God? We would make two suggestions:

First and most importantly the family could pray together. Let us never forget that "the family that prays together, stays together". Family prayer is most reasonable. It shows our gratitude to God for family life, and invokes his blessing for the improvement of this life;

Secondly the family could display in each room of the house some sacred image. In the kitchen it could be an image of the Sacred Heart. In the living room it could be a modest crucifix or a picture of Our Lady of Perpetual Succour. In each of the private rooms there could hang an image of some favorite saint.

Recognizing that not only the family, but also society as a whole, has God as its origin, we also see how reasonable, dare we say, how commonsensical, it is that God be given his due honor in our communities. We can even go as far as saying that once society recognizes that it owes it very existence to God it is "morally bound" to honor God. The question follows: how can our governments, as leaders of our societies give to God what is his due? How can our governments practice justice towards God? Would it be enough that each politician pray in the privacy of his own heart and home? This would be a great good, but not yet enough. If God is the author, the creator of society he ought to be publicly recognized as such.

How absurd would it be if we Irish were never to acknowledge the good done by William Cosgrave or Eamonn de Valera after the dawn of Independence! How unreasonable would be the English person who neither honors Queen nor Prime Minister! How ungrateful would the American be if he were to forget the contribution of the "Founding Fathers" of his nation! And how unreasonable is the man and the society who refuses public recognition to its principal founder, our loving Father and creator?

No, it will never be enough to acknowledge God in the privacy of our hearts and homes. To put it very mildly: he deserves a lot more, he deserves public recognition.

It is indeed most reasonable that churches be built in public places, and that their architectural style would help elevate our thoughts to God. It is for this reason that images of Christ, whom the Father sent into this world, be seen in public. It is for this reason that statues of the Our Lady adorn the roads of our country side. In this way God, the Father of society, is honored by society.

But let us make a very small suggestion! It is, after all, possible that you, the reader of this letter, are not in a position to give great public honors to God. But there is one little act, so small yet so important, that we can all do: We can make the sign of the cross each time we pass in front of a Church where the Blessed Sacrament is reserved.

In that Church the Son of the Father is truly present. Let us not be dominated by cowardice. Let true prudence reign. Let common sense win the day. Let us acknowledge God not only with our hearts but also by some external sign. God the Father is not only the creator of our hearts and souls, he is also the creator of our bodies, let us therefore acknowledge him with bodily gestures. Let us make the sign of the cross as we pass in front of the Father's House!

God is not only the creator of the individual and the family, society as such sprang from the Heart of God. He wants no human person to be an island, and desires that no man reduce religion to being a "private affair". Let us acknowledge our Father in public. In this way our praying "Hallowed be thy Name, thy Kingdom come" will be made real in our daily lives.

¹Alternative Opening Prayer of the Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time.