The idea that God is “father” has always been very powerful and easy to understand in my life. Perhaps the presence of my father in my life had a bearing on me. My father was a man of faith, a physician who took great care with his patients and was compassionate with those in need; but above all he was a man who was present in the home not only as a provider, but mainly as a source of affection and learning, both with his words and with his acts.

    In the world in which we live, where the concept of father seems to have been devalued and the crisis of the family has affected the concept we have of the word “father,” it would seem that understanding God as Father could be more difficult.

    In my years as a priest, however, I have discovered that many people have come to deeply appreciate God’s fatherhood precisely through the need of a father figure in their lives, which is a source of comfort for them and is essential in God’s love for us.

    Through Jesus Christ, God the Creator has revealed himself to us as father. That is why, whether we have a good paternal experience in our life or not, Jesus Christ creates the miracle of discovering that God is, above all, Father.

    Therefore, every Sunday, when we pray the Creed at Mass, we say: “We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty” because to us, believing in God as Father is the foundation of Christian life.

    And God is a unique father. The Compendium of the Catechism explains that “God has revealed himself as ‘the strong, the brave,’ (Psalm 24:8) He for whom ‘nothing is impossible.’ (Luke 1:37) His omnipresence is universal, mysterious and is manifested in the creation of the world from nothing, and man through love, but especially in the Incarnation and in the Resurrection of his son… That is why the church in its prayer addresses him as ‘All powerful and eternal God.’” (No. 50)

    Because God is Father of all creation, he has a plan, a design for the world and especially for the human person.

    That is why the Compendium of the Catechism explains that “God grants and asks man, respecting his freedom, to collaborate in Providence through his actions, his prayers, but also with his suffering, causing man ‘to will and to do according to his merciful designs.’” (Phil 2:13) (No. 56)

    The Compendium simply and straightforwardly answers critical questions for our Christian life, such as: What is man’s place in creation? In what way is man created in the ‘image of God?’ For what purpose did God create man? What relationship has God established between man and woman? What did God do after man’s original sin?

    If we are able to answer these fundamental questions, we will become true Christians in the world.
God is Father. That reality has consequences. The challenge is to learn the meaning of the true faith so that we can apply it to our daily life. I ask God the Father, “the Almighty,” to help us to know him, love him and serve him more each day.