Papa Benedicto!

 

What's that? What's today?

That's right...The Seventh Anniversary

of the Pontificate of our Holy Father

(he really is a great father, isn't he?).

Basically, it's like his birthday as Pope today!

...or maybe it's more like Father's day just for him!

Whatever you'd like to call today, it's a day to be extremely proud of our Father and to be reminded to pray for him especially today. Can you imagine being a father of billions of children?!

Luke, I am your father.

One dresses as a man to save her homeland.
One swims through a aquarium filter to find his father.
One eats mysterious grub in the forest with two sidekicks.

But these characters each make up movies with one central theme:

FATHERHOOD.

It turns out, each of these characters disobeyed their fathers:
Mulan cut here hair, dressed like a man,
and fought in her father's place.
Nemo swam out to touch the "butt"
(also known as "boat") against his father's will.
Simba "deliberately disobeyed" Mufasa by
taking Nala into a bad neighborhood.

But, in each of these, there is an important aspect that one cannot miss:
THE RETURN!

There is always the forgiveness of the father, the welcome home with open arms, the prodigal son.

And perhaps we must admit that Disney doesn't have it all wrong, for this takes us right back to the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus says:



"My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt."

Jesus teaches us how to say, "YES!" just as Mary said for Him to enter this world. "THY kingdom come! THY will be done!" He acknowledges that even the Father's most difficult desires for our lives are possible if we would only surrender our wills to Him. May that be our prayer as we prepare for Lent--that there might be more of Him and less of us.