Clothed with humility and crowned with charity

On this Fathers’ Day, let us thank our heavenly Father; let us also remember and learn from our fathers in faith “who were of one heart and soul” (Acts 4:32). In the first Christian community, nourished at the Lord’s Table, united by the Holy Ghost, they shared their goods amongst all. They find equitable solutions to their differences, as we see for example in the resolution of the dispute between Hellenists and Hebrew over the daily distribution (cf. Acts 6:1-6). People were amazed to see how these Christians love one another, and how they are ready to die for one another.

Yet their love was by no means limited to their fellow believers. They never saw themselves as exclusive, privileged beneficiaries of divine favor, but rather as messengers, sent to bring the good news of salvation in Christ to the ends of the earth. And so it was that the message entrusted to the Apostles by the Risen Lord was spread throughout the Middle East, and outwards from there across the whole of the world.

Today we are called, just as they were, to be of one heart and one soul, to deepen our communion with the Lord and with one another, and to bear witness to him before the world. We are called to overcome our differences, to bring peace and reconciliation where there is conflict, to offer the world a message of hope. We are called to reach out to those in need in our community.