My Earthly Father Led Me to My Heavenly Father

There’s a famous story that gets told in my family. As a little girl, my dad used to take me to Mass. We lived behind a Catholic church and my mom would look out the window and see us walking hand in hand to Mass. Slowly, she wanted to be part of the weekly family faith journey, and began going to Mass more regularly.

My father has always been a quiet influencer in my faith. He went to Mass every week. He prioritized Catholic education for us which laid the foundation of faith. He insisted I join the high school youth group, which led to my first encounter with a relationship with God. He agreed to let me go to a more expensive Catholic college, and would drive me to and from the college on weekends. It was at this college, where I first was inspired to Catholic service and being a leader and servant for others. He brought up being a third order Secular Franciscan when I was struggling with my vocation, and that is the path I eventually followed. He would impress upon me the value of a secular vocation in bringing God into the world, which has influenced how I approach my career and the work God gives me. He has spoken up when he sees gifts of mine that most lead to joy and bear fruit, helping me to discern how God wants me to use my talents.

More than anything, he modeled a humble servant of God, accepting God’s will, denying self, persevering in his vocation, being prayerful, and generously giving to the church. He said very little about faith growing up, and it was only later in my life that I saw how much he modeled it in the quietest of ways.

Did you know that taking me to Mass would lead me to God eventually, dad? Did you know it would lead to my recognizing God the Father more deeply in my life? Did you know it would bear fruit eventually? I would imagine that most dads don't realize the impact of those small seeds of faith they plant early in life -- even just by taking them to church.

Those moments walking hand in hand to Sunday Mass as a little girl led me to now walk hand in hand with God each day. My earthly father led me to my Heavenly Father.

Thank you for that gift.