• Breaking News
  • U.S. News
  • Contact
  • View Print Edition
    • CL Digital
  • Subscribe
Tuesday, July 5, 2022
  • Login
No Result
View All Result
Advertise with us
The Chicago Leader
Donate Now
  • Home
    • Subscribe to the print newspaper
    • Scavenger Hunt Contest
    • Download Media Kit PDF
    • Ad submission
    • Sponsors
  • World
    Mass Shooting

    Mass Shooting in Nigeria Church Leaves Dozens Dead

    Monekypox

    Monkeypox Cases Continue to Rise; Is the Epidemic Already Here?

    Platinum Jubilee

    Platinum Jubilee Queen Elizabeth II Makes a Surprise Appearance

    Trending Tags

    • Breaking News
    • Health
    • Coronavirus
    • coronavirus pandemic
  • U.S. News
    • All
    • Black History
    • Chicago
    • Illinois
    abortion

    Abortion Laws Trigger Women All Over the World [Video]

    Victims

    Highland Park Community Mourns Mass Shooting Victims

    Highland Park

    Highland Park July 4th Parade Ends After Rooftop Shooter Kills Six

    Trending Tags

    • U.S.
    • U.S. Census
    • Politics
  • Business
    • All
    • Jobs
    Coca-Cola

    Coca-Cola Donates $2.6 Million to End Abortion Yet Claims to Empower Women

    Barbie

    Barbie Continues to Be Inclusive With Its Dolls

    Ohio

    Ohio Doctor Free From Murder Charges

    Trending Tags

    • Wall Street
    • Trump
    • Bankruptcy
    • Federal Reserve Bank
  • Technology
  • Entertainment
    • All
    • Arts
    • Book Review
    • Chicago Film Office
    • Gaming
    • Movie
    • Music
    • Review
    ‘Under the Banner of Heaven’ Unravels Disturbing Truths of Fundamentalism

    ‘Under the Banner of Heaven’ Unravels Disturbing Truths of Fundamentalism

    Chicago

    North Lawndale Celebrate Juneteenth and Father’s Day With Music Festival

    Phalanx

    PHALANX CELEBRATES JUNEETEENTH!

    Trending Tags

    • Movies
    • marvel movies
    • Dancing
  • Sports
  • Science
    • All
    • CBD
    • Climate
    • Marijuana
    NASA

    The NASA CAPSTONE Mission

    Drought

    Californian Towns Sink After Years of Drought

    comet

    Comet Debris May Cause Meteor Shower

    Trending Tags

    • UFO
    • Coronavirus
    • Novel coronavirus
    • coronavirus pandemic
    • NASA
    • scientists
  • Health
    • All
    • COVID-19
    • Faith
    • food
    • homeopathy
    • mental health
    • prostate
    Monkeypox Vaccine

    Monkeypox Vaccines Roll Out in States With High Case Rates

    juul

    Juul Cigarettes to Be Taken Off the Market by FDA Order

    mental health

    Minorities Celebrate National Mental Health Month

    Trending Tags

    • Golden Globes
    • Mr. Robot
    • MotoGP 2017
    • Climate Change
    • Flat Earth
  • English
  • Spanish
  • Home
    • Subscribe to the print newspaper
    • Scavenger Hunt Contest
    • Download Media Kit PDF
    • Ad submission
    • Sponsors
  • World
    Mass Shooting

    Mass Shooting in Nigeria Church Leaves Dozens Dead

    Monekypox

    Monkeypox Cases Continue to Rise; Is the Epidemic Already Here?

    Platinum Jubilee

    Platinum Jubilee Queen Elizabeth II Makes a Surprise Appearance

    Trending Tags

    • Breaking News
    • Health
    • Coronavirus
    • coronavirus pandemic
  • U.S. News
    • All
    • Black History
    • Chicago
    • Illinois
    abortion

    Abortion Laws Trigger Women All Over the World [Video]

    Victims

    Highland Park Community Mourns Mass Shooting Victims

    Highland Park

    Highland Park July 4th Parade Ends After Rooftop Shooter Kills Six

    Trending Tags

    • U.S.
    • U.S. Census
    • Politics
  • Business
    • All
    • Jobs
    Coca-Cola

    Coca-Cola Donates $2.6 Million to End Abortion Yet Claims to Empower Women

    Barbie

    Barbie Continues to Be Inclusive With Its Dolls

    Ohio

    Ohio Doctor Free From Murder Charges

    Trending Tags

    • Wall Street
    • Trump
    • Bankruptcy
    • Federal Reserve Bank
  • Technology
  • Entertainment
    • All
    • Arts
    • Book Review
    • Chicago Film Office
    • Gaming
    • Movie
    • Music
    • Review
    ‘Under the Banner of Heaven’ Unravels Disturbing Truths of Fundamentalism

    ‘Under the Banner of Heaven’ Unravels Disturbing Truths of Fundamentalism

    Chicago

    North Lawndale Celebrate Juneteenth and Father’s Day With Music Festival

    Phalanx

    PHALANX CELEBRATES JUNEETEENTH!

    Trending Tags

    • Movies
    • marvel movies
    • Dancing
  • Sports
  • Science
    • All
    • CBD
    • Climate
    • Marijuana
    NASA

    The NASA CAPSTONE Mission

    Drought

    Californian Towns Sink After Years of Drought

    comet

    Comet Debris May Cause Meteor Shower

    Trending Tags

    • UFO
    • Coronavirus
    • Novel coronavirus
    • coronavirus pandemic
    • NASA
    • scientists
  • Health
    • All
    • COVID-19
    • Faith
    • food
    • homeopathy
    • mental health
    • prostate
    Monkeypox Vaccine

    Monkeypox Vaccines Roll Out in States With High Case Rates

    juul

    Juul Cigarettes to Be Taken Off the Market by FDA Order

    mental health

    Minorities Celebrate National Mental Health Month

    Trending Tags

    • Golden Globes
    • Mr. Robot
    • MotoGP 2017
    • Climate Change
    • Flat Earth
  • English
  • Spanish
No Result
View All Result
Chicago Leader
No Result
View All Result

The Essential Need to Be Chosen by a Father Figure

by Father Larry Dowling
May 23, 2022
in Education, Featured, Headlines
0
father

Courtesy of tbz.foto (Flickr CC0)

0
SHARES
13
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
Don't like to read?

Society has been devastated by a crisis in fatherhood. It is a universal problem, not limited to poor communities. It is manifested in fathers not being present and co-responsible in the raising of families and in the active participation in their children’s lives. Mothers have a biological connection, an intimate bond through biology, and 9 months of growth and total dependence in a mother’s womb.

Fathers have no such connection other than the act of co-creating the child. The father connection is unique because a father has to choose to bind with their child. They have to say “I choose you, love you, support you, care enough about you to offer myself as an elder figure to guide, encourage, hold you responsible, forgive and ask forgiveness, to model for you what adult manhood, fatherhood and being a responsible and loving spouse is all about.”

father
Courtesy of Nenad Stojkovic (Flickr CC0)

In the affluent and middle-class community, fatherhood has been compromised by the pursuit of wealth and the myth that providing material things without the gift of real presence and involvement in a child’s life is still being a good father. And when you add that some of these current fathers are still pursuing the approval of father figures in their bosses and others, the generational crisis of fatherhood deepens.

In poor communities, fatherhood has been devastated by the war on drugs and the extreme racialization of policing and mass incarceration. The devices used to control the Black community and ‘keep them in their place’ have both political and economic roots in the continuation of legal Jim Crow policies that continue systemic racism in support of the massive economic engine of policing, courts and prisons, coupled with the ongoing and deliberate allowance of the flow of drugs and guns into our communities.

In the Christian tradition, Jesus commonly referred to His relationship with God as “Father.” The Aramaic word Jesus uses is “Abba,” which conveys an intimacy such as when a child might say “daddy.” The root meaning of “Abba Father” is that God loves us so much, to the point of sacrificing His only begotten Son to redeem us from the eternal fatality of sin. He is aware of and cares about our deepest and most sincere concerns. The term carries with it a spirit of closeness. As Christians, we are “chosen” by God. God chooses us and we become adopted sons and daughters through our relationship as brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ. Like a real father must do, God chooses us. And, as adult children, we have the free decision to accept that chosenness or reject it.

One of the faults of our society is that we are still very patriarchal, a distortion of the true meaning and exercise of fatherhood. Churches and institutions grew out of a patriarchal society that often used maleness as a means of control and dominance to the detriment of women. This continues to this day through systemic patriarchism.
True fathers, real men, reject this patriarchal superiority, instead of recognizing their unique roles and responsibilities as positive male figures who respect the dignity and sanctity of women and children.

As we celebrate fathers this month, we hold in sacred memory all fathers who have passed on, reverencing the gifts they gave us as true fathers in life and faith. We celebrate all fathers who continue to provide love and support for their families, oftentimes overcoming incredible obstacles. We give thanks to all father figures – mentors, coaches, and teachers – who choose to share their unique gifts to lift up our young men and women. And we pray for all fathers who are unable to be present to their children, but long to do so, that they may one day be reunited with their children and spouse as an integral part of the core family unit.

Written by Father Larry Dowling
Edited by Sheena Robertson

Top and Featured Image Courtesy of tbz.foto’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
Inset Image Courtesy of Nenad Stojkovic’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License

Tags: ChristiansfatherGodJesusMothers
Father Larry Dowling

Father Larry Dowling

Next Post
covid

COVID Cases Alarmingly Back on the Rise

Recent Posts

  • Abortion Laws Trigger Women All Over the World [Video]
  • Highland Park Community Mourns Mass Shooting Victims
  • Highland Park July 4th Parade Ends After Rooftop Shooter Kills Six

Newsletter

Loading
No Result
View All Result
  • About
  • Ad submission
  • Contact
  • Team
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Sitemap
  • FAQ
  • Mission

© 2018 TNS - TNS theme by Frackle TNSthemes.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Politics
  • World
  • Business
  • Science
  • Entertainment
  • Gaming
  • Movie
  • Music
  • Sports
  • Health and Lifestyle
  • View Print Edition
  • Subscribe to the print newspaper
  • Contact

© 2018 TNS - TNS theme by Frackle TNSthemes.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
Posting....

Support independent local journalism by subscribing to the Chicago Leader print
and digital publication for just $15 a year.

Subscribe Now