• Breaking News
  • U.S. News
  • Contact
  • View Print Edition
    • CL Digital
  • Subscribe
Friday, January 27, 2023
  • Login
No Result
View All Result
Advertise with us
The Chicago Leader
Donate Now
  • Home
    • Events
    • Subscribe to the print newspaper
    • Scavenger Hunt Contest
    • Download Media Kit PDF
    • Ad submission
    • Sponsors
  • World
    New Laws

    New Laws Begin Next Year in Illinois

    Real Issues

    Real Issues in the K-Pop Industry

    China

    China Protests Against COVID and Lack of Freedom

    Trending Tags

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

    Lakesia Collins the Superhero of the West Side

    youth

    AMBER-ALERT Missing Youth in Chicago

    Lightfoot

    The Lightfoot Campaign Might Be Investigated

    Trending Tags

    • U.S.
    • U.S. Census
    • Politics
  • Business
    • All
    • Jobs
    Phalanx

    January’s Letter From Phalanx Family Services’ CEO

    Chicago

    Chicago Is Home to Restaurant’s With High-Grossing in All America

    Tre'byen

    Branding With Tre’byen Sets New Standards

    Trending Tags

    • Wall Street
    • Trump
    • Bankruptcy
    • Federal Reserve Bank
  • Technology
  • Entertainment
    • All
    • Arts
    • Book Review
    • Chicago Film Office
    • Gaming
    • Movie
    • Music
    • Review
    renner

    Jeremy Renner Receives Love From Fans After Tragic Snowplow Accident

    avatar

    ‘Avatar 2’ Crosses $1 Billion Mark at Global Box Office

    White

    Earth, Wind & Fire Drummer, Fred White, Dies at 67

    Trending Tags

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

    Exoplanet 55 Cancri E Has 17.5 Hour Year

    Dangers

    Dangers of Smoking Tobacco

    Breast Cancer

    Breast Cancer Awareness Month Is in October

    Trending Tags

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

    The Truth About Procrastination

    ADHD

    Those With ADHD or ASD Are More Likely to Suffer Anxiety, Depression

    COVID

    CPS Asks Students to Take COVID Test Before Returning

    Trending Tags

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

    New Laws Begin Next Year in Illinois

    Real Issues

    Real Issues in the K-Pop Industry

    China

    China Protests Against COVID and Lack of Freedom

    Trending Tags

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

    Lakesia Collins the Superhero of the West Side

    youth

    AMBER-ALERT Missing Youth in Chicago

    Lightfoot

    The Lightfoot Campaign Might Be Investigated

    Trending Tags

    • U.S.
    • U.S. Census
    • Politics
  • Business
    • All
    • Jobs
    Phalanx

    January’s Letter From Phalanx Family Services’ CEO

    Chicago

    Chicago Is Home to Restaurant’s With High-Grossing in All America

    Tre'byen

    Branding With Tre’byen Sets New Standards

    Trending Tags

    • Wall Street
    • Trump
    • Bankruptcy
    • Federal Reserve Bank
  • Technology
  • Entertainment
    • All
    • Arts
    • Book Review
    • Chicago Film Office
    • Gaming
    • Movie
    • Music
    • Review
    renner

    Jeremy Renner Receives Love From Fans After Tragic Snowplow Accident

    avatar

    ‘Avatar 2’ Crosses $1 Billion Mark at Global Box Office

    White

    Earth, Wind & Fire Drummer, Fred White, Dies at 67

    Trending Tags

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

    Exoplanet 55 Cancri E Has 17.5 Hour Year

    Dangers

    Dangers of Smoking Tobacco

    Breast Cancer

    Breast Cancer Awareness Month Is in October

    Trending Tags

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

    The Truth About Procrastination

    ADHD

    Those With ADHD or ASD Are More Likely to Suffer Anxiety, Depression

    COVID

    CPS Asks Students to Take COVID Test Before Returning

    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
14
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

  • Lakesia Collins the Superhero of the West Side
  • AMBER-ALERT Missing Youth in Chicago
  • Patricia Ezeanyim Bio

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

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

Subscribe Now