A ‘Father’ to all of us

Last June 15, we celebrated Father’s Day. My father had a difficult time sending us five siblings through college. After paying my monthly board and lodging, I barely had enough money for snacks at school and during my long study hours.

I marched up the Ateneo stage to receive my law diploma and later took my oath as a lawyer before the Supreme Court. But my father and my mother chose to miss both occasions because plane fares were high and I still had two younger brothers in college. My father passed away in 1970, fully accomplishing his tasks as a father.

But I have another Father. He is a Father to us all. The Gospel passage for June 19 (Matthew 6:7-15) teaches us to pray to our Father who calls us His children. He has been with me all through my 76 years. I trust He will continue to sustain me for more years to come.

Our Father is only a prayer away. Let us pray regularly to our Father who is “merciful and gracious, slow to anger and rich in kindness and fidelity” (First Reading, June 15, Exodus 34, at v. 6).

—VIRGILIO C. ABEJO,

retired justice, Quezon City