Episode Transcript
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Hi, my name is Luke Thomsen
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and I am the Assistant Principal for Religious Education
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here at St Stephen’s School in Algester.
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I absolutely love my vocation as a Catholic school teacher,
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but primarily and predominantly,
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I am privileged to have the vocation of husband
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to my wife Sarah and father
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to our four beautiful children.
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I’ve been reflecting lately on my vocation as a father
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and the dispositions I seem to constantly
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cycle through as a dad.
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These dispositions are
love, joy, failure, forgiveness and gratitude.
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Now, I don’t think this is like a linear cycle,
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as though love and joy cease when failure arises,
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but cyclical in the sense that
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the circumstances of my fatherhood
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lead me to bring one of these dispositions
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to the forefront of my consciousness
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whilst the others
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seem to remain quietly present in the background.
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What do I mean by this?
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Well, let’s say when I’ve been
angry with my children for example,
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maybe for making a mess of their rooms or
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leaving their towels on the bathroom floor.
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In that moment, I feel a sense of failure
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for getting angry.
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But my heart softens
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with the repentant words,
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“sorry daddy”.
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In that one moment,
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love wells up and breaks the banks of my hardened heart,
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forgiveness come flowing like a river
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and joy overflows compelling me to reach out
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and embrace my son or daughter in gratitude
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for the gift that they are to me.
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You know when Jesus teaches his disciples to pray,
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He begins with two simple yet profound words,
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“Our Father.”
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He doesn’t say ‘my Father’,
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He says ‘Our Father’ and in that moment,
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Jesus invites us into the same intimate relationship
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He shares with God the Father;
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a relationship not of distance,
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but of closeness,
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a relationship of family.
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And the word that Jesus uses ‘Abba’
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is even more intimate.
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It’s not formal or distant.
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It’s the kind of word that my daughter might use
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when climbing into my lap for a cuddle.
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Abba speaks of trust, warmth, and belonging.
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So as we reflect on the vocation of fatherhood
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and the role that dads play in our lives,
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let us turn to God our Abba,
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lifting up every father
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with love and appreciation.
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In the name of the Father,
and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
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Amen.
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Loving God, Our Father, our Abba,
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We thank You for the gift of fatherhood,
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for the sacred calling to love,
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guide, and grow alongside our children.
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You invite us into a relationship
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that is not distant, but deeply personal,
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like a child calling out to their dad.
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You are not just the Father,
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but You are our Father,
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and in that word ‘our’,
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You draw us into Your family,
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a communion of love and belonging.
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Help us, Lord, to be fathers
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who reflect Your heart;
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not perfectly like yours, but present.
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Not always knowing what to do,
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but always willing to show up.
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We thank You for the everyday moments
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for laughter around the dinner table,
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for bedtime stories and good nights,
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for the moments of growth
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when we fail to reflect Your fatherly love
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and for the chance to be a steady presence
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in the lives of our children.
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And in this continuous cycle
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of love, joy, failure, forgiveness, and gratitude,
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may our children, through our love,
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come to know You more deeply as their Abba,
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as their loving Father.
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In the name of Your beloved son Jesus, we pray.
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Amen.
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In the name of the Father,
and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
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Amen.
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Saint Joseph, diligent protector of Christ,
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pray for us.
