The Vinnies. Click here to read report

The vast majority of us were blessed with good and kindly fathers. By their loving care, our fathers helped us to know something of the fatherhood of God. Tradition tells us that Jesus had St Joseph for a foster-father. No doubt Jesus too, in his humanity, learned much about the fatherhood of God through this kind and hard-working man.

It is somewhat ironic that this Sunday’s gospel, on the face of it, has Jesus instructing his disciples to ‘hate’ father, mother and other close family. But, of course, Jesus was merely pointing out that loving God always has priority. Usually though our families support us in faith, and so there is no conflict.

One of the many blessings of our modern age is that fathers feel much more free to show affection, kindness and friendship to their children. Perhaps in times past these signs of love may have been seen as unmanly. Praise to God that so many fathers are generous in their love. This is surely a sign of genuine, biblical fatherhood; this is surely an image of the fatherhood of God.