Colm FitzpatrickA day for father figures
This weekend we celebrate two occasions- Father's Day and Trinity Sunday. Each celebration honours father figures, and as they fall on the same date this year, this makes both celebrations all the more precious.
Father's Day was originally founded in the early 20th Century not long after Mother's Day was founded. It was designed to complement Mother's Day and it was promoted to celebrate male parenting, and to recognise the importance of male influence on society. Itís important to let your parents know regularly what they mean to you.
Having separate holidays for them means you can make a fuss over them individually. Show your father or another male relative to whom you look up to what they mean to you this Sunday, starting with breakfast in bed. Whatever way you spend the day depends on your own dadís hobbies and interests so you can surprise your dad with a planned activity for the day. Make a Father's Day card in the shape of something that will give him a clue to what the surprise is. For example if you are going out together as a family to go bowling or to play mini golf, design the card into a bowling pin or a golf ball.
The feast of the Holy Trinity has been celebrated from as early as the 10th Century. Celebration gradually spread in the churches of northern Europe, and in the 14th Century Pope John XII approved it for the entire Church. It is the only major Christian festival that celebrates a Church doctrine rather than an event in its sacred history. The doctrine of the Holy Trinity recognises God as three persons: the father, the son and the Holy Spirit, and we honour this doctrine on the feast day. Mass on this day is themed around the Trinity and the liturgical colour is usually white.
At the weekend you can recite this Holy Trinity prayer in the morning and the evening:
'O God, Thou who art one in nature and three in persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, first cause and last end of all creatures, the infinite Good, incomprehensible and ineffable, my Creator, my Redeemer, and my Sanctifier, I believe in Thee, I hope in Thee, and I love Thee with all my heart.'