Father Frank's Think Tank
Father Frank's Think Tank
24 August 2025
24 August 2025 - 21st Sunday of Ordinary Time
Reading:
Hebrews 12:8-10
Write:
For what "son" is there whom his father does not discipline?
If you are without discipline, in which all have shared, you are not sons but … [I will leave the last word unsaid. Some people might not like it. It begins with a “B”.] Besides this, we have had our earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them. Should we not [then] submit all the more to the Father of spirits and live? They disciplined us for a short time as seemed right to them, but he does so for our benefit, in order that we may share his holiness.
Reflect:
These are the verses that are skipped in our reading this weekend. There are two points I would choose to make from this. One is how great God is that he chooses to discipline us. The second is how terrible it is when fathers, or mothers, fail to discipline well.
Apply:
Let’s look at the second first. I know there are many theories about what constitutes good or bad discipline. I am not going to presume to offer specific advice that would be in any way universal. But I would start by mentioning a story I heard from a pastor in Columbine after the massacre that happened in that school in nineteen ninety-nine. He was trying to explain why those boys chose to attack the way they did, and why they killed themselves in the end. This pastor suggested that the reason why they did what they did was because no one was giving these boys any resistance. No one ever told them they could not do that – whatever ““that” was. They started pushing until they finally pushed against something that was an ultimate barrier, namely death. If their parents had been more attentive and even aggressive in their discipline, giving the boys limits that they could not pass without consequences, they may not have tried to push against the ultimate barrier of death.
I was surprised when I researched this that it was already more than twenty-five years ago. I daresay our society has not improved much – if at all – in this area. But it is not only in this. You can look at so many different aspects of our society and see where discipline is breaking down. No one wants to take responsibility for their own actions. This is yet another side of the problem.
Because people have not been disciplined as they were growing up, they do not feel they are responsible for what they do now.
I think this is why we see so many problems in so many cities around the country. Where family life is stronger, there seems to be less problems. I do not think that is… coincidence! It has to do with the basics of discipline.
Now, as I said I was not going to get into specifics about what is good or bad discipline. Though I do think it is important to also note that there is a difference between discipline and abuse. When I got in trouble as a kid – and it happened all too often – my mom would say simply: “go get the paddle.” As a kid, I would have to go out to the kitchen, pull a chair over next to the stove, get up on the chair and retrieve the paddle that hung on the pegboard, then get down and move the chair to the middle of the kitchen floor, then bend over the chair. All the while saying: “no, mommy, no – I’ll be good, mommy, I’ll be good!” And I would carry on with other stuff of protestations such as: “hubadadee, bubadee, no mommy!” Well, the end result of that was: that there was no way my mom was going to beat me – spank me, yes – beat me, no. She probably had to keep from laughing at this kid carrying on like that. She knew how to defuse her anger and still discipline. Was that the best way possible? I can’t answer that. I know it worked.
My dad’s discipline was very different. His mere presence was enough of a discipline. I was not scared of my dad. In fact I was closer to him that I was to my mom – even as a kid. I never wanted to disappoint him. If he was home from the fire department, mom never asked for the paddle. She just turned to him and let him take care of the discipline. And it was always in a way that helped me to see both his love for me and his disappointment in me in that moment.
Honestly, I marvel at the courage and the skill of parents who are doing things right these days. Our society has sent so many wrong signals about what it means to grow up properly – in a disciplined family. Parents who try to discipline find themselves far too often needing to look over their shoulder because someone might not like what they are doing. It is a strange and mixed-up world.
And that leads me to my other point. What about the discipline of God? We talk so much about the mercies of God, and we NEED to. But, look at the question and the response of Jesus in the gospel today:
Someone asked him, “Lord, will only a few people be saved?" He answered them, "Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I tell you, will attempt to enter but will not be strong enough.”
God chooses to discipline us while still giving us freedom. This is one of the reasons why there seems to be so much failure regarding paying attention to the ways of the Lord. God disciplines us to help us to grow stronger spiritually. That discipline takes a lot of different paths – probably as many different paths as there are different people.
Given that, part of God’s discipline may seem a little strange. Let me explain. God chooses to place his protective hands around us, protecting us from things that we never see spiritually. But if we choose to ignore the discipline of the Lord and his promptings toward holiness, he simply removes his protective hands. I think that is what we are seeing in our society today. There are so many broken families where the men are absent. The youth in these families are searching for someone to teach them to be Men of God. Because of the dearth of good, masculine, and holy examples, many of our youth wander about searching for meaning. It is supposed to be up to dads to be the example of our Heavenly Father.
Because of this type of spiritual malaise, caused by the abdication of the right place of dads in the family, we are seeing a lack of understanding of the leadership of God in our lives. When men fail to be Men of God, the entire society suffers.
I will use that phrase again: “sorry, not sorry!” It may be that some of you hearing these comments this weekend think I am being sexist or being too hard on men. The truth is that we are struggling to find role models for good, holy, righteous Men of God.
I have been reading a challenging book this last week titled “Consecration to St. Joseph: the Wonders of Our Spiritual Father”. I recommend it to any and every dad, grandpa, or great-grandpa in our parishes. I remember my dad when he recognized my niece’s need for a father figure when her dad died. My dad stepped up and helped my sister with her daughter.
There is no way around this kind of issue. Our society needs Men of God who are willing to stand and be counted. Men who are willing to enter the fray to show the splendor of God, his discipline, and his mercy. My brothers in Christ: it is time to get to work for the sake of the kingdom of God, for the sake of our brothers and sisters who need holy examples. Turn to St. Joseph.
Pray/Praise:
Let’s pray the Litany of St. Joseph:
Lord, have mercy Lord, have mercy
Christ, have mercy Christ, have mercy
Lord, have mercy Lord, have mercy
God our Father in heaven have mercy on us
God the Son, Redeemer of the world have mercy on us
God the Holy Spirit have mercy on us
Holy Trinity, one God have mercy on us
Holy Mary pray for us
St. Joseph pray for us
Noble son of the House of David pray for us
Light of patriarchs pray for us
Husband of the Mother of God pray for us
Guardian of the Virgin pray for us
Foster father of the Son of God pray for us
Faithful guardian of Christ pray for us
Head of the Holy Family pray for us
Joseph, chaste and just pray for us
Joseph, prudent and brave pray for us
Joseph, obedient and loyal pray for us
Pattern of patience pray for us
Lover of poverty pray for us
Model of workers pray for us
Example to parents pray for us
Guardian of virgins pray for us
Pillar of family life pray for us
Comfort of the troubled pray for us
Hope of the sick pray for us
Patron of the dying pray for us
Terror of demons pray for us
Protector of the Church pray for us
Savior of the Savior pray for us
Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world have mercy on us
Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world have mercy on us
Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world have mercy on us
God made him master of his household.
And put him in charge of all that he owned.
Let us pray. O God, who in your inexpressible providence were pleased to choose Saint Joseph as spouse of the most holy Mother of your Son, grant, we pray, that we, who revere him as our protector on earth, may be worthy of his heavenly intercession. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
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