The Valley Catholic
commentary
October 7, 2014
17
Spirituality
Fatherless at the Depth of our Being
By Rev. Ron Rolheiser
Anthropologists tell us that fatherhunger, a frustrated desire to be blessed
by our own fathers, is one of the deepest
hungers in the world today, especially
among men. Millions of people sense
that they have not received their father’s blessing. Robert Bly, Robert Moore, Richard Rohr, and James Hillman, among others, offer some rich insights into this.
We suffer from being fatherless. However, in its
deepest root, this suffering is something far beyond the
mere absence of a blessing from our biological fathers.
We tend to be fatherless in a much deeper way. How so?
Some 25 years ago, a French philosopher, Jean-Luc
Marion wrote a book entitled, God Without Being,
within which he offers a very challenging interpretation of the famous parable of the Prodigal Son.
We’re all familiar with the parable: A father had two
sons. The younger comes to him and says: ‘Father give
me the share of the property that’s coming to me.’ His
father shares out his goods. The younger son takes his
share, leaves for a distant country, and squanders his
property on a life of debauchery. When he has spent
everything, he finds himself hungry and humiliated
and sets off to return to his father’s house, where he
Long Pants
By Gregory R. Kepferle
When anti-apartheid leader Nelson
Mandela was in prison on Robben Island
in South Africa under a life sentence,
he struggled to see the humanity in his
captors while maintaining a sense of
dignity and hope in his own humanity.
He encouraged his fellow inmates by advocating for small victories. Black inmates were forced to
wear shorts as a symbol of degradation, for only “boys”
wore shorts. “Men” wore long pants. Through persistent
advocacy and by developing a human connection with
his oppressors, Mandela affected a conversion of the
heart, of his own and of the guards. The concrete sign
of this conversion came when the inmates were finally
issued long pants. A small victory, a small step on the
long road to freedom, but that is how the journey begins.
When I think of Nelson Mandela enduring 27 years
of prison, I think of all those who are incarcerated and
how they can find dignity and hope. Catholic Charities staff and volunteers help thousands of inmates in
our county jails through our Inmate Services (formerly
Friends Outside) and help those released from jail and
prison who need help finding jobs, housing, and help
with recovery through substance abuse and mental
health counseling and a connection to supportive faith
communities. In our Bridges of Hope faith-based reentry partnership with Recovery Café and St. Joseph
Cathedral, our Right Directions employment program,
and our Behavioral Health services we see small victories every day. Someone gets a driver’s license, someone
else stays clean and sober for another day, another finds
a job, and a parent reunites with their child.
In scripture we read, “When I was in prison you
visited me.” And “Set the captives free.” As we visit
those in jail and as we walk with them on the journey
to recovery when they are released from jail, we need
to ask ourselves, what are the prisons we lock ourselves
into and what are our small victories of freedom today?
What are our “long pants”?
Visit www.catholiccharitiesscc.org/assisting-adults
to learn more or volunteer with Catholic Charities
Bridges to Hope Program.
Gregory R. Kepferle is CEO, Catholic Charities of Santa
Clara County.
‘Our lives are not our own.
Our lives are a gift and always need
to be received as gift.’
is undeservedly greeted, embraced, and taken back
by his father.
At one level, the lesson is clear: God’s mercy is so
wide and compassionate that nothing we can do will
ever stop God from loving us. Many wonderful books
have been written to highlight this, not least Henri
Nouwen’s classic, The Return of the Prodigal Son.
But Jean-Luc Marion, drawing upon the specific
wording of the Greek text, emphasizes another element
in this story. The Greek text implies that the son went to
his father and asked for something more than property
and money. It says that he asked his father for his share
of the property (ousia). Ousia, in Greek, means “substance.” He’s asking for his