Why pray for fathers?
There is a Catholic “man-crisis.” Large numbers of men who were baptized Catholic have left the Church and the majority of those who remain are “Casual Catholic Men”, men who do not know the Catholic faith and don’t practice it. This is a problem that church leaders and churchgoers must work together to solve going forward.
Fathers, as the priest, prophet, and king of the home, it is spiritually meritorious for the salvation of the family to lead a strong life of faith and bring them to Christ.
A study on a Fathers' Influence on Salvation, conducted by the Leadership Journal, determined that 93% of families will follow the spiritual influence and guidance of the father of the home. This fatherly leadership as priest of the family is extremely efficacious to the Catholic formation of the children and the spiritual health of the marital bond between the husband and wife.
Not only statistics show the role of fathers in bringing their children and family to Christ, but we can also see it in Scriptures. In Acts 16 Paul and Silas shared the gospel with the jailer. The man converts in an instant after seeing a miracle and immediately took the apostles to his house, where they shared Christ with his family.
Far too many families suffer from fathers who are lukewarm and no longer share their faith with their family. We need to pray for men that they are strong father figures - strong in Christ! It's also biblical, the Father was always the special channel of God's Blessing in a family.
It must have been intimidating for St. Joseph to be the head of the Holy Family - Super holy wife - Mary and God himself- Jesus! So what did God do….. He gave him a special blessing as head of the household! Fathers are appointed by God as head of their families! Fathers, please desire and seek out your heavenly Father's blessing! In Jesus, God the Father says to you,"Thou art my beloved son, with thee I am well pleased" (Luke 3:22). The knowledge & experience of His blessing will then enable you to be a blessing to your wife and children. Blessed by your Abba, please pray a blessing upon your family too. They need it!
It is hard to have a family member or other loved one in need of conversion, and sadly this is widespread among Catholic families today. The saints have had to deal with this, too. One of the most famous instances of conversion is that of St. Augustine of Hippo, through the prayers of his holy mother, St. Monica. Year in and year out, she persevered in prayer for the conversion of her loved one and lived to see the answer to her prayers.
At Fatima, Our Lady asked for prayer and sacrifices for the conversion of sinners. On July 13, 1917, she said, “Pray, pray very much, and make sacrifices for sinners; for many souls go to hell, because there are none to sacrifice themselves and to pray for them.” The previous year, the Angel of Portugal had taught the three children a prayer which “beg[s] the conversion of poor sinners.”
“Love is the link binding us to Christ; it is love that gives value to our prayer and makes it fruitful for the salvation of our brothers and sisters” (Sr. Lucia of Fatima).
While we’re on the subject of conversion, let’s think about our own conversion. None of us is exempt from needing some type of conversion. Conversion is a daily process of turning away from sin and drawing closer and closer to Christ.
“Today we can no longer be Christians as a simple consequence of the fact that we live in a society that has Christian roots: even those born to a Christian family and formed in the faith must, each and every day, renew the choice to be a Christian, to give God first place, before the temptations continuously suggested by a secularized culture, before the criticism of many of our contemporaries” (Pope Benedict XVI).