THANK YOU, FATHER

In June, we celebrate Father’s Day in this part of the world. Blessed be God that we all have a Loving Father of whom Jesus Christ spoke so much about. We should congratulate all fathers and say to them, we thank our Heavenly Father for giving us the gift of life, for forming us in our mother’s womb!

Jesus taught His disciples how to pray, beginning with the phrase “Our Father who art in Heaven…” (Mt 6:9-13). Whoever succeeds in understanding and knowing who the Heavenly Father is, has found a true Father’s Love.

In our Hispanic culture, most men who have been or are fathers face a huge dilemma, it is very difficult to be loving fathers as defined by expressing love for our sons and daughters because we drag along the machismo of our ancestors which complicates modern life. One day while praying at a retreat, the image of my father, Don Jose, came to my mind and for the first time, I felt a compassion instead of resentment towards him. At that moment, I cried because the Lord made me understand that my father lived a life of loneliness and his father, that is my grandfather, did not know how to give him love and thus my father got trapped by alcohol and lived a lonely life, as a result of his ancestry he did not know how to show me his love; because of that retreat encounter, I ended up feeling very sorry for him, may he rest in peace. Since that day, by the Grace of God, I was freed from my resentment of Don Jose.

Today, I pray for all of us men whose fathers were unable to show us the love we needed so much as kids. I was a good candidate to repeat the same to my children as my father did to me because I did not have a loving father by my side to show me the way to be a good, loving father to my three kids. The wonderful thing is that I recognized the love of Our Loving Heavenly Father, the one that Jesus presents to us in the parable of the Prodigal Son as the merciful, loving father. That model of a loving father changed my life and I decided to learn to be an affectionate and loving father as a result to my kids. When our first son was born, I began to practice and I would tell him, “I love you “mijo”!” and kiss him.

And I did the same with my other two children, to the point that even as young adults and even now that they are parents, I hug them, tell them that I love them and kiss them. It does not matter that they are grown men, and the same goes for my daughter. And all this resulted from an encounter with Jesus, Son of the Father. It was through Him that I was able to cut the chains of the past and the lack of love of our ancestors who did not recognize the Love of the Heavenly Father as a practical matter; I invite you to do the same as I have done, for the love of God.

Today, I invite you to forgive your earthly father, the man who failed you as a father and did not show you love, because he did not receive love either; get closer to your Loving Father as of now, ask for forgiveness and begin to show your much needed love to your children or prepare now so you can show love to your children when you do have them. Do not be afraid to tell them you love them; “I love you; I am with you ‘mijo’/‘mija’.” Give them hugs and kisses, even if you have not received them yourself from your earthly father, for Our Father has caressed us and shown us His greatest Love from Heaven. Remember; “for God so Loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have Eternal Life.” (John 3:16).

As I write this letter, God inspired me to hold a virtual Men’s Gathering Night on June 18, 2024 so that everyone can participate from wherever they are located. I will talk a little more about this topic of showing appropriate love to your family and the struggles Hispanic men face in a modern world. The enemy is attacking us very strongly and if we don’t have Jesus with us, we will be bound in the chains of the past and by the hands of the enemy. It is not by chance that you have read this letter, it is your Heavenly Father who comes looking for you, to free you through His Son.

To experience the Love of God and to then practice His Love on a perpetual basis I invite you to live a life Consecrated to Jesus Christ through the Project I Am the 73rd. On June 25th, we start a new group that will begin the 33-day preparation to be Consecrated on July 27th and credentialed by the Church in a Mass. Join us and do not hesitate to contact us at (818) 745-4398 or write to us at info@iam73.net so that one of our team can help you with your registration to live this transforming encounter with Jesus, daily. At the bottom of this letter, you will find a QR code; scan it with your cell phone to go directly to the registration form.

I thank all of you for your support so that together we can continue to bring the Good News of freedom from the past and a new life in Jesus to millions everyday on TV, Radio and online; it is through these medias and live events that you enable which transforms lives all around the world. Your monthly seed is grown to bear much fruit as it is transformed by the Lord pressed down, shaken and overflowing into an authentic seed of pure Love. I pray for you to our Beloved Jesus. May our Heavenly Father embrace you with His Love and may Our Mother Mary cover you with her mantle and intercession; let it be!

Your friend in Christ,