Psalm 62: “In you alone is my soul at rest. My help comes from You.”

Ellen, age 14, is the daughter of Adam, in his mid-forties. She startled him one day recently by asking: “Dad, why are you always happy and with a smile?” I imagine that any father, except for the most committedly gruff, would be flattered by such a question. Adam recalls saying: “I told her I have a lot to be happy for, and if she remembers me as being a happy person, that would be wonderful. Of course, I am not always cheerful, and she knows that. I’m fortunate that usually I am.”

Girls her age may be struggling, going back and forth between confidence and self-doubt; certainly not models of stability. She wonders how a person like her Dad can be continually in good spirits, so stable and confident, when she has more ups and downs.  Most of us must grow into, if we ever do, such a happy state. 

God forbid I should pretend to understand a 14-year-old girl! But extrapolating a bit from the struggles and moods of a 14-year-old boy as I remember them, my memory is of a largely baffled, confused boy. My father had a taciturn exterior that in the right company could become quite jovial. However, it wasn’t cool for a 14-year-old boy to be impressed by his father’s humor. Now I tell people I want to be like Adam when I grow up. (Think about that!)

Psalm 27: “I believe I shall see the Lord’s goodness / in the land of the living.

Wait for the Lord; be strong; / be stouthearted, and wait for the Lord!”

Reply to Fr. Don at: DTalafous@csbsju.edu

Watch Daily Mass online at: SaintJohnsAbbey.org/live

Send your prayer requests to the monks