Why we call the priest "Father"?

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From the Gospel of the last 31st Sunday in Ordinary time, we can read that Jesus told us “Call no one on earth your father; you have but one Father in heaven” (Mat 23,9).

Why do we call the priest “Father”? Are they worthy of being called “Father” against this Gospel? We should stop calling them 'Father"? Why we call them “Father” ? What is your answer?
 
DF9 said:
From the Gospel of the last 31st Sunday in Ordinary time, we can read that Jesus told us “Call no one on earth your father; you have but one Father in heaven” (Mat 23,9).

Why do we call the priest “Father”? Are they worthy of being called “Father” against this Gospel? We should stop calling them 'Father"? Why we call them “Father” ? What is your answer?
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Ephesians 3:14-15

“For this reason I kneel before the Father, 15whom all fatherhood in heaven and on earth derives its name.”

Can you decipher what it’s trying to say? 🙂

-MontChevaler
 
Each time this question is raised,I can’t help but wonder initially , how the person asking the question addressed their own father in life : Whether they used the appellation of “father” when speaking to him, or instead, the slightly more obscure derivative of “father” - “daddy” ?

… according to one etymology dictionary:
An Etymology Dictionary quoting:
DAD, a father. (Celtic) In Shak. Tw. Nt. iv. 2. 140; K. John, ii. 467.—W. tad, father; Corn. tat. + Bret. tad, tat, father. + Irish daid. + Gael. daidein, papa (used by children).
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🙂

Whatever the case , one of the main reasons, if not the reason we call priests “Father” is because they beget children in the spiritual order.

It is quite clear in Pope Pius XII’s Apostolic Exhortation MENTI NOSTRAE (1950).
An excerpt from that Apostolic Exhortation appears just below. The entire document can be found here at the EWTN library .

**MENTI NOSTRAE

Celibacy**
  1. The priest has as the proper field of his activity everything that pertains to the supernatural life, since it is he who promotes the increase of this supernatural life and communicates it to the Mystical Body of Jesus Christ. Consequently, it is necessary that he renounce “the things of the world,” in order to have care only for “the things of the Lord”. And it is precisely because he should be free from preoccupation with worldly things to dedicate himself entirely to the divine service, that the Church has established the law of celibacy, thus making it ever more manifest to all peoples that the priest is a minister of God and the father of souls. By his law of celibacy, the priest, so far from losing the gift and duties of fatherhood, rather increases them immeasurably, for, although he does not beget progeny for this passing life of earth, he begets children for that life which is heavenly and eternal. "
I think you’ll find that Pope Paul VI also alludes to this same dynamic in his encyclical SACERDOTALIS CAELIBATUS (1967) … can be read here at the vatican.va website.

Jesus also said in Matthew 5:29-30

"If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one of your members than to have your whole body thrown into Gehenna.

And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one of your members than to have your whole body go into Gehenna."

… But … many of the sinners I know still have both intact …:hmmm:
 
By a rigid, literal reading of the bible, we should not use the word teacher, master or father. As well, none of us should still have two eyes, hands or feet. I know of not one person who has ever asked this question who has plucked a sinful eye out, or cut a sinful hand off. When the rubber hits the road, literalism veers into the ditch. Scripture teaches principle, not precision.
 
(@ po18guy :according to the position of this post and my previous one, you still appear to be wedged between a wacky Canuck)

The Franciscans sometimes refer to St. Francis of Assisi (who remained a deacon) as their fraternal Father Francis. JR Education (Br. JR) wrote a really enjoyable piece on how St. Francis is sometimes referred to by the Franciscans as their Holy Father Francis, but I can’t seem to locate it.

Maybe someone else can. It would be great to read it again.
 
NeedImprovement said:
(@ po18guy :according to the position of this post and my previous one, you still appear to be wedged between a wacky Canuck).
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Oooops! I’m afraid I glossed over your pertinent point at the end of your post. Great minds, or at least those wedged in somewhere, tend to think alike, eh?
 
NeedImprovement said:
(@ po18guy :according to the position of this post and my previous one, you still appear to be wedged between a wacky Canuck)

The Franciscans sometimes refer to St. Francis of Assisi (who remained a deacon) as their fraternal Father Francis. JR Education (Br. JR) wrote a really enjoyable piece on how St. Francis is sometimes referred to by the Franciscans as their Holy Father Francis, but I can’t seem to locate it.

Maybe someone else can. It would be great to read it again.
Click to expand...
Well, I can’t speak to the reason why some Franciscans refer to St. Francis as “Holy Father Francis” but I can vouch for the veracity of the statement. There is a Franciscan house nearby where I occasionally make retreat and the sisters call him by that title. It’s actually rather touching to hear them do that. 🙂
 
Only in Catholicism is the priest honored as the “Alter Christus” and worthy of the appellation “Father”.
 
I am not given to conspiracy but I swear some jacknoggan was trying the hijack the holy Mass by not including the rest of the verse in the Lectionary.

…and call no man teacher.

Honestly, consider these words. If we take them literally we are still allowed to call Mary by Her God-given titles, Our Mother.

When I was a sergeant in the Marine Corps, I had fundamentalist young men in my charge who would call their own earthly fathers anything but father. A patently ridiculous way to live. I’ve even had a cousin whose husband told me that nobody is call a man father even their own dads.
 
Just as an historical aside, the use of “Father” for diocesan priests is fairly modern and started in the English speaking world. In early Christianity Father was a title limited to Abbots (lit. “abba”) and Bishops, hence “Papa” for Pope.

During the Middle Ages spiritual advisers from the religious orders were sometimes called “ghostly Father” in English. In Italy and Spain too members of the Counterreformation religious orders took on the title Father. Secular, ie diocesan priests were called Mr in English down to the early 19nth Century. In Italy the traditional title is still 'don" plus surname, or first name. The Germans use Hochwurdiger Herr.
 
Context is everything. The Pharisees attempted to justify themselves through their blood relation to Abraham. They constantly used the name of Abraham, a just man, in an attempt to infer that their own actions were also just. Jesus in John 8:39-44 speaks to this. He told the Pharisees that, as it stood, not even God was their father, but rather, the devil! He spoke directly to the Pharisees when He said this. He was teaching them a principle, not a precise practice.

Jesus Himself uses the term “father” in the parable of the two sons (Matthew 21:31). Does anyone accuse Jesus of sinning, or of hypocrisy?

In Luke 1:32, the Archangel Gabriel tells Mary that God will give Jesus the throne of “David, His* father*”

Houston, we have a problem! If only some of those who live by bible alone would actually read the entire bible!
 
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