VIDEO: Call No Man Father?

We call priests and the men who gave us the issue of life Father because God wants us to know his love and his fatherhood in a very real way.  Yet because we do fail in this regard, Jesus tells us to "Call no man on earth our father" (Mt 23:9) so that we don't get too caught up in their lack of fatherhood.  Instead we may entrust ourselves to the real Father, who is the only one ultimately worthy of the name, for whom every other father, spiritual or human is a very poor substitute and stand-in.

Interpreting the bible according to the bible tells us that Jesus called Abraham Father (Mt 9:3; Lk 3:8), Mary spoke of Abraham as Father in her magnificat (Lk 1:55).  St. Paul called himself Father (1 Cor 4:15; 1 Thess 2:11-12).  St Peter and St John called David their Father (Acts 4:25).