Abba Our Father

This is a work that lays out the foundation and framework for a feast in honor of God the Father. We explore here the biblical, liturgical, patristic, conciliar, papal, theological, anthropological, millennial, ecumenical, and grace-generating grounds that call for a feast of Abba our Father, Father of the human family.

Today, as never before, we are offered a unique opportunity to complete the biblical, liturgical and theological pilgrimage to the Father that began with Jesus' announcement of "the hour ... when true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and truth." The feasts in honor of Jesus and the Holy Spirit need to be complemented by a feast in honor of the Father who sent them on the salvific mission. We can participate in Jesus' mission to "glorify" his Abba Father when we too glorify him in a feast as our Abba Father, the Father of the human family.

The feast would also make sense of the biblical narratives. Both Old and New Testaments are accounts of separation from God and a return to God. Once we understand that we come from the Father and that we are called to return to the Father, everything in the Bible and in our lives would fall into place.

Above all, the feast would focus attention on the most important truth of all: God's infinite, unconditional love for each one of us and the urgency of our response to his invitation. "God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that no one who believes in him would die but instead would live forever" (John 3:16).

The infinite Love of the Father is what the feast is all about and why it is essential. It is the Father's Love for us that we would discover, celebrate, commemorate and partake of most fully in the feast.