"We cannot depart here unchanged," said Father Paul D. Scalia
in the funeral homily for his father, Justice Antonin Scalia.
Indeed, as I listened to a son reflect on his dad and
glimpsed the justice's nine children and 36 grandchildren at
the funeral, something about Justice Scalia's fatherhood
confronted me.
"I have found his death to be a great inspiration to be
courageous," one friend and fellow dad told me after watching
the online video of the 16-minute funeral homily. Seven
challenges struck me:
1. "Jesus
He died and rose for Dad
a
sinner"
First, Jesus Christ: "We give thanks, first of all," said
Father Scalia, "for the atoning death and life-giving
resurrection of Jesus Christ
and we give thanks that
He died and rose for Dad."
Justice Scalia once wrote of "God's inexplicable mercy to a
sinner" and understood himself as a sinner. Can we imagine
one of our children - at our own funeral - placing our life
in such a precise and truthful way, in the context of our
life with and in Christ? There is still time to put Jesus
first.
2. "Deep Catholic faith"
"God blessed Dad with a deep Catholic faith," said Father
Scalia, "the conviction that Christ's presence and power
continue in the world today through his Body, the Church. He
loved the clarity and coherence of the Church's teaching. He
treasured the Church's ceremonies
He trusted the
power of the Sacraments as the means of salvation
"
Could one of my kids, at my passing, say I did the same?
3. "He loved us"
"He loved us, and sought to show that love," Father Scalia
said. Sure, Justice Scalia had "intellect, his writings, his
speeches, his influence, and so on," said Father Scalia, but
"more important to us - and to him - is that he was Dad." How
often do we chase the allure of the "and so on" of our career
at the expense of giving our families our love?
4. "The great adventure of family life"
"He was the father that God gave us for the great adventure
of family life." These simple words call us fathers to a
certain examination of heart: How are we doing on this
adventure? Are we selfish, petty, anxious, withdrawn and
irritable - or are we joyfully laying down our lives for our
wives to make our families the "great adventure" our children
deserve to recall at our own funeral?
5. "The greatest wealth"
"And he gave us one another," said Father Scalia, referring
to his eight siblings, "to have each other for support.
That's the greatest wealth that parents can bestow
"
My siblings remain close to me, and the unfolding of our
children's love for one another continually amazes my wife
and me. Do we give our marriages to the Lord in a way which
opens this "great adventure" to the "greatest wealth" of
children?
6. "Share the blessing"
Justice Scalia "sought to share the blessing of the Faith he
treasured." A dad who blesses his wife and children is one
who selflessly reflects the blessings of the heavenly Father.
Do others see us as channels of the Father's blessing?
7. "The country's good servant"
"Dad understood that the deeper he went in his Catholic
faith," said Father Scalia, "the better a citizen and a
public servant he became. God blessed him with a desire to be
the country's good servant, because he was God's first." Are
we known as men who take the blessing of our faith into the
public square?
How "thin the veil is," Father Scalia said, "between this
world and the next
between the opportunity for
conversion and the moment for judgment." Justice Scalia had
79 years to receive and nurture the gift of Christ and His
church; to love and bless his wife and children; and to serve
his country. While none of us dads know our day or hour, we
know the veil is thin. Today we can still give "thanks for
God's inexplicable mercy" to us sinners and turn anew to
Christ.
May this good servant rest in peace, and, we pray, enjoy
eternity with the One he served.
Johnson, a husband and father of five, is Arlington Bishop
Paul S. Loverde's delegate for evangelization and media.