St. Paul also applies the term “father” to himself, while on more than one
occasion he writes to his own as if they were his children:
“I am not writing this to make you ashamed, but to admonish you as my
beloved children. For though you might have ten thousand guardians in
Christ, you do not have many fathers. Indeed, in Christ Jesus I became
your father through the gospel” (1 Cor. 4:14-15).
“Here I am, ready to come to you this third time. And I will not be a
burden, because I do not want what is yours but you; for children ought not
to lay up for their parents, but parents for their children” (2 Cor. 12:14).
“But Timothy’s worth you know, how as a son with a father he has served
with me in the gospel” (Phil. 2:22).
“…for you know how, like a father with his children, we exhorted each one
of you and encouraged you and charged you” (1 Thes. 2:11).
“To Timothy, his beloved son in faith. Grace, mercy, and peace from God
the Father, and from Christ Jesus our Lord” (1 Tim. 1:2).
“To Titus my beloved son, according to the common faith, grace and peace
from God the Father, and from Christ Jesus our Savior” (Tit. 1:4).
“I am appealing to you for my child, Onesimus, whose father I have
become during my imprisonment” (Phile. 1:10).
In similar vein do the other Apostles themselves write:
“Your sister church in Babylon, chosen together with you, sends you
greetings; and so does my son Mark” (1 Pet. 5:13).
“I am writing to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven on
account of his name. I am writing to you, fathers, because you know him
who is from the beginning” (1 John 2:12-13).
From these verses it is evident that the title “father” was used not with any
sense of pride, but rather to engender tenderness and affection within
spiritual relationships. The Catholic Church wishes her children to act in
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