Expert: Fr. Michael - 7/29/2005

Question
Why do you call the piest father when the Bible says,call no man father?

Answer
       St. Matthew's Gospel (23:9/DR) contains the words:  "And call none your father upon earth:  for one is your Father, who is in heaven."  For some reason some Protestants seem to miss entirely the meaning of the passage, taking the words out of context.  "Why do Catholics call their priests
"father"?  This is not scriptural, they say.

       Like so many things in the Sacred Scriptures, the context makes it clear that Our Lord's words are not to be taken literally in the way those Protestants do.  And how do we know that such passages in Scripture are not to be taken literally?  Because Scripture itself tells us so!  "And he spoke to them many things in parables...." (Matthew 13:3).

       Now, what is a parable?  It is an extended simile, figurative language to make a spiritual point, not to be taken in a literal, non-spiritual way, any more than we take literally the animals talking in Aesop's fables.  The figurative language is for effect, to stir our imagination and to lead us to the moral of the story.

       Moreover, St. Paul in his Epistle to the Galatians (4:24) says explicitly that he is speaking "by an allegory."  Now, what is an allegory?  It is an extended metaphor, figurative language to make a spiritual point, not to be taken in a literal, non-spiritual way.

       When saying "call none your father upon earth," Our Lord cannot mean literally that you cannot call anyone by the name "father."  That would be nonsensical and in error, as St. Augustine said, "lest Holy Scripture be exposed to ridicule."  What do those Protestants call their own father:  
"Joe" or "Sid"?  Of course not; that is ridiculous.  They call their father "father" and think nothing of it.

       If one reads the context of the passage, Our Lord is making the spiritual point that our heavenly Father is incomparably more to be regarded than any natural or spiritual father on earth.  But, by the Fourth
Commandment, Our Lord's words cannot mean that we are not to have due respect in addressing our parents and our spiritual fathers.  In fact, St. Paul in his First Epistle to the Corinthians (4:15), claims for himself, and others,
the respect of being called a father spiritually.  Thus, the title is quite scriptural, a reasonable title of respect for a priest, just as the term "brethren" in the Scriptures applies to spiritual, not natural, brothers.

       Those Protestants might as well say call no one "reverend," for only one is to be revered -- God alone.  Otherwise, their own pastors would be in great trouble!  Obviously, this kind of thinking exposes a lack of
understanding of the basic nature of Scripture and entirely misses the spiritual message that Our Lord was trying to convey.