The greatest gift of our lives

My parents had their share of struggles in their marriage and in raising a family of six children. One son died in infancy, and then they lost another when he was just eighteen. I suppose one of the strongest lessons I learned from both my parents was that whatever we were facing, we could always turn to our Catholic faith for strength and support. I will not idealize my relationship with my father. There were some real challenges and conflicts, especially through my teenage years. But as I look back now from a more mature vantage point, I appreciate my father much more.

While I was in the seminary, my relationship with my father grew significantly, and we were blessed with a true mutual respect. I believe my studies and formation for the priesthood helped me to focus on the most important things in life, and when it came to those important things, my father was a rock. He certainly had his faults – a bad temper, which often caused deep hurts in his wife and children – but when it came to the most important elements of being a man, being an American, and being a Catholic, my father was a true role model. He never was very successful financially, and I realize now that much of this lack of success was rooted in a solid integrity that was always ready to speak up when injustice raised its ugly head. Those traits didn’t win him a lot of points with his bosses, but I feel sure that they won him significant points when he stood before the Lord at the end of his life.

One common scenario for all of us Strickland children was the following: one of us would make some sort of mistake or do something bad that another kid had done, and then we would commit the error of responding to my father’s inquiry with “But I didn’t think …”. He would immediately pounce on that phrase, often with a good dollop of anger, and say quite correctly, “That’s just it – you didn’t think.” I admit I never really learned to find another way to respond to my father’s questions, no matter how many times I stepped into the “I didn’t think” trap.

One of the hallmarks of our family was that we were raised to be proud that we were Catholic and to recognize that being Catholic was the best gift we had, the greatest blessing any person or family could have.

Excerpt taken from Because of Our Fathers: 23 Catholics Tell How Their
Fathers Led Them To Christ , edited by Tyler Rowley (Ignatius Press, 2020),
from Chapter 2, “Bishop Joseph Strickland,” pp.38-40. www.ignatius.com.

TYLER ROWLEY is a husband, father, and president of Servants of Christ for Life, which defends unborn children through politics, media, and pro-life activism. He is likewise a leader in young adult ministry for the Diocese of Providence.

BISHOP JOSEPH E. STRICKLAND was named fourth bishop of Tyler, Texas in September, 2012 by Pope Benedict XVI. Formerly, he served a number of roles in the diocese, including vicar general, judicial vicar, and pastor of the cathedral parish. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1985.