They have felt the same agony and lack of control in their lives that the young father experienced as he waited for his child to be born, only for them it was around a sorrowful ending, and not a joyful beginning. Each of them has had to find their way as single parents, and both of them have undergone a transformation in their relationships with their children. Each of them has remarked about how when their children are with them they are father AND mother. When a child comes home with a skinned knee, or has had a bad day, that child needs to be loved and nurtured. These fathers have to provide the gentle support and tender care that might ordinarily come from the child s mother.
Single mothers are in a similar situation.
They must be both strong and tender, make tough decisions and still be nurturing. Many single parents are developing new models of what it means to be mother and to be father out of necessity. But they are not alone in this, and neither are we. The Gospel says that Jesus will not leave us alone, that we will have comfort, and truth, and guidance from the Holy Spirit. In our stumbling, doubt, and frail attempts to love God, we will find a path, and faith enough to walk it.