Fathers of Saint Joseph – Meeting Notes [11th July 2026]

Date: 11 July 2026

Location: St. Mary's, Pope's Quay, Cork

Opening Context

We began our meeting with a time of Adoration before reflecting together on the reading.

As our meeting took place on the Feast of Saint Benedict, Abbot, we were reminded of his enduring example of faithful discipleship, prayer, and the ordering of one's life towards God.

Reflection Reading

Book: The Four Marks of Fatherly Greatness

Author: Devin Schadt

Pillar: Pillar 3 – Assume Your Authority (Embrace Charitable Authority)

Reading: 127 – Losing Your Talent

Pages: 304–305

Anonymous (c. 1712) Parable of the Talents (engraving after a biblical illustration). Wikimedia Commons. Available at: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Parable_of_talents.jpg (Accessed: 4 August 2026).

This week's reading reflected on Christ's Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:14–30), inviting fathers to consider what God has truly entrusted to them. While the parable is often understood in terms of personal gifts and abilities, the author emphasises that one of the greatest treasures God places into a father's care is his own family. Just as the servants were called to invest faithfully what had been entrusted to them, fathers are called to invest themselves generously in their vocation of husband and father.

The reading also highlights the extraordinary generosity of God. A single biblical talent represented an immense sum—approximately nineteen years' wages—illustrating how abundantly God entrusts His servants with responsibility. Our fatherhood, our faith, and our children are not burdens but precious gifts for which we will one day give an account. Looking to Saint Joseph, who faithfully guarded and nurtured Jesus and Mary, fathers are encouraged to invest wholeheartedly in the vocation God has entrusted to them.

Call to Action

Begin each day by thanking God for His generosity, reflecting on how He has worked through every circumstance of life, and entrusting both the joys and hardships of the day back to Him.

Reflection Associated with the Reading

The accompanying Examen invites fathers to examine how they exercise their God-given authority to protect, provide for, and teach their families. It encourages an honest reflection on whether their priorities, use of time, work, home life, and personal example truly serve the vocation of leading their families closer to Christ.

Shared Thoughts from the Group

• A biblical talent represented an immense amount of wealth—approximately 6,000 days' wages or around nineteen years' salary—highlighting the extraordinary generosity of God.

• The Parable of the Talents is not simply about money but about faithfully using the gifts God has entrusted to us.

• Our family and our children are among the greatest treasures God places in our care, deserving our time, love and attention.

• Faith itself is another priceless treasure that can easily be taken for granted if it is not continually nurtured.

Personal Reflections & Final Thought

This reading led me to reflect more deeply on what God truly expects from us. The author focuses on our children as one of the talents entrusted to us, but I found myself considering the wider vocation of service found in both Matrimony and Holy Orders. Priests care for the children of the Church, while parents are entrusted with the children of their own family. In both vocations, the common thread is one of loving care. It seems that God invites us to participate in His own work of creation and love by caring for His children, living in communion with them and ultimately with Him.

For much of my life I have asked what God wants from me. This reflection offered a simple but profound answer: we are called to multiply whatever God has entrusted to us. Our children deserve our greatest investment of time, love and attention, but so too does every gift God has placed in our hands. As fathers, our task is not to have every answer from the beginning, but to continue learning how to become faithful stewards of these treasures, trusting that God will guide us as we seek to fulfil our vocation.