NEW DAD'S GUIDE TO PLAYING GOD, A
Reflections on the Vocation of Fatherhood

Each on of us is created in the image and likeness of God. As such, we are all called to act like him – to be loving, forgiving, compassionate, to stand up for what is right, to actively pursue peace and justice. When we better understand God and our relationship with him, it becomes clear that our lives are to resemble the life of God as much as possible. We are to be his presence to everyone we meet – we are all called to “play God.” While the mandate to “play God” accompanies all human vocations, when it comes to being an earthly father, this likeness to God takes on some very profound implications. When God calls a man to be a father, he charges him with the mission to be the one from whom his children will primarily experience the love of their heavenly Father. Being a father means being the arms, eyes, heart and voice of God to one’s children. These pages were written to help young fathers discover their true identity and to do what is takes to nourish it.

About the Author: The Director of Religious Education at St. Mary’s Parish in Spring Lake, Michigan, James Penrice is the author of five other very popular Alba House titles: Crossing Home: The Spiritual Lessons of Baseball (1993), Goal to Go: The Spiritual Lesson of Football (1994); God Could Be a Teen, Nobody Understands Him Either: Catholic Moral Teachings of the Church for Adolescents (1997); You Know More Than You Think: Your Intuitive Knowledge of God in the Catholic Tradition (2003). Married and the father of three small children, he brings many his own life experience and his love of spots to these thought-provoking, practical and very readable works.