The Revelation of the Father - Week 24

1. S E S S I O N 24
Finding the Hidden Face of
God in Others

2. Welcome to Holy Week! Let us follow Christ until
the end!
We have a goal: Transform our hearts into the
fertile soil that God can use to make fruitful.

3. The Daily Lenten Program
1. Begin the day with a consecration of the
day and ourselves to God.
2. Practice Lectio Divina using the
Scriptural passages and starter
meditations provided.
3. Recitation of the Most Holy Rosary of the
Blessed Virgin Mary.
4. Brief examination of conscience at the
end of the day.

4. The Weekly Lenten Program
1. Seven Steps:
• Find God in Other People.
2. Don Bosco:
• Avoid Bad Companions.
3. Formation:
• Pastoral Formation
4. Sacrifice:
• Eat dinner EVERY night with your family.

5. • “A new commandment I give to you, that you love
one another; even as I have loved you, that you also
love one another. By this all men will know that you
are my disciples” (John 13:34-35).
• We are called to form our children so that they can
form their own families and harmoniously live
together.
• We must form them in mercy by offering them mercy.
• To offer mercy to others, we must receive mercy
ourselves.
Pastoral Formation and Mercy

6. We must teach our children how to form happy,
healthy, holy friendships for themselves. Their
friends will have a tremendous impact on their life.

7. Stress on Campus
• Approximately three out of four college
students experience frequent to
occasional stress.
• Approximately one-third of college
students use alcohol and/or drugs as
their primary means for handling stress.
• Female college students are
approximately four times more likely to
feel worthless than those who don’t.
• Students who report that religion is not
very important to them are four and a
half more likely to to use marijuana
than those whose religion is very
important to them.
OverwhelmedbyEverythingDo
(%)
Source: The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia
University, “Wasting the Best and Brightest: Substance Abuse at America’s
Colleges and Universities,” March 2007, pp. 52-58.
Frequent Occasion
0
10
20
30
40
Alcohol Drugs
0
10
20
30
40
UsedasaPrimaryStressRelease(%)
33
42
31 30

8. DrunkatLeastOnce/Day(%)
Source: The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia
University, “Wasting the Best and Brightest: Substance Abuse at America’s
Colleges and Universities,” March 2007, pp. 53-56.
Men Women
0
20
40
60
80
Men Women
0
15
30
45
60
DrinkuntilSickorPassOut(%)
Spring Break
The Reality of Peer Pressure
• “Peer pressure” strongly influences
sexual activity and substance abuse.
• Almost 80 percent of college
students were introduced to alcohol
by their friends.
• Almost 95 percent of college
students were introduced to drugs
by their friends.
• Women college students are
increasingly adopting risky drinking
behaviors to “fit in” and attract men.
• Spring Break among college friends.
75
40
50
40

9. • Seventy percent of college students admit to having
engaged in sexual activity primarily as a result of being
under the influence of alcohol.
• One in twelve college males admit to having committed
acts that meet the legal definition of rape or date rape.
• Fifty-five percent of female and seventy-five percent of
male students involved in date rape admit to having
been drinking or using drugs when the incident
occurred.
• Sixty percent of college women infected with STDs
report that they were under the influence of alcohol at
the time they had intercourse with the infected person.
Lasting Consequences
Source:
http://www.uhs.berkeley.edu/home
/healthtopics/sexualassault/saalcoh
ol.shtml.
http://health.iupui.edu/education/d
rugs/daterape.html.

10. TeenSubstanceAbuseRiskScore
Source: The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia
University, “The Importance of Family Dinners II, September 2005, p. 8
Married Separated
0
0.
4
0.8
1.2
1.6
Weekly Never
Parent’s
Marriage
Religious
Attend
The Impact of Faith and Family
• A stable faith and family life
substantially reduces the risk of
teenage substance abuse.
• Youth residing with both biological
parents who are married are forty-five
percent less likely to report substance
abuse.
• Youth attending weekly religious
services are forty-three percent less
likely to report substance abuse.
• Youth getting at least 8 hours of sleep
per night are forty-five percent less
likely to report substance abuse.
0.88
1.58
0.81
1.43

11. The Impact of Family Dinner
• Comparing teens who dinner with their
family at least 5 nights/week versus
those who eat 0-2 nights/week.
• Parents know their children’s friends
substantially better.
• Teens are 45% less likely to have
friends who use marijuana.
• Teens are 50% more likely to have an
excellent relationship with their mother.
• Teens are more than twice as likely to
have an excellent relationship with their
father.
• Teens are forty percent more likely to
confide in their parents.
Don’tKnowFriendsWell(%)
Source: The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia
University, “The Importance of Family Dinners: II, III, and VII.”
5-7
Dinners
0-2
Dinners
0
10
20
30
40
5-7
Dinners
0-2
Dinners
0
20
40
60
80
WillConfideinParentwithSerious
Problem(%)
19
30
72
51

12. There is a modern day story of someone who
knows the issue of bad companions very well:
Josh Hamilton

13. • Born May 21, 1981.
• High School Player of the Year.
• Overall 1st pick by Tampa Bay in 1999.
• Dominates minors; challenged to get a tattoo by Carl
Crawford.
• Car accident in 2001 leaves him unable to play.
• Begins hanging out at tattoo parlor. Starts drinking,
doing crack, blows bonus.
• “When I first got into drinking and using drugs, it was
because of where I was hanging out, it was who I was
hanging out with. You might not do it at first, but
eventually, if you keep hanging around long enough,
you’re going to start doing what they’re doing.”
The Story of Josh Hamilton
Source: Chen, A., Sports Illustrated,
“The Super Natural,” June 2, 2008.

14. Don Bosco also knows the importance of good
companions. He made it one of the cornerstones
of his Preventive Method.

15. Don Bosco and the Preventive System
• “The purpose of this oratory is to keep boys
busy and away from bad companions,
especially on Sundays and holy days.”
• “Let the greatest vigilance be exercised so as to
prevent bad books, bad companions or persons
who indulge in improper conversations from
entering the college. A good door-keeper is a
treasure for a house of education.”
Source: Lemoyne, G., “The Biographical Memoirs of St. John Bosco,” v. 3,
Salesiana Publishers, Inc., New York, 1966, p. 68.
Morrison, J., “The Educational Philosophy of St. John Bosco,” Salesiana
Publishers, New York, 1979, p. 113.

16. The Road Leading to Hell
“I looked up and read these words: ‘The place of no
reprieve.’ I realized that we were at the gates of hell
… At intervals, many other lads came tumbling down
[to hell] after them. I saw one unlucky boy being
pushed down the slope by an evil companion.
Others fell singly or with others, arm in arm or side by
side. Each of them bore the name of his sin on his
forehead … Again the portals would open
thunderously and slam shut with a rumble. Then,
dead silence! ‘Bad companions, bad books and bad
habits,’ my guide exclaimed, ‘are mainly responsible
for so many eternally lost.’”
Dream of Don Bosco
Source: Brown, E., “Dreams, Visions and
Prophecies of Don Bosco,” Don Bosco
Publications, New York, 1986, pp. 216-217.

17. Supernatural Vigilance
• Sunday1863: Bastia and Vezzetti slipped out of the
Oratory at sermon time to bath in the Dora River.
• They were stretched out on the bank.
• Both received “several blows” on the shoulders
without seeing anyone.
• “Don Bosco must be here!”
• Don Bosco sent the superior to them the next
morning to ask if they had received something that
shook them on the banks of the Dora River.
• Don Bosco had never left the Oratory and could not
have known.
Source: Lappin, P., “Give Me Souls:
Life of Don Bosco,” Salesiana
Publishers, New York, 1986, pp. 298-
299.

18. A Surprised Visit
• February 6, 1886: Don Bosco appears in the middle of the
night to Fr. Branda, superior at Barcelona.
• Leads him around the house to show him the spiritual state
of the boys.
• “I came because I had to reveal this iniquity to you. You
trust him, you think he is good … It is Brother N. who has
destroyed the souls of these boys … Send him away at
once.”
• Fr. Branda hesitates. Desires proof.
• Hears voice while saying Mass: “Do what Don Bosco told
you … [or] this will be the last Mass you ever celebrate.
• Has a prefect question boys and discovers Don Bosco was
right. Dismisses Brother in question.
Source: Lappin, P., “Give Me Souls:
Life of Don Bosco,” Salesiana
Publishers, New York, 1986, pp. 299-
302.

19. Practical Advice
1. Be active in your children’s lives.
2. Give them the opportunity to talk about what’s
happening in their life. Listen.
3. Do activities together with your children and their
friends so that you get to know them.
4. Have fun in your home so that your children and
their friends will want to spend time there.
5. Keep you children from being idle: “Their minds,
too, must be continually active. If we do not
keep them occupied, then they themselves will
do so and certainly not with ideas and things that
are wholesome.

20. We have made an incredible Lenten Journey. We
have gazed upon the mystery of a father’s heart.
Let us know consecrate those heart to God. Let
us do so through the hands of St. Joseph.

21. Practical Advice
1.Receive Sacrament of Reconciliation.
2.Ask forgiveness of wife and children for
times that you haven’t lived the dignity of
your calling.
3.Receive the Eucharist on Easter morning.
4.Take St. Joseph as your guide to become
the Revelation of the Father.
5.Celebrate with family and friends!

22. St. Joseph, mystery hidden from the wise and learned, but
revealed to little ones.
Take me to Nazareth and train me in your ways.
Reveal to me Christ’s hidden face present in my children.
Unveil for me the love of the Holy Spirit present in my spouse.
Teach me to manifest for them the Father who is rich in mercy.
Help me to remove all evil from my home, so that within my
home we may find union with God and experience his love,
peace and joy.
Amen.
A Prayer to St. Joseph

23. Easter is called to be a great joy. Go and rejoice
with your family. Remember, the greatest gift you
can give them is your time.

24. Next Week
The True Man after God’s own
Heart
Small Group Discussion
Starter Questions
1. How will you get to know the friends of those
closest to you?
2. How are you going to continue your spiritual
exercises after Lent is over?