The Revelation of the Father - Week 9

1. S E S S I O N 9
Weeds in Human Formation

2. Weeds in the Field
• “While men were sleeping, his enemy came
and sowed weeds among the wheat” (Matthew
13:25).
• “It is legitimate and even necessary to ask
whether [the socioeconomic system of the
West] is not the work of another ideology of
evil, more subtle and hidden, perhaps, intent
upon exploiting human rights themselves
against man and against the family” (St. John
Paul II, Memory and Identity, p. 11).

3. The Four Types of Formation
Human Formation
The material body is now
subject to decay and death.
Intellectual Formation
Darkened intellect struggles
to perceive the truth.
Pastoral Formation
Relationships are wounded
by tension and domination.
Moral Formation
Weakened will struggles to embrace
its true good.
Formation
of the
Human Person

4. We saw that human formation was based upon
experience, especially the experience of
communion with another person.
An attack upon human formation will necessarily
attack this experience of communion.

5. 20
60
80
1800 1900187518501825
0
RuralPopulation
(PercentofTotal)
1925
Source: U.S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau,
“Historical Statistics of the United States: Colonial Times
to 1970,” Part 1, Series A 57-72, pp. 11-12.
Statistical Abstract of the United States, Various Years
40
19751950 2000
100
Current
Industrial Revolution: Father out of Home
94 92
85
73
60
46
36
26
21 19

6. 2
6
8
1800 1900187518501825
0
TotalFertilityRate
(ChildrenperWoman)
1925
Source: U.S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau,
“Historical Statistics of the United States: Colonial Times
to 1970,” Part 1, Series A 57-72, pp. 11-12.
Statistical Abstract of the United States, Various Years
4
19751950 2000 Current
Fertility: A Changed Reality
7.04
6.64
5.80
4.76
3.77
2.84 3.09
1.77 2.06 1.89

7. Source: Statistical Abstract of the US.,
Vital Statistics of the US.
1960 Current
0
10
20
30
50
40
PercentageIllegitimateBirths
The Missing Father
Source: Statistical Abstract of the U.S.
1960 Current
0
6
12
18
24
PercentageofConceptionsAborted
1960 Current
0
10
20
30
40
MarriagesEndinginDivorce(%)
Source: The Religious Factor,” (Lenkski, G., 1961).
“The Number, Timing and Durantion of Marriages
and Divorce: 1996,” U.S. Census Bureau.
<1
~22
5.3
40.7
~14
~40Abortions Illegitimate Births Divorce

8. 20
60
80
1950 1990198019701960
0
WomenwithChildrenunder18
(PercentageinWorkforce)
2000
Source: U.S Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Cohany, R., et al., “Trends in Labor Force Participation of
Married Mothers of Infants,” Monthly Labor Review,
February 2007, extrapolated from Chart 1.
40
Current2010
Information Age: Mothers out of Home
~20
~24
~40
56.6
66.7
72.9 71.3 70.5

9. The Use of Time and the Life of Children
Men Women
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, “American Time
Use Survey, Combined Years 2007-2011,” Table A-7.
Personal
Care
8.59
Household
1.34
Shopping
0.34
Leisure/
Sports
3.68
Travel
1.41
Misc.
1.69
Work
6.07
Children
0.88
Personal
Care
8.96
Household
1.95
Shopping
0.55
Leisure/
Sports
2.91
Travel
1.35
Misc.
1.73
Work
5.27
Children
1.28

10. The basis for human formation with our children is
the time they spend with us. We give them about
one hour a day.
Don’t be surprised that many are struggling.

11. 0.
2
0.
8
5 monthsSeparate
0
SalivaryCortisol
(μg/dl)
AdaptHome
0.
4
0.
6
Source: Ahnert, L., et al., “Transition to Child Care:
Associations with Infant-Mother Attachment, Infant Negative
Emotion, and Cortisol Elevations,” Child Development,
May/June 2004, v. 75, No. 3, pp. 639—650.
The Stress of Infants
0.29
0.41
0.63
0.43
• “It is not good for man to be
alone” (Genesis 2:18).
• In the wild, animals are given
the “death sentence” when they
are separated from the pack.
• Study of 70 fifteen month old
infants introduced to childcare.
• After 5 months, stress hormone
levels are approximately 50%
above baseline.
• “The onset of nonparental care
poses a stressful challenge for
toddlers.”

12. CalorieIntake
Sources: Epel, E., et al., “Stress may add bite to appetite in women: a laboratory study
of stress-induced cortisol and eating behavior,” Psychoneuroendocrinology, 2001.
Ogden, C., et al., “Prevalence of Childhood and Adult Obesity in the United States,
2011-2012,” JAMA, February 26, 2014, v. 311, No. 8, Table 3, p. 810.
Control Stress
160
17
5
190
205
220
Over
Weight
Obese
OverweightandObeseChildren
(Percentof6-11YearOlds)
0
5
10
15
20
Stress and a Major Issue for Children
• Parent’s #1 health concern for their
children is the child’s weight.
• Stress and cortisol reactivity is
related to eating behavior and
weight gain.
• Obesity is a leading cause of
diabetes and cardiovascular
disease.
• Stress is also related to lower
immune system function, memory
loss and Alzheimer’s.
176.7
216.3
16.5
17.7

13. Eating is just one means of handling stress.
There are others – some good and some not!

14. 16
22
Women
14
TimeSpentinCivic/Religious
(Minutes/Day)
Men15-19
18
20
Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of
Labor Statistics, “American Time Use Survey –
2012 Results,” Table 3.
Stress and Positive Coping Mechanisms
• Religion and prayer: 15-19 year
olds spend 16.2 minutes/day in all
civic and religious activities
combined.
• Exercise: Only 28.7% of high
school students get 60 minutes of
physical activity daily.
• Nature: Children spend
approximately 47 minutes/day
outside. Parents spent
approximately 89 minutes/day.
16.2
18.0
21.0
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
“Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, 2011.”
JCB Kids, “Fresh Air Campaign Survey,” 2013.

15. Stress and Negative Coping Mechanisms
• Substance abuse:
• Alcohol – 79.0%
• Marijuana – 48.9%
• Cocaine – 8.5%
• Prescription Drugs – 25.6%
• Sexual Intercourse – 63.1%
• Media Consumption:
• Total – 10:45 per day.
• TV – 4:29 per day.
• Music – 2:31/day.
• Computer – 1:29/day.
• Video games – 1:13/day.
Source: Generation M2: Media in the Lives of 8 to 18
Year Olds,” Kaiser Family Foundation, 2010.
20
80
PrescriptionCocaine
0
HighSchoolSeniors
(PercenteverTried)
MarijuanaAlcohol
40
60
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Youth
Risk Behavior Surveillance System, 2011.”.
79.0
48.9
8.5
25.6

16. Substance Abuse: The Brain and the Future
• Substances of abuse act upon the brain’s reward
circuitry including the ventral tegmental area (VTA),
nucleus accumbens and limbic system.
• Reward system habituates to substance and is
unable to attain a reward in absence of substance.
• Exposure during pregnancy and stress during
adolescence increases the probability of addiction.
• Epigenetic factors modify gene expression
increasing the probability of impact on future
generations.
Source: Robison, A., et al., “Transcriptional
and epigenetic mechanisms of addiction,”
Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 12,
November 2011.

17. The Story of an American Legend:
Mickey Mantle

18. Mickey Mantle
• 1931: Born on October 20 to “Mutt” and Lovell Mantle.
• 1948: Discovered by Tom Greenwade of NY Yankees.
• 1951 – 1969: NY Yankees Major Leagues.
• Leads Yankees to 12 World Series (7 wins).
• Wins the Triple Crown (1956)
• World Series Records: HR (18), RBIs (40), Runs (42),
Walks (43), extra base hits (26), total bases (123).
• Tied for most “walk-off” home runs – 13.
• MVP 3 Times: 1956, 1957, and 1962.
• All-Star 16 times in 18 year career.
• Inducted into Hall of Fame in 1st year of eligibility (1974).
• Selected to “All Century Team” – 1999.
Source: Leavy, J., “The Last Boy: Mickey Mantle
and the End of America’s Childhood,” Harper
Perennial, New York, 2010.

19. Mickey Mantle: An Unmatched Talent
• Casey Stengel: “He has it in his body to be great.”
• Joe DiMaggio: “This is the next great ballplayer.”
• Originally given #6: Babe Ruth (#3); Lou Gehrig (#4); Joe
DiMaggio (#5). (Switches to #7 to handle pressure.)
• Whitey Herzog: “Nobody could play baseball better than
Mickey Mantle played it in 1956 – fastest man in the
league, strongest man in the league, switch-hitter, he
could play the heck out of center field. Nobody had the
charisma; nobody looked as good in a uniform as Mickey
Mantle did.”
• Inventor of the “tape measure home run”: Hit homeruns
out of stadiums in Detroit and Cleveland. Hit the façade
at Yankee Stadium twice.
Source: Leavy, J., “The Last Boy: Mickey Mantle
and the End of America’s Childhood,” Harper
Perennial, New York, 2010.

20. The Home Run Derby: Mantle vs. Mays
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23
Mickey Mantle
Willie Mays
536
660
CareerHomeRuns
Seasons in Majors

21. Mickey Mantle: Unfilled Potential
• “When dad died of Hodgkin’s disease at age 39, I was devastated, and that’s when
I started drinking. I guess alcohol helped me escape the pain of losing him.”
• “With Bill and me, drinking was a competitive thing. We’d see who could drink the
other under the table … today I can admit that all the drinking shortened my
career. When I retired … I was 37.”
• “Casey [Stengel] had said when I came up, ‘This guy’s going to be better than Joe
DiMaggio and Babe Ruth.’ It didn’t happen. I never fulfilled what my dad had
wanted, and I should have. God gave me a great body to play with, and I didn’t
take care of it.”
• “It would have been hard to look him in the eye and say, ‘Dad, I’m an alcoholic.’ I
don’t think I could have done it. I would feel like I’d let him down. I don’t know
how you get over that; I can’t hit a home run for him anymore.”
Source: Mantle, M. and Lieber, J., “Time in a
Bottle,” Time Magazine, April 18, 1994.

22. Mickey Mantle: The Legacy of a Father
• “He always led me to believe that his dad was an
alcoholic” (Greer Johnson).
• “Mutt took us both to a local drive-in like thing and got
beer for Mickey when he was underage” (Nick Ferguson).
• “I loved my father, although I couldn’t tell him that, just
like he couldn’t tell me.”
• “[My sons] all drank too much because of me. We don’t
have normal father-son relationships. When they were
growing up, I was playing baseball, and after I retired I
was too busy traveling around being Mickey Mantle. We
never played catch in the backyard. But when they were
old enough to drink, we became drinking buddies.”
• All four sons and wife become alcoholics.
• “Maybe I can truly be a role model now.” Dies at 63.
Source: Leavy, J., “The Last Boy: Mickey Mantle
and the End of America’s Childhood,” Harper
Perennial, New York, 2010.
Mantle, M. and Lieber, J., “Time in a Bottle,”
Time Magazine, April 18, 1994.

23. Weeds in the heart of a father are very dangerous.
They bear their fruit in our children and our
children’s children.

24. Next Week
Weeds in Intellectual Formation
Small Group Discussion
Starter Questions
1. What do you need to turn away from to give
more time to your wife and children?
2. What vice do you need to pull from the soil of
your heart before it impacts your children?