S E S S I O N 24Finding the Hidden Face of

God in Others

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.

The Daily Lenten Program1. 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.

The Weekly Lenten Program1. 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.

• “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

We must teach our children how to form happy, healthy, holy friendships for themselves. Their

friends will have a tremendous impact on their life.

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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• 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/saalcohol.shtml.http://health.iupui.edu/education/drugs/daterape.html.

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Source: The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University, “The Importance of Family Dinners II, September 2005, p. 8

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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.

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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.

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Source: The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University, “The Importance of Family Dinners: II, III, and VII.”

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

Josh Hamilton

• 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.

Don Bosco also knows the importance of good companions. He made it one of the cornerstones

of his Preventive Method.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Practical Advice1. 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.

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.

Practical Advice1. 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!

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

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.

Next WeekThe True Man after God’s own

Heart

Small Group DiscussionStarter 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?