S E S S I O N 2

From Saint to Scoundrel

The ways of men are mysterious.

Some men have everything … and lose it.

The story of Josh Hamilton.

• Born May 21, 1981.• High School Player of the Year. Throws 96mph. Bat

speed 110mph.• 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.”

Josh Hamilton: The Descent

Source: Chen, A., Sports Illustrated, “The Super Natural,” June 2, 2008.

• Grandmother is the only one who will take him in.• Dreams of fighting the devil.• Crawls in bed with his grandmother.• Goes through 4 years to rehab his body.• Returns to MLB with Cincinnati. Traded to Texas.• Has five consecutive all-star seasons: 2008-2012.• Wins MVP in 2010.• Legitimate triple crown threat.• December 2012: Signs five-year $125 million contract

with Anaheim Angels.

Josh Hamilton: The Recovery

Source: Chen, A., Sports Illustrated, “The Super Natural,” June 2, 2008.

• Substantially below expectations for Angels.• Only 31 home runs and 123 RBIs in two years.• 2014 ALDS: Goes 0-13 as Angels swept by KC Royals.• Needs offseason shoulder surgery.• Has a fight with his wife.• Writes himself a check to get cash.• Goes to a strip club and does cocaine.• Enters rehab.• Files for divorce from wife.• Traded to Texas Rangers.

Josh Hamilton: The Relapse

How does someone with everything going for them sink so low?

Believe it or not, the precedent goes all the way back to the very first man.

The Dignity of the Human Person

• “The Lord God formed man of the dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being” (Genesis 2:7).

• “The human person, created in the image of God, is a being at once corporeal and spiritual. The biblical account expresses this reality in symbolic language when it affirms that ‘then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being’ (Genesis 2:7)” (Catechism #362-363).

The Dignity of the Human Person

• “God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness … So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them” (Genesis 1:26-27).

• “Being in the image of God the human individual possesses the dignity of a person, who is not just something, but someone. He is capable of self-knowledge, of self-possession and of freely giving himself and entering into communion with other persons” (Catechism #357).

The Gift of Self-Knowledge• Man is given the gift of intelligence were he can know

himself and others – including God.

• “Man … shares in the light of the divine mind … His intelligence is not confined to observable data alone, but can with genuine certitude attain to reality itself … The intellectual nature of the human person is perfected by wisdom and needs to be, for wisdom gently attracts the mind of man to a quest and a love for what is true and good. Steeped in wisdom, man passes through visible realities to those which are unseen” (Gaudium et Spes, #15).

The Gift of Self-Possession• Man is given the gift of freedom (free will) so that he

can make the gift of himself to enter into a communion of love.

• “God created man a rational being, conferring on him the dignity of a person who can initiate and control his own actions … Freedom is the power … to act or not to act, to do this or that … By free will one shapes one’s own life … Freedom makes man responsible for his acts to the extent that they are voluntary” (Catechism #1730-1734).

The Gift of Interior Integrity• Humanity is given the gift of interior integrity. The

intellect and will are in harmony so that man does not experience an interior disorder.

• “The ‘mastery’ over the world that God offered man from the beginning was realized above all within man himself: mastery of self. The first man was unimpaired and ordered in his whole being because he was free from the tripe concupiscence that subjugates him to the pleasures of the senses, covetousness for earthly goods, and self-assertion” (Catechism #377).

The Gift of Communion• “Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and

cleaves to his wife, and they become one flesh” (Genesis 2:24).

• “God created man and woman together and willed each for the other” (Catechism #371).

• “Man cannot live without love. He remains a being that is incomprehensible for himself, his life is senseless, if love is not revealed to him, if he does not encounter love, if he does not experience it and make it his own, if he does not participate intimately in it” (St. John Paul II, Redemptor Hominis, #10).

Humanity had everything going for us.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t last and we make a royal mess of everything.

The serpent was more subtle than any other wild creature that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, ‘Did God say, `You shall not eat of any tree of the garden?` … You will not die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.’ When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband, and he ate.

Genesis 3:1-6

The Temptation of Humanity

• “And the eyes of them both were opened: and when they perceived themselves to be naked, they sewed together fig leaves, and made themselves clothes. And when they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in paradise at the afternoon air, Adam and his wife hid themselves from the face of the Lord God amidst the trees of paradise” (Genesis 3:7-8).

• “Scripture portrays the tragic consequences of this first disobedience. Adam and Eve immediately lose the grace of original holiness. They become afraid of God … The harmony in which [Adam and Eve] had found themselves, thanks to original justice, is now destroyed: the control of the soul’s spiritual faculties over the body is shattered; the union of man and woman becomes subject to tensions, their relations henceforth marked by lust and domination” (Catechism #399-400).

The Reality of a Fallen World

The Darkening of the Intellect• “For now we see in a mirror dimly … now I know in

part” (1 Corinthians 13:12)• “As regards spiritual faculties this deterioration

consists in a darkening of the intellect’s capacity to know the truth … Even after original sin, man can know by his intellect the fundamental natural and religious truths, and the moral principles … One should therefore speak rather of a darkening of the intellect” (St. John Paul II, General Audience, October 8, 1986).

The Weakening of the Will• “I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do

what I want, but I do the very thing I hate” (Romans 7:15).

• “As regards spiritual faculties this deterioration consists in a … weakening of free will. The will is weakened in the presence of the attractions of the goods perceived by the senses … Even after original sin, man … can also perform good work. One should therefore speak rather … of a weakening of the will” (St. John Paul II, General Audience, October 8, 1986).

Damaged Communion• “Your desire shall be for your husband, and he

shall rule over you” (Genesis 3:16).• “As a break with God, the first sin had for its first

consequence the rupture of the original communion between man and woman. Their relations were distorted by mutual recriminations; their mutual attraction, the Creator’s own gift, changed into a relationship of domination and lust” (Catechism #1607).

The Body Subject to Infirmity and Death

• “Because you … have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth to you … In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground, for out of it your were taken; you are dust and to dust you shall return” (Genesis 3:17-19).

• Man’s material body will now decay and death.

The world is indeed now different. We all struggle with a darkened intellect, weakened will and

disordered relationships.

We need to see what led us down this pathway.

A Strike at the Heart of Man“Man, tempted by the devil, let his trust in his Creator die in his heart and, abusing his freedom, disobeyed God’s command. This is what man’s first sin consisted of. All subsequent sin would be disobedience toward God and lack of trust in his goodness.”

Catechism #397

To Lose the First Love• “Adam wanted to be like God [but] without God”

(St. Maximus the Confessor, Catechism #398).• “I have this against you, that you have

abandoned the love you had at first. Remember then from what you have fallen, repent and do the works you did at first, If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place” (Revelation 2:4-5).

This issue of the heart is very big.

We must remain true to our first love.

We will see that it returns again and again throughout this Fall semester.

Next WeekFrom Scoundrel to Saint

Small Group DiscussionStarter Questions

1. How do you struggle with doing things you really don’t want to do?

2. Where do you need to increase your trust in God?