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Catholic Caucus: Sunday Mass Readings, 09-25-05
USCCb.org/New American Bible ^ | 09-25-05 | New American Bible

Posted on 09/24/2005 10:05:49 PM PDT by Salvation

September 25, 2005
Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Psalm: Sunday 42

Reading I
Ez 18:25-28

Thus says the LORD:
You say, "The LORD's way is not fair!"
Hear now, house of Israel:
Is it my way that is unfair, or rather, are not your ways unfair?
When someone virtuous turns away from virtue to commit iniquity, and dies,
it is because of the iniquity he committed that he must die.
But if he turns from the wickedness he has committed,
he does what is right and just,
he shall preserve his life;
since he has turned away from all the sins that he has committed,
he shall surely live, he shall not die.

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 25:4-5, 8-9, 10, 14.

R. Remember your mercies, O Lord.
Your ways, O LORD, make known to me;
teach me your paths,
guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my savior.
R. Remember your mercies, O Lord.
Remember that your compassion, O LORD,
and your love are from of old.
The sins of my youth and my frailties remember not;
in your kindness remember me,
because of your goodness, O LORD.
R. Remember your mercies, O Lord.
Good and upright is the LORD;
thus he shows sinners the way.
He guides the humble to justice,
and teaches the humble his way.
R. Remember your mercies, O Lord.

Reading II
Phil 2:1-11

Brothers and sisters:
If there is any encouragement in Christ,
any solace in love,
any participation in the Spirit,
any compassion and mercy,
complete my joy by being of the same mind, with the same love,
united in heart, thinking one thing.
Do nothing out of selfishness or out of vainglory;
rather, humbly regard others as more important than yourselves,
each looking out not for his own interests,
but also for those of others.

Have in you the same attitude
that is also in Christ Jesus,
Who, though he was in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God
something to be grasped.
Rather, he emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave,
coming in human likeness;
and found human in appearance,
he humbled himself,
becoming obedient to the point of death,
even death on a cross.
Because of this, God greatly exalted him
and bestowed on him the name
which is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bend,
of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that
Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
or

Phil 2:1-5

Brothers and sisters:
If there is any encouragement in Christ,
any solace in love,
any participation in the Spirit,
any compassion and mercy,
complete my joy by being of the same mind, with the same love,
united in heart, thinking one thing.
Do nothing out of selfishness or out of vainglory;
rather, humbly regard others as more important than yourselves,
each looking out not for his own interests,
but also for those of others.

Have in you the same attitude
that is also in Christ Jesus.

Gospel
Mt 21:28-32

Jesus said to the chief priests and elders of the people:
"What is your opinion?
A man had two sons.
He came to the first and said,
'Son, go out and work in the vineyard today.'
He said in reply, 'I will not, '
but afterwards changed his mind and went.
The man came to the other son and gave the same order.
He said in reply, 'Yes, sir, ‘but did not go.
Which of the two did his father's will?"
They answered, "The first."
Jesus said to them, "Amen, I say to you,
tax collectors and prostitutes
are entering the kingdom of God before you.
When John came to you in the way of righteousness,
you did not believe him;
but tax collectors and prostitutes did.
Yet even when you saw that,
you did not later change your minds and believe him."




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1 posted on 09/24/2005 10:05:50 PM PDT by Salvation
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Alleluia Ping!

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2 posted on 09/24/2005 10:07:22 PM PDT by Salvation (†With God all things are possible.†)
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To: All

From: Philippians 2:1-11


Unity and Humility



[1] So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any incentive of love,
any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy,
[2] complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love,
being in full accord and of one mind. [3] Do nothing from selfishness
or conceit, but in humility count others better than yourselves.
[4] Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the
interests of others.


Hymn in Praise of Christ's Self-emptying


[5] Have this mind among yourselves, which was in Christ Jesus,
[6] who, though He was in the form of God, did not count equality with
God a thing to be grasped, [7] but emptied Himself, taking the form of a
servant, being born in the likeness of men. [8] And being found in
human form He humbled Himself and became obedient unto death, even
death on a cross. [9] Therefore God has highly exalted Him and
bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, [10] that at the
name of Jesus every knee should bow, in Heaven and on earth and under
the earth, [11] and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to
the glory of God the Father.




Commentary:


1-4. Verse 1 begins with a very awkwardly constructed clause, which the
New Vulgate and the RSV translate literally. It is a conditional,
rhetorical clause, rather than an affirmative statement, and its
meaning is clarified by the rest of the sentence.


St Paul is making an affectionate appeal to the Christian good sense of
the faithful; he seems to be saying: "If you want to console me in
Christ, complete my joy by paying attention to the advice I am now
going to give you" (cf. St Thomas Aquinas, "Commentary on Phil, ad
loc.").


The Apostle recommends that they should always act humbly and with an
upright intention (vv. 3-4) if they want charity to reign among them
(v. 2). In their work and social life ordinary Christians should be
upright in all their dealings. They should go about everything, even
apparently unimportant things, in a humble way, doing them for God. But
they should also remember that their behavior has an effect on others.
"Don't forget that you are also in the presence of men, and that they
expect from you, from you personally, a Christian witness. Thus, as
regards the human dimension of our job, we must work in such a way that
we will not feel ashamed when those who know us and love us see us at
our work, nor give them cause to feel embarrassed" ([St] J. Escriva,
"Friends of God", 66).


This fact that our behavior can encourage others and set a headline for
them means that we need to act very responsibly: "Let us try therefore,
brethren," St Augustine says, "not only to be good but to conduct
ourselves well in the eyes of others. Let us try to see that there is
nothing that our conscience upbraids us for, and also, bearing in mind
our weakness, do all that we can, to avoid disedifying our less mature
brother" ("Sermon 47", 14).


3-11. Verse 3 exhorts us to see others as better than ourselves. Our
Lord, although he was our superior in all respects, did not see his
divinity as something to boast about before men (v. 6). In fact, he
humbled himself and emptied himself (vv. 7-8), was not motivated by
conceit or selfishness (cf. v. 3), did not look to his own interests
(cf. v. 4), and "became obedient unto death" (v. 8), thereby carrying
out the Father's plan for man's salvation. By reflecting on his example
we shall come to see that suffering for Christ is a sign of salvation
(cf. 1:28-29): after undergoing the sufferings of his passion and
death, Christ was publicly exalted above all creation (cf. vv. 9-11).


Our Lord offers us a perfect example of humility. "The coming of our
Lord Jesus Christ, the Scepter of God's Majesty, was in no pomp of
pride and haughtiness--as it could so well have been--but in
self-abasement [...]. You see, dear friends, what an example we have
been given. If the Lord humbled himself in this way, what ought we to
do, who through him have come under the yoke of his guidance?" (St
Clement of Rome, "Letter to the Corinthians", 13).


3-4. "'In every man,' writes St Thomas Aquinas, 'there are some
grounds for others to look on him as superior, according to the
Apostle's words, "Each of us must have the humility to think others
better men than himself" (Phil 2:3). It is in this spirit that all men
are bound to honor one another' ("Summa Theologiae", II-II, q. 103,
a. 2). Humility is the virtue that teaches us that signs of respect for
others--their good name, their good faith, their privacy--are not
external conventions, but the first expressions of charity and justice.


"Christian charity cannot confine itself to giving things or money to
the needy. It seeks, above all, to respect and understand each person
for what he is, in his intrinsic dignity as a man and child of God" ([St] J.
Escriva, "Christ Is Passing By", 72).


5. The Apostle's recommendation, "'Have this mind among yourselves,
which was in Christ Jesus', requires all Christians, so far as human
power allows, to reproduce in themselves the sentiments that Christ had
when he was offering himself in sacrifice--sentiments of humility, of
adoration, praise, and thanksgiving to the divine majesty. It requires
them also to become victims, as it were; cultivating a spirit of
self-denial according to the precepts of the Gospel, willingly doing
works of penance, detesting and expiating their sins. It requires us
all, in a word, to die mystically with Christ on the Cross, so that we
may say with the same Apostle: 'I have been crucified with Christ' (Gal
2:19)" (Pius XII, "Mediator Dei", 22).


6-11. In what he says about Jesus Christ, the Apostle is not simply
proposing Him as a model for us to follow. Possibly transcribing an
early liturgical hymn (and) adding some touches of his own, he
is--under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit--giving a very profound
exposition of the nature of Christ and using the most sublime truths of
faith to show the way Christian virtues should be practised.


This is one of the earliest New Testament texts to reveal the divinity
of Christ. The epistle was written around the year 62 (or perhaps
before that, around 55) and if we remember that the hymn of Philippians
2:6-11 may well have been in use prior to that date, the passage
clearly bears witness to the fact that Christians were proclaiming,
even in those very early years, that Jesus, born in Bethlehem,
crucified, died and buried, and risen from the dead, was truly both God
and man.


The hymn can be divided into three parts. The first (verses 6 and the
beginning of 7) refers to Christ's humbling Himself by becoming man.
The second (the end of verse 7 and verse 8) is the center of the whole
passage and proclaims the extreme to which His humility brought Him: as
man He obediently accepted death on the cross. The third part (verses
9-11) describes His exaltation in glory. Throughout St. Paul is
conscious of Jesus' divinity: He exists from all eternity. But he
centers his attention on His death on the cross as the supreme example
of humility. Christ's humiliation lay not in His becoming a man like
us and cloaking the glory of His divinity in His sacred humanity: it
also brought Him to lead a life of sacrifice and suffering which
reached its climax on the cross, where He was stripped of everything He
had, like a slave. However, now that He has fulfilled His mission, He
is made manifest again, clothed in all the glory that befits His divine
nature and which His human nature has merited.


The man-God, Jesus Christ, makes the cross the climax of His earthly
life; through it He enters into His glory as Lord and Messiah. The
Crucifixion puts the whole universe on the way to salvation.


Jesus Christ gives us a wonderful example of humility and obedience.
"We should learn from Jesus' attitude in these trials," Monsignor
Escriva reminds us. "During His life on earth He did not even want the
glory that belonged to Him. Though He had the right to be treated as
God, He took the form of a servant, a slave (cf. Philippians 2:6-7).
And so the Christian knows that all glory is due God and that he must
not use the sublimity and greatness of the Gospel to further his own
interests or human ambitions.


"We should learn from Jesus. His attitude in rejecting all human glory
is in perfect balance with the greatness of His unique mission as the
beloved Son of God who becomes incarnate to save men" ("Christ Is
Passing By", 62).


6-7. "Though He was in the form of God" or "subsisting in the form of
God": "form" is the external aspect of something and manifests what it
is. When referring to God, who is invisible, His "form" cannot refer
to things visible to the senses; the "form of God" is a way of
referring to Godhead. The first thing that St. Paul makes clear is
that Jesus Christ is God, and was God before the Incarnation. As the
"Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed" professes it, "the only-begotten Son
of God, born of the Father before time began, light from light, true
God from true God."


"He did not count equality with God as something to be grasped": the
Greek word translated as "equality" does not directly refer to equality
of nature but rather the equality of rights and status. Christ was God
and He could not stop being God; therefore, He had a right to be
treated as God and to appear in all His glory. However, He did not
insist on this dignity of His as if it were a treasure which He
possessed and which was legally His: it was not something He clung to
and boasted about. And so He took "the form of a servant". He could
have become man without setting His glory aside--He could have appeared
as He did, momentarily, as the Transfiguration (cf. Matthew 17:1ff);
instead He chose to be like men, in all things but sin (cf. verse 7).
By becoming man in the way He did, He was able, as Isaiah prophesied in
the Song of the Servant of Yahweh, to bear our sorrows and to be
stricken (cf. Isaiah 53:4).


"He emptied Himself", He despoiled Himself: this is literally what the
Greek verb means. But Christ did not shed His divine nature; He simply
shed its glory, its aura; if He had not done so it would have shone out
through His human nature. From all eternity He exists as God and from
the moment of the Incarnation He began to be man. His self-emptying
lay not only in the fact that the Godhead united to Himself (that is,
to the person of the Son) something which was corporeal and finite (a
human nature), but also in the fact that this nature did not itself
manifest the divine glory, as it "ought" to have done. Christ could
not cease to be God, but He could temporarily renounce the exercise of
rights that belonged to Him as God--which was what He did.


Verses 6-8 bring the Christian's mind the contrast between Jesus and
Adam. The devil tempted Adam, a mere man, to "be like God" (Genesis
3:5). By trying to indulge this evil desire (pride is a disordered
desire for self-advancement) and by committing the sin of disobeying
God (cf. Genesis 3:6), Adam drew down the gravest misfortunes upon
himself and on his whole line (present potentially in him): this is
symbolized in the Genesis passage by his expulsion from Paradise and
by the physical world's rebellion against his lordship (cf. Genesis
3:16-24). Jesus Christ, on the contrary, who enjoyed divine glory
from all eternity, "emptied Himself": He chooses the way of humility,
the opposite way to Adam's (opposite, too, to the way previously
taken by the devil). Christ's obedience thereby makes up for the
disobedience of the first man; it puts mankind in a position to more
than recover the natural and supernatural gifts with which God endowed
human nature at the Creation. And so, after focusing on the amazing
mystery of Christ's humiliation or self-emptying ("kenosis" in Greek),
this hymn goes on joyously to celebrate Christ's exaltation after
death.


Christ's attitude in becoming man is, then, a wonderful example of
humility. "What is more humble", St. Gregory of Nyssa asks, "than the
King of all creation entering into communion with our poor nature? The
King of kings and Lord of lords clothes Himself with the form of our
enslavement; the Judge of the universe comes to pay tribute to the
princes of this world; the Lord of creation is born in a cave; He who
encompasses the world cannot find room in the inn...; the pure and
incorrupt one puts on the filthiness of our nature and experiences all
our needs, experiences even death itself" ("Oratio I In
Beatitudinibus").


This self-emptying is an example of God's infinite goodness in taking
the initiative to meet man: "Fill yourselves with wonder and gratitude
at such a mystery and learn from it. All the power, all the majesty,
all the beauty, all the infinite harmony of God, all His great and
immeasurable riches. God whole and entire was hidden for our benefit
in the humanity of Christ. The Almighty appears determined to eclipse
His glory for a time, so as to make it easy for His creatures to
approach their Redeemer." ([St] J. Escriva, "Friends of God",
111).


8. Jesus Christ became man "for us men and for our salvation", we
profess in the Creed. Everything He did in the course of His life had
a salvific value; His death on the cross represents the climax of His
redemptive work for, as St. Gregory of Nyssa says, "He did not
experience death due to the fact of being born; rather, He took birth
upon Himself in order to die" ("Oratio Catechetica Magna", 32).


Our Lord's obedience to the Father's saving plan, involving as it did
death on the cross, gives us the best of all lessons in humility. For,
in the words of St. Thomas Aquinas, "obedience is the sign of true
humility" ("Commentary on Phil., ad loc."). In St. Paul's time death
by crucifixion was the most demeaning form of death, for it was
inflicted only on criminals. By becoming obedient "unto death, even
death on a cross", Jesus was being humble in the extreme. He was
perfectly within His rights to manifest Himself in all His divine
glory, but He chose instead the route leading to the most ignominious
of deaths.


His obedience, moreover, was not simply a matter of submitting to the
Father's will, for, as St. Paul points out, He made Himself obedient:
His obedience was active; He made the Father's salvific plans His own.
He chose voluntarily to give Himself up to crucifixion in order to
redeem mankind. "Debasing oneself when one is forced to do so is not
humility", St. John Chrysostom explains; "humility is present when one
debases oneself without being obliged to do so" ("Hom. on Phil., ad
loc.").


Christ's self-abasement and his obedience unto death reveals His love
for us, for "greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his
life for his friends" (John 15:13). His loving initiative merits a
loving response on our part: we should show that we desire to be one
with Him, for love "seeks union, identification with the beloved.
United to Christ, we will be drawn to imitate His life of dedication,
His unlimited love and His sacrifice unto death. Christ brings us face
to face with the ultimate choice: either we spend our life in selfish
isolation, or we devote ourselves and all our energies to the service
of others" ([St] J. Escriva, "Friends of God", 236).


9-11. "God highly exalted Him": the Greek compounds the notion of
exaltation, to indicate the immensity of His glorification. Our Lord
Himself foretold this when He said, "He who humbles himself will be
exalted" (Luke 14:11).


Christ's sacred humanity was glorified as a reward for His
humiliation. The Church's Magisterium teaches that Christ's
glorification affects his human nature only, for "in the form of God
the Son was equal to the Father, and between the Begetter and the
Only-begotten there was no difference in essence, no difference in
majesty; nor did the Word, through the mystery of incarnation, lose
anything which the Father might later return to Him as a gift" ([Pope]
St. Leo the Great, "Promisisse Me Memini", Chapter 8). Exaltation is
public manifestation of the glory which belongs to Christ's humanity by
virtue of its being joined to the divine person of the Word. This
union to the "form of a servant" (cf. verse 7) meant an immense act of
humility on the part of the Son, but it led to the exaltation of the
human nature He took on.


For the Jews the "name that is above every name" is the name of God
(Yahweh), which the Mosaic Law required to be held in particular awe.
Also, they regarded a name given to someone, especially if given by
God, as not just a way of referring to a person but as expressing
something that belonged to the very core of his personality.
Therefore, the statement that God "bestowed on Him the name which is
above every name" means that God the Father gave Christ's human nature
the capacity to manifest the glory of divinity which was His by virtue
of the hypostatic union: therefore, it is to be worshipped by the
entire universe.


St. Paul describes the glorification of Jesus Christ in terms similar
to those used by the prophet Daniel of the Son of Man: "To Him was
given dominion and glory and kingdom, that all peoples, nations and
languages should serve His Kingdom, one that shall not be destroyed"
(Daniel 7:14). Christ's lordship extends to all created things.
Sacred Scripture usually speaks of "heaven and earth" when referring to
the entire created universe; by mentioning here the underworld it is
emphasizing that nothing escapes His dominion. Jesus Christ can here
be seen as the fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy about the universal
sovereignty of Yahweh: "To Me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall
swear" (Isaiah 45:23). All created things come under His sway, and men
are duty-bound to accept the basic truth of Christian teaching: "Jesus
Christ is Lord." The Greek word "Kyrios" used here by St. Paul is the
word used by the Septuagint, the early Greek version of the Old
Testament, to translate the name of God ("Yahweh"). Therefore, this
sentence means "Jesus Christ is God."


The Christ proclaimed here as having been raised on high is the man-God
who was born and died for our sake, attaining the glory of His
exaltation after undergoing the humiliation of the cross. In this also
Christ sets us an example: we cannot attain the glory of Heaven unless
we understand the supernatural value of difficulties, ill-health and
suffering: these are manifestations of Christ's cross present in our
ordinary life. "We have to die to ourselves and be born again to a new
life. Jesus Christ obeyed in this way, even unto death on a cross
(Philippians 2:18); that is why God exalted Him. If we obey God's
will, the cross will mean our own resurrection and exaltation.
Christ's life will be fulfilled step by step in our own lives. It will
be said of us that we have tried to be good children of God, who went
about doing good in spite of our weakness and personal shortcomings, no
matter how many" ([St] J. Escriva, "Christ Is Passing By", 21).



Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text
taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries
made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of
Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock,
Co. Dublin, Ireland.


3 posted on 09/24/2005 10:08:41 PM PDT by Salvation (†With God all things are possible.†)
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To: All

From: Matthew 21:28-32


The Parable of the Two Sons



(Jesus told the chief priests and the elders,) [28] "What do you think?
A man had two sons; and he went to the first and said, 'Son, go and
work in the vineyard today.' [29] And he answered, 'I will not'; but
afterwards he repented and went. [30] And he went to the second and
said the same; and he answered, 'I go, sir,' but did not go. [31] Which
of the two did the will of his father?" They said, "The first." Jesus
said to them, "Truly, I say to you, the tax collectors and the harlots
go into the kingdom of God before you. [32] For John came to you in the
way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax
collectors and the harlots believed him; and even when you saw it, you
did not afterward repent and believe him.




Commentary:


32. St. John the Baptist had shown the way to sanctification by
proclaiming the imminence of the Kingdom of God and by preaching
conversion. The scribes and Pharisees would not believe him, yet they
boasted of their faithfulness to God's teaching. They were like the son
who says "I will go" and then does not go; the tax collectors and
prostitutes who repented and corrected the course of their lives will
enter the Kingdom before them: they are like the other son who says "I
will not", but then does go. Our Lord stresses that penance and
conversion can set people on the road to holiness even if they have
been living apart from God for a long time.



Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text
taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries
made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of
Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock,
Co. Dublin, Ireland.


4 posted on 09/24/2005 10:09:50 PM PDT by Salvation (†With God all things are possible.†)
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To: All
Sunday, September 25, 2005
Twenty-Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time
First Reading:
Psalm:
Second Reading:
Gospel:
Ezekiel 18:25-28
Psalm 25:4-9
Philippians 2:1-11 or Philippians 2:1-5
Matthew 21:28-32

We know we are traveling together. If our pace is slow, go on ahead of us. We won’t envy you but rather will seek to catch up with you. However, if you consider us capable of a quicker pace, run along with us. There is only one goal, and we are all anxious to reach it....some at a slow pace and others at a fast pace. Let everyone’s sighs be uttered in longing for Christ. Let us run to Him and cry out for Him.

-- St Augustine


5 posted on 09/24/2005 10:11:50 PM PDT by Salvation (†With God all things are possible.†)
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To: All
Too Proud to Change? [Parable of the Two Sons]

by Fr. Jack Peterson

Other Articles by Fr. Jack Peterson
Too Proud to Change?
09/24/05


Jesus was an amazing teacher and a fantastic story-teller. Today’s Gospel is a prime example of His ability to craft a story using a common experience and simple images in order to teach the profound truths of our Christian faith.

A father has two sons. He asks them both to do a certain task. One says yes, but never does it. One says no, but changes his mind and does it. Jesus asks: Which one did the Father’s will? The answer is splendidly obvious. What a great teacher! The question then posed in the mind of the student is, naturally, which brother am I?

Jesus suggests that we are likely to be quite surprised with who makes it to heaven. He claims that sinners and tax collectors are entering the kingdom of God before the elders and the chief priests. Why? Because the former say no to God but then are willing to change and do the Father’s will. In contrast, some religious leaders are too proud to change, to accept Christ and truly embrace His message. They have become self-righteous, thinking they already know the mind of God. The truth is that the humble inherit the kingdom of God because they take responsibility for their sins and repent and because they accept that Jesus Christ was sent by our Heavenly Father and is indeed the Way, the Truth and the Life. The humble conform their lives to God.

Which brother am I? We must ask ourselves this question every day. I know God has asked me to change a number of things in my life. A few of those requests stand out when I am being genuinely humble and prayerful: cut out a bad habit, develop a consistent prayer life, forgive a neighbor, end an unhealthy relationship, study the faith, refocus on my family or truly place God at the center of my life. Have I changed? Am I willing to change? Am I saying yes or no to God right now?

As a university chaplain, I am regularly inspired by the students. I find most college students firm in their convictions — religious or otherwise — but also open to change. When the Gospel way of life is presented clearly, charitably and consistently, they are willing to embrace it. The most powerful agents of change are the grace of God and the example of peers and adults who are living authentic Christian lives. When the truth and love of Christ are lived and preached, people want to share in them. The witness invites conversion. People want to live in union with God, experience the peace that He gives, live with conviction and work for eternal purposes.

Which brother am I? God wants me to change. The world, especially its young people, needs me to change. Am I too proud to change and live my life for Christ?


Fr. Peterson is Campus Minister at Marymount University in Arlington and interim director of the Youth Apostles Institute.

(This article courtesy of the
Arlington Catholic Herald.)


6 posted on 09/24/2005 10:15:04 PM PDT by Salvation (†With God all things are possible.†)
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To: Salvation


What the wicked dreads will overtake him; what the righteous desire will be granted. Proverbs 10:24

Thought...

The wicked fear the triumph of goodness, holiness, and righteousness. They fear not being in control. They fear death's overtaking them. The righteous desire the triumph of goodness, holiness, and righteousness. They offer their lives to be controlled by the Holy Spirit of God. They recognize death is an enemy, but one that has been conquered by their Savior. In times like these, isn't it comforting to know that the things that the wicked fear are really things that they can be sure of receiving!

Prayer...

O LORD God, please bring your justice, mercy, and righteousness to triumph in the lives of all who seek after you and your will. Please make my heart more like yours in regard to evil and those who perpetuate it, and stir in me a deeper passion to lead those to Christ who do not know you. In Jesus' name I pray.   Amen.


Deus vobiscum


7 posted on 09/24/2005 10:23:36 PM PDT by Smartass (Si vis pacem, para bellum - Por el dedo de Dios se escribió)
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To: Salvation

Thanks for posting this. It's always appreciated, but today it's handy, too. I'm a lector this morning.


8 posted on 09/25/2005 6:31:21 AM PDT by AlaninSA (It's ONE NATION UNDER GOD...brought to you by the Knights of Columbus)
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To: AlaninSA

We are always here! Thanks for your kind words.


9 posted on 09/25/2005 8:29:49 AM PDT by Salvation (†With God all things are possible.†)
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To: All
Catholic Culture

Collect:
Father, you show your almighty power in your mercy and forgiveness. Continue to fill us with your gifts of love. Help us to hurry toward the eternal life you promise and come to share in the joys of your kingdom. Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
Activities:
  

September 25, 2005 Month Year Season

Twenty-Sixth Sunday of Ordinary Time

"Amen, I say to you, tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God before you. When John came to you in the way of righteousness, you did not believe him; but tax collectors and prostitutes did. Yet even when you saw that, you did not later change your minds and believe him (Matt. 21:31-32)."


Sunday Readings
The first reading is taken from the Book of the Prophet Ezekiel 18:25-28. A notion very prevalent among the Jews, all through their history, was that the sins of parents were punished in their children. Ezekiel tells his audience that each man is responsible for his own sins. As each man has a free will, the good man may foolishly turn to sin, and likewise the sinner may repent and live a good life.

The second reading is from the Letter of St. Paul to the Philippians 2:1-5. St. Paul is urging his new converts to live in the unity of love and mutual charity. Each one must esteem his neighbor as of more importance than himself and be ready to help him in every way. In doing this, they are only imitating their Savior Christ Jesus who although Creator became a creature, though Master he made himself a slave — all for love of us.

The Gospel is from St. Matthew 21:28-32. This parable was primarily intended to show up the hypocrisy of the chief priests and elders of the Jews, and the perilous position in which they stood in relation to God and heaven. It is, however, a warning against hypocrisy for all time. Lip service of God will not merit heaven. Nominal Christians are not working in the Lord's vineyard. At any moment they may be called from this life, and what defense can they offer the just judge? Will they dare to offer the flimsy excuses with which they try to silence their consciences now: "we didn't realize how sinful we were"; "we were too occupied with family and personal cares to have time for our spiritual duties"; "we were led astray by bad example": "we didn't like to be different from others"; "we were going to put things right"? Who will dare to offer such excuses at the judgment seat? Their utter futility will then be apparent in all its nakedness.

However, we are still on earth, and while we are the door of God's mercy is wide open to us. If in the past we said, "I will not go into your vineyard", we still have time to reverse that sinful decision. Not only can we with God's grace turn over a new leaf, but we can completely wipe out the sinful pages of our life's story written up to now. Remember that what God in his mercy did for the tax-collectors and harlots in the parable, the Matthews, the Mary Magdalenes, the Augustines, the Margarets of Cortona, the Matt Talbots and the millions of unknown penitents who are now saints in heaven he can also do for you.

We answered the call to God's vineyard by accepting baptism and membership of his Church. If we have grown lax in our fervor and refused to do the tasks allotted to us, we still have time, thanks to God's mercy and patience, to put things right. Today, look into your conscience and see how much of your past life you have given to God and how much you have kept for yourself. If you were called tonight to render an account to the Lord, would the balance sheet be in your favor? Is your corner of the vineyard producing abundant crops, or is it perhaps filling up with weeds, briers and brambles? If the latter, then we will say a heartfelt "Thank you, God, for not calling us to judgment today. We will begin right now to understand our sinful past, so that our corner of your vineyard will be in good order when you do call us. Thank you, Lord, for your mercy. God grant that we shall never abuse it."

Excerpted from The Sunday Readings by Fr. Kevin O'Sullivan, O.F.M.


10 posted on 09/25/2005 8:36:32 AM PDT by Salvation (†With God all things are possible.†)
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To: All
Homily of the Day


Homily of the Day

Title:   Remember How Long it Takes to Make a Tree
Author:   Monsignor Dennis Clark, Ph.D.
Date:   Sunday, September 25, 2005
 


Eze 18:25-28 / Phil 2:1-11 / Mt 21:28-32

A shy young man fell in love, but he was utterly tongue-tied whenever he was with the girl. A friend offered some advice: "Just memorize some great lines, expressing your total admiration. Something like, 'When I see your face, time stands still.'"

It made sense, so for weeks the young man practiced: "When I see your face, time stands still." Finally he was ready. He took her to a romantic restaurant. The lights were low. His eyes met hers and he said, "When I see your face, I, time, uh..." He couldn't remember the words. Again he tried, "Mary, When I see your face, I, er, I mean..." Now he was totally flustered, so in desperation he blurted out, "Mary, your face could stop a CLOCK."

We laugh, but there's another part of us that's a little sad when we hear a story like that, because it reminds us of all the things, large and small, that we're still struggling to get right. "After all this time," we say to ourselves, "I'm still stumbling at the same old places in the road. Same old places. Same old cuts and bruises!"

It can be mighty discouraging and can even make us want to give up. But before we do that, it might be a good idea to see what God has to say about it. He's trying to catch our attention. He's calling us by name. LISTEN!

"I've been walking at your side from the very beginning," he says, "and following your progress with great hope. And that's why I asked Jesus to tell you the story about the two sons. Because you are like the both of them: Sometimes you say 'yes' to me, but then get distracted or tired and your 'yes' accidentally turns into a 'no.'

"And sometimes you start with a loud 'NO!' and then your better self takes over and you turn it round into the beginning of a 'yes' — maybe a little shakey at first, but a beginning. And that makes me so proud of you, because I know what turnarounds cost.

"I know," says the Lord, "that sometimes you don't see the progress you're making. You feel disappointed that you haven't done better, faster. Dear child, I'm not surprised at all. These things take time. I knew that when I made you.

"Look at how long it takes ME to make a tree or even a flower! And that's simple when compared to all I'm asking you to do. That will take a lifetime of you and me working together. And even when you reach the end of your pilgrimage, I know in advance that I'll have to help you finish up. And I will do just that, I promise.

"So don't be discouraged at how much time everything seems to take Just hold to course. Don't look back or waste time worrying about the past. And know that I am with you and that you are in my heart always!"

That is God's word to us! Trust him. God is as good as his word.

 


11 posted on 09/25/2005 8:39:08 AM PDT by Salvation (†With God all things are possible.†)
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To: All
 
 
A Voice in the Desert
 
 

Special Announcement:

 

Father Robert Altier will speak on

Pope Leo XIII and the St. Michael Prayer

at a special Mass honoring the Archangels and Holy Angels

for the intercession and protection of

our Holy Catholic Church, our families, our children, and our country

 

Wednesday September 28, 2005

St. Michael’s Church, St. Michael, Minnesota

Rosary and Confessions – 6:00 pm

Holy Mass – 7:00 pm

Special Presentation after the Mass  

 

September 25, 2005   Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Reading I (Ezekiel 18:25-28)    Reading II (Philippians 2:1-5)

Gospel (St. Matthew 21:28-32)

 In the first reading today, God says through the prophet Ezekiel: You say, “The Lord’s ways are not fair!” and then He asks, Is it My ways that are unfair, or is it not your ways that are unfair? We saw last week from the same prophet that the way we think is not the way God thinks. God, Who is the very norm of justice itself, cannot do anything that is unfair. The reason, however, that we might think something is unfair is because what God does is extend mercy to those who repent. If someone has done something, we tend to think that it would be a good thing to take vengeance rather than to forgive, to get even rather than to be merciful. And so when we see God pardoning somebody who has done something to us, or even something much larger, we tend to think that His way is unfair. But it is not. God’s mercy is extended to each and every person; His grace is offered to each and every person; it is simply a question of whether or not we are going to accept it. 

Now if we are going to accept God’s grace and seek to conform ourselves to His way, what is it going to look like? Saint Paul makes exceedingly clear exactly what it is going to look like in the second reading today. In his Letter to the Philippians, Saint Paul tells us that each one of us is to have the same mind and the same love – to think one thing, he says. To have the same love and the same thoughts can only be truth. He is asking that we would be united in truth, and Jesus Christ is that truth.  

There are many ways that one can live the same truth. God can call one person to the single life, another to the religious life, another to the married life, and so on. It matters not what the vocation is. Even within that, we can see that people will be called to different things. Somebody might be called to teach; another person might be called to the contemplative life; someone might be called to be a missionary and another called to work in hospitals and someone to work out in the business world and so on. It does not matter what it is that God is calling you to do, the truth and the love that we have to have is the same. There is not a different truth for somebody who is in Africa as opposed to someone who is in America. Jesus Christ is the truth, and He is the same yesterday, today, and forever, as Saint Paul says to the Hebrews. He cannot change. The truth does not change and it never will. 

If we want to look at things and say, “It’s about time that the Church gets with it,” what that means is we have rejected the truth because the fullness of the truth subsists in the Roman Catholic Church, as the Second Vatican Council says. That is not an arrogant statement; it is a humble statement of the truth that God founded one Church and He promised her the Holy Spirit to lead her into all truth. The Church is the Mystical Person of Jesus Christ, and Jesus Christ is the truth – the way, the truth, and the life. Therefore, the fullness of the truth subsists only in the Roman Catholic Church. That does not mean no one else has any truth. There is some truth, but the only place you are going to find the fullness of the truth is in the Catholic Church. So if we are not conformed in our minds and hearts to the teaching of the Church, then we are not conformed to Jesus Christ.  

There are some things that the Church teaches that are not always easy for people to accept. The Church’s teaching on things like contraception within marriage, purity outside of marriage, things regarding euthanasia, some of the biomedical practices, some of the moral areas, people balk sometimes at these teachings of the Church, yet we have to remember exactly what happened in the sixth chapter of John’s Gospel when Jesus taught about the Eucharist and how it is required that we eat His flesh and drink His blood. The people said, “This is hard, who can endure it?” Jesus simply looked at them and said, Do you want to walk away?  

No one is going to require you to believe the truth. It is entirely your choice. But we know Who the truth is. And if we are going to say we believe that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father, as Saint Paul tells us that we are to do and what we will do for the rest of eternity because every knee in heaven and on the earth and under the earth will bow at the Name of Jesus, and that will be for all eternity, are we willing to begin that process now? If Satan is going to have to bend at the Name of Jesus because Jesus is the truth, because Jesus is God and God is love and therefore He is truth and He is love, then we now need to humble ourselves to realize that we are not the truth, but rather we must conform ourselves to the truth. 

This is exactly why Saint Paul goes on to say that each one of us must humble ourselves and think of others as being greater than himself. We do not tend to like that. It is not the American way. Arrogance is the American way. Selfishness is the American way, but it is not the Christian way. We are to be humble. It is pretty easy on one level to do that. All we have to do is look in the mirror. One quick glance in the mirror should dispel very quickly any kind of nonsensical idea that we are somehow pretty wonderful and great. One trip to the confessional ought to take care of the same problem. The difficulty is that most of us do not like to look at ourselves with honesty. We have this immense dignity that is ours as Christian people made in the image and likeness of God and regenerated in Jesus Christ, but we have to balance that with the reality that we have violated our covenant with Christ. We have sinned.  

When you read any of the saints, they all say the exact same thing: I myself am the worst of all sinners. Now, remember, some of the saints never even committed a mortal sin, yet they will be right there telling us that they are the worst sinner that has ever walked the face of the earth. Yet we, who are so far from being saints, are going to run around trying to convince ourselves and the rest of the world how great we are. All we are doing is demonstrating that we are a very long way from being saints. If we ask ourselves, “How could the saints, since they never committed a mortal sin, say that they are the worst sinner ever?” they are not necessarily saying that they have committed the worst sin possible, but what they do is look at their relationship with God and they are horrified that they could have violated God in the manner that they did. They would be the first to say, “If you look at the worst sinners,” as far as who is doing the most grievous things out there, “if those people had been given the grace that I have been given, they would be far holier than I am. And if I had been given the grace that they have been given, I would probably be doing even worse than what they are doing.” 

Saint Paul then tells his Philippian converts that if they will have this same mind and same love, they will make his joy complete. This is the exact same phrase that Our Lord uses in Saint John’s Gospel, and Saint John uses the exact same words in both his first and second letter. And what is the context of Our Lord using that term? My commandment is this: that you love one another. It is by loving that we will be in the full joy of Christ, that His joy will be ours and our joy will be complete, only if we are united in truth and in love. What good does it do to call oneself a Catholic and not believe what the Church teaches? What good does it do even to call oneself generically Christian if the one commandment that Jesus Christ has given us we refuse to follow?  

My commandment to you is this: that you love one another. How many people do we hold grudges against? How many people are we angry at? How many people do we treat poorly? How arrogant are we? How much do we think of ourselves? These things all violate love. Every time that we sin we violate love. If we sin against another person, if we use another person, if we encourage another person to do something sinful, we are not united in love and truth. We may be united with someone in sin, but then we are separate from Christ. 

We see the same mystery, then, that Jesus speaks of in the Gospel reading. Are we among the ones who say, “No, I will not serve,” and turn around and say, “I’m sorry – I’ll go”? Or are we the ones who are going to say, “Oh, yes, I’ll go out there,” and then we go off and do our own thing? Jesus points out to the chief priests and the elders and the people that they are the ones who have said, “I will go,” and then they do not. He said, The tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of heaven before you because they believed and they turned around at the preaching of John the Baptist. When you saw this, you did not even change your mind – even after seeing the tax collectors and prostitutes having a conversion. What about us? How many of us are willing to say, “Oh, yes, I’ll go,” and then look at our lives; our lives are in complete contradiction sometimes to our words. In that case, we are like those chief priests and elders. Oh, we can talk a good talk and we can spew all the religious truth, but we either do not believe it or we do not live it. And it is not that the Jewish people did not believe the truth; they just did not live it. How often do we justify ourselves in refusing to live the truth? because we need to be like everyone else? because “If I live the truth, people are going to think I’m weird”? because “If I live the truth I’m going to have to change my life”? We are pharisaical because we know what the truth is but we refuse to live it. We will beat other people over the head with it, but we will not live it ourselves. There is no humility and there is no charity. 

On the other hand, if we will recognize ourselves to be the worst sinner on the face of the earth, then we will humble ourselves. Then we will be like the tax collectors and prostitutes who recognize that they have nothing to boast of because of their sinfulness. All they can do is rejoice in the mercy of God that has been extended to them, and they do not think themselves to be worthy. What did we hear last week in the Gospel? That Jesus came not to call the self-righteous but the sinners. If we do not acknowledge ourselves to be sinful individuals, we have no part in Christ. Now I know that every one of us will say, “Of course I’m a sinner,” but how many of us will actually look honestly at ourselves and say, “I am the worst. I am the worst sinner in the world”? That does not mean you are doing the worst things possible, as I mentioned earlier; it just means that in relationship to Jesus Christ you recognize the grace He has given you and you recognize your own disobedience to that grace. Therefore, each and every one of us can say, “Of all the sinners on the face of the earth, I myself am the worst.”  

Remember, that is why God chose you: because you are the worst, because you are the least, because you are the most helpless. The ones He chose are the ones who will admit that they cannot do things themselves. We still think that we can, so we still need a little work. We have to be able to acknowledge the truth that we are weak, that we are the worst sinners. The ones who think they can do it themselves, God allows them to try. We need to pray for them that they will have conversions, but in the meantime we need to work on our own selves – not to be looking at the speck in our brother’s eye but noticing the plank in our own.  

We need to strive to be conformed to Jesus Christ. That is exactly what Saint Paul told the Romans: Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by a renewal of your mind. The renewal of your mind is to be renewed in truth, to accept the truth and to live the truth. And a renewal of the heart is to love. Who is Jesus? He is God and God is love; He is the way, the truth, and the life. So He is truth and He is love. Therefore, if you want to possess within yourselves the joy of Jesus Christ, and you want that joy to be complete, there is only one way. That is to be of one mind and one heart, to have one truth and one love. That one truth is Jesus Christ, the fullness of Whom can be found only in the Catholic Church, so it is to conform ourselves to the teaching of the Church. And that one love is Jesus Christ. He is found in His fullness in the Blessed Sacrament. It is to unite ourselves with Him there, to be conformed to Jesus Christ, to live His commandment of love, so that His joy will be in us and our joy will be complete. 

*  This text was transcribed from the audio recording with minimal editing.       


12 posted on 09/25/2005 1:45:38 PM PDT by Salvation (†With God all things are possible.†)
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To: All

**St. Michael, Minnesota **

Boy, if I lived close to St. Michael, Minnesota, I would go to hear this lecture!


13 posted on 09/25/2005 1:50:40 PM PDT by Salvation (†With God all things are possible.†)
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To: All
The Word Among Us

Sunday, September 25, 2005

Meditation
Philippians 2:1-11



He whose ranks are united in purpose will be victorious.

So wrote the Chinese general, Sun Tzu (c. 500 b.c.) in his book The Art of War. This great warrior’s essays have been studied for centuries around the world, and no matter who reads it, this one teaching stands out: Unity is essential to any military victory.

Sun Tzu may have been referring to a military command, but we can apply his words to our spiritual lives as well. “The church whose members are united in purpose will be victorious.” No one would deny that unity of purpose is the great strength of the Christian community. It is what holds our diverse cultures and viewpoints together. St. Paul went so far as to say that unity—being one in love, spirit, and purpose—made his joy “complete” (Philippians 2:2). Of course, unity is far easier to talk about than it is to accomplish. So let’s try today to address any thoughts of division that are in us.

As you receive the Eucharist today, consider who it is that you are receiving. Jesus took on the form of a servant even though he was God. What humility! What obedience! What love! Then, he gave up his life to bring us together as one body. In dying for our reconciliation, Jesus made his Father’s joy complete, and so he was raised from the dead and exalted to the highest place of all.

Jesus knew the secret to bringing about unity among his people: humility and obedience. So when you receive Jesus, know that he wants to give you the grace to be like him—humble and obedient. He wants to help you say “no” to any vain, conceited, or selfish ambitions. He wants to show you how to consider others better than yourself (Philippians 2:3-4). He wants to help you to live in unity with everyone. Why? Because unity is the great witness of his victorious church.

“Jesus, as I receive you today, transform my heart so that it is just like yours.”

Ezekiel 18:25-28; Psalm 25:4-9; Matthew 21:28-32



14 posted on 09/25/2005 5:15:07 PM PDT by Salvation (†With God all things are possible.†)
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To: All
One Bread, One Body

One Bread, One Body

 

<< Sunday, September 25, 2005 >> 26th Sunday Ordinary Time
 
Ezekiel 18:25-28
Philippians 2:1-11
Psalm 25
Matthew 21:28-32
View Readings
 
WHAT LIFE IS ALL ABOUT
 
"If a wicked man, turning from the wickedness he has committed, does what is right and just, he shall preserve his life." —Ezekiel 18:27
 

Jesus began His public ministry with the command: "Repent and believe in the gospel" (Mk 1:15, our transl). If we don't repent of our sins, the shedding of Jesus' blood and His death on the cross is in vain for us. Repentance is the beginning and the essence of life in Christ. Nevertheless, repentance is humanly impossible, for repentance is not a minor change but a 180-degree turnabout in our lives and lifestyles. Moreover, the nature of sin is such that it blinds us to the seriousness of sin. Yet God's grace is sufficient (2 Cor 12:9), and sinners miraculously repent day after day (see Ez 18:28).

In addition to repentance, a necessary part of our conversion is final perseverance. The Lord said: "When a virtuous man turns away from virtue to commit iniquity, and dies, it is because of the iniquity he committed that he must die" (Ez 18:26). After we repent, we must remain faithful. Even if we sin, we must return to the Lord and faithfulness, and persevere in that faithfulness. Otherwise, we are lost. Once again, we are totally dependent on God's grace. Yet we must repeatedly make the free decisions to accept those graces of perseverance. So let us humble ourselves in repentance in the regular celebration of the Sacrament of Reconciliation and strengthen our perseverance in the frequent or daily celebration of the Eucharist. The Lord has made His grace very available to us. So let us thank Him and immerse ourselves in our baptismal graces now and forever.

 
Prayer: Father, may I be converted by Your standards.
Promise: "It was thus that He humbled Himself, obediently accepting even death, death on a cross! Because of this, God highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name above every other name." —Phil 2:8-9
Praise: Praise Jesus, risen Source of all grace and merciful Judge!
 

15 posted on 09/25/2005 11:30:44 PM PDT by Salvation (†With God all things are possible.†)
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To: Salvation
Mt 21:28-32
# Douay-Rheims Vulgate
28 But what think you? A certain man had two sons: and coming to the first, he said: Son, go work to day in my vineyard. quid autem vobis videtur homo habebat duos filios et accedens ad primum dixit fili vade hodie operare in vinea mea
29 And he answering, said: I will not. But afterwards, being moved with repentance, he went. ille autem respondens ait nolo postea autem paenitentia motus abiit
30 And coming to the other, he said in like manner. And he answering said: I go, Sir. And he went not. accedens autem ad alterum dixit similiter at ille respondens ait eo domine et non ivit
31 Which of the two did the father's will? They say to him: The first. Jesus saith to them: Amen I say to you that the publicans and the harlots shall go into the kingdom of God before you. quis ex duobus fecit voluntatem patris dicunt novissimus dicit illis Iesus amen dico vobis quia publicani et meretrices praecedunt vos in regno Dei
32 For John came to you in the way of justice: and you did not believe him. But the publicans and the harlots believed him: but you, seeing it, did not even afterwards repent, that you might believe him. venit enim ad vos Iohannes in via iustitiae et non credidistis ei publicani autem et meretrices crediderunt ei vos autem videntes nec paenitentiam habuistis postea ut crederetis ei

16 posted on 09/25/2005 11:39:33 PM PDT by annalex
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To: annalex

17 posted on 09/25/2005 11:59:06 PM PDT by annalex
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