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Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 03-17-16, OM, St. Patrick, Bishop
USCCB.org/RNAB ^ | 03-17-16 | Revised New American Bible

Posted on 03/16/2016 9:32:19 PM PDT by Salvation

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From an Obama bumper sticker on a car:
"Pray for Obama. Psalm 109:8"

PLEASE JOIN US - Evening Prayer
Someone has said that if people really understood the full extent of the power we have available through prayer, we might be speechless.
Did you know that during WWII there was an advisor to Churchill who organized a group of people who dropped what they were doing every day at a prescribed hour for one minute to collectively pray for the safety of England, its people and peace?

There is now a group of people organizing the same thing here in America. If you would like to participate: Every evening at 9:00 PM Eastern Time (8:00 PM Central) (7:00 PM Mountain) (6:00 PM Pacific), stop whatever you are doing and spend one minute praying for the safety of the United States, our troops, our citizens, and for a return to a Godly nation. If you know anyone else who would like to participate, please pass this along. Our prayers are the most powerful asset we have. Please forward this to your praying friends.

21 posted on 03/17/2016 9:09:06 AM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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March Devotion: Saint Joseph

Since the 16th century Catholic piety has assigned entire months to special devotions. Due to the solemnity of Saint Joseph on March 19, this month is devoted to this great saint, the foster father of Christ. "It greatly behooves Christians, while honoring the Virgin Mother of God, constantly to invoke with deep piety and confidence her most chaste spouse, Saint Joseph. We have a well grounded conviction that such is the special desire of the Blessed Virgin herself." --Pope Leo XIII

FOR OUR WORK
Glorious Saint Joseph, pattern of all who are devoted to toil, obtain for me the grace to toil in the spirit of penance, in order thereby to atone for my many sins; to toil conscientiously, putting devotion to duty before my own inclinations; to labor with thankfulness and joy, deeming it an honor to employ and to develop, by my labor, the gifts I have received from Almighty God; to work with order, peace, moderation, and patience, without ever shrinking from weariness and difficulties; to work above all with a pure intention and with detachment from self, having always before my eyes the hour of death and the accounting which I must then render of time ill-spent, of talents unemployed, of good undone, and of my empty pride in success, which is so fatal to the work of God. All for Jesus, all through Mary, all in imitation of thee, 0 Patriarch Joseph! This shall be my motto in life and in death. Amen.

FOR THE INTERCESSION OF SAINT JOSEPH
O Joseph, virgin-father of Jesus, most pure spouse of the Virgin Mary, pray every day for us to the same Jesus, the Son of God, that we, being defended by the power of His grace and striving dutifully in life, may be crowned by Him at the hour of death.

Prayer Source: Prayer Book, The by Reverend John P. O'Connell, M.A., S.T.D. and Jex Martin, M.A., The Catholic Press, Inc., Chicago, Illinois, 1954

St. Joseph
St. Joseph was an ordinary manual laborer although descended from the royal house of David. In the designs of Providence he was destined to become the spouse of the Mother of God. His high privilege is expressed in a single phrase, "Foster-father of Jesus." About him Sacred Scripture has little more to say than that he was a just man-an expression which indicates how faithfully he fulfilled his high trust of protecting and guarding God's greatest treasures upon earth, Jesus and Mary.

The darkest hours of his life may well have been those when he first learned of Mary's pregnancy; but precisely in this time of trial Joseph showed himself great. His suffering, which likewise formed a part of the work of the redemption, was not without great providential import: Joseph was to be, for all times, the trustworthy witness of the Messiah's virgin birth. After this, he modestly retires into the background of holy Scripture.

Of St. Joseph's death the Bible tells us nothing. There are indications, however, that he died before the beginning of Christ's public life. His was the most beautiful death that one could have, in the arms of Jesus and Mary. Humbly and unknown, he passed his years at Nazareth, silent and almost forgotten he remained in the background through centuries of Church history. Only in more recent times has he been accorded greater honor. Liturgical veneration of St. Joseph began in the fifteenth century, fostered by Sts. Brigid of Sweden and Bernadine of Siena. St. Teresa, too, did much to further his cult.

At present there are two major feasts in his honor. On March 19 our veneration is directed to him personally and to his part in the work of redemption, while on May 1 we honor him as the patron of workmen throughout the world and as our guide in the difficult matter of establishing equitable norms regarding obligations and rights in the social order.

Excerpted from The Church's Year of Grace, Pius Parsch.

St. Joseph is invoked as patron for many causes. He is the patron of the Universal Church. He is the patron of the dying because Jesus and Mary were at his death-bed. He is also the patron of fathers, of carpenters, and of social justice. Many religious orders and communities are placed under his patronage.

Patron: Against doubt; against hesitation; Americas; Austria; Diocese of Baton Rouge, Louisiana; California; Belgium; Bohemia; bursars; cabinetmakers; Canada; Carinthia; carpenters; China; Church; confectioners; craftsmen; Croatian people (in 1687 by decree of the Croatian parliament) dying people; emigrants; engineers; expectant mothers; families; fathers; Florence, Italy; happy death; holy death; house hunters; immigrants; interior souls; Korea; laborers; Diocese of La Crosse, Wisconsin; Archdiocese of Louisville, Kentucky; Diocese of Manchester, New Hampshire; Mexico; Diocese of Nashville, Tennessee; New France; New World; Oblates of Saint Joseph; people in doubt; people who fight Communism; Peru; pioneers; pregnant women; protection of the Church; Diocese of San Jose, California; diocese of Sioux Falls, South Dakota; social justice; Styria, Austria; travelers; Turin Italy; Tyrol Austria; unborn children Universal Church; Vatican II; Viet Nam; Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston West Virginia; wheelwrights; workers; working people.

Symbols: Bible; branch; capenter's square; carpenter's tools; chalice; cross; hand tools; infant Jesus; ladder; lamb; lily; monstrance; old man holding a lily and a carpenter's tool such as a square; old man holding the infant Jesus; plane; rod.

 

 
Prayer to St. Joseph

Pope Pius X composed this prayer to St. Joseph, patron of working people, that expresses concisely the Christian attitude toward labor. It summarizes also for us the lessons of the Holy Family's work at Nazareth.

Glorious St. Joseph, model of all who devote their lives to labor, obtain for me the grace to work in the spirit of penance in order thereby to atone for my many sins; to work conscientiously, setting devotion to duty in preference to my own whims; to work with thankfulness and joy, deeming it an honor to employ and to develop by my labor the gifts I have received from God; to work with order, peace, moderation, and patience, without ever shrinking from weariness and difficulties; to work above all with a pure intention and with detachment from self, having always before my eyes the hour of death and the accounting which I must then render of time ill spent, of talents wasted, of good omitted, and of vain complacency in success, which is so fatal to the work of God.

All for Jesus, all through Mary, all in imitation of you, O Patriarch Joseph! This shall be my motto in life and in death, Amen.

Litany of Saint Joseph
Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.
God, the Father of Heaven, have mercy on us.
God, the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy on us.
God, the Holy Ghost, have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, One God, have mercy on us.
Holy Mary, pray for us.
Holy Joseph,
pray for us.
Illustrious Son of David, pray for us.
Light of the Patriarchs, pray for us.
Spouse of the Mother of God, pray for us.
Chaste Guardian of the Virgin, pray for us.
Foster-Father of the Son of God, pray for us.
Faithful Protector of Christ, pray for us.
Head of the Holy Family, pray for us.
Joseph most just, pray for us.
Joseph most chaste, pray for us.
Joseph most prudent, pray for us.
Joseph most courageous, pray for us.
Joseph most obedient, pray for us.
Joseph most faithful, pray for us.
Mirror of patience, pray for us.
Lover of poverty, pray for us.
Model of working men, pray for us.
Ornament of the domestic life, pray for us.
Guardian of virgins, pray for us.
Pillar of the family, pray for us.
Consoler of the miserable, pray for us.
Hope of the sick, pray for us.
Patron of the dying, pray for us.
Terror of demons, pray for us.
Protector of the Holy Church,
pray for us.
Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, Spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world,
Graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world,
Have mercy on us.
V. He hath made him master of His house.
R. And ruler of all His possessions.

Let us pray.
O God, who in Thy ineffable providence didst vouchsafe to choose blessed Joseph to be the Spouse of Thy most holy Mother: grant, we beseech Thee, that we may have him for our intercessor in Heaven, whom on earth we venerate as out most holy Protector. Who livest and reignest world without end. Amen.

Was St. Joseph a tzadik?
St. Joseph: Patron saint of three Popes [Catholic Caucus]
St. Joseph and the Staircase
St. Joseph, Foster Father, Novena [Catholic/Orthodox Caucus]
Patron of a “Happy Death” A Special Role for St. Joseph [Catholic/Orhtodox Caucus]
Lists Every Catholic Should be Familiar With: The 7 Sorrows and 7 Joys of St. Joseph
Catholic Group Blasts Pelosi For Invoking St. Joseph on Pro-Abortion Health Care Bill
THE SEVEN SORROWS AND SEVEN JOYS OF ST. JOSEPH
Joseph, Mary and Jesus: A Model Family
Season of Announcement - Revelation to Joseph

In hard times, don't forget about the humble carpenter Joseph
Saint Joseph: Complete submission to the will of God (Pope Benedict XVI) (Catholic/Orthodox Caucus)
St. Joseph as Head of the Holy Family (Catholic/Orthodox Caucus)
St. Joseph, Patron of a Peaceful Death [Catholic Caucus]
Octave: St. Joseph, A 'Man’s Man', Calling Men to Jesus
St. Teresa de Avila's Devotion to St. Joseph (Catholic Caucus)
Catholic Men's National Day of Prayer, MARCH 15, 2008, The Solemnity of St. Joseph (Catholic Caucus)
The Role and Responsibility of Fatherhood - St. Joseph as Model
St. Joseph - Foster Father of Jesus
Some divine intervention in real estate-[Bury St. Joseph Statues in Ground]

Many Turn To Higher Power For Home Sales
St. Joseph the Worker, Memorial, May 1
Catholic Devotions: St. Joseph the Worker
Nothing Will Be Denied Him (St. Joseph)
The Heart of a Father [St. Joseph]
St. Joseph's DAY
Quemadmodum Deus - Decree Under Blessed Pius IX, Making St. Joseph Patron of the Church
Father & Child (Preaching on St. Joseph)
March 19 - Feast of St. Joseph - Husband of Mary - Intercessor of civil leaders
St. Joseph's Spirit of Silence

St. Joseph's Humility (By St. Francis de Sales)
St. Joseph [Husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary], Solemnity, March 19
St Joseph’s Paternal Love
The Heart of St. Joseph
MORE THAN PATRON OF HOMES, IT'S TIME FOR ST. JOSEPH TO GAIN HIGHEST OF RECOGNITION [Fatherhood]
The Importance of Devotion to St. Joseph
St. Francis de Sales on St. Joseph (Some Excerpts for St. Joseph's Day 2004)
St. Joseph: REDEMPTORIS CUSTOS (Guardian Of The Redeemer)
(Saint) Joseph the Patriarch: A Reflection on the Solemnity of St. Joseph
How I Rediscovered a "Neglected" Saint: Work of Art Inspires Young Man to Rediscover St. Joseph


Novena to Saint Joseph

O Saint Joseph, whose protection is so great, so strong, so prompt before the throne of God, I place in you all my interests and desires.

O Saint Joseph, assist me by your powerful intercession and obtain for me from your Divine Son all spiritual blessings through Jesus Christ, Our Lord; so that having engaged here below your heavenly power, I may offer my thanksgiving and homage to the most loving of Fathers.

O Saint Joseph, I never weary contemplating you and Jesus asleep in your arms; I dare not approach while He reposes near your heart. Press Him in my name and kiss His fine head for me, and ask Him to return the Kiss when I draw my dying breath, Amen.

O Saint Joseph, hear my prayers and obtain my petitions. O Saint Joseph, pray for me. (mention your intention)

St. Joseph Novena

O good father Joseph! I beg you,  by all your sufferings, sorrows and joys, to obtain for me what I ask.

(Here name your petition).

Obtain for all those who have asked my prayers, everything that is useful to them in the plan of God. Be near to me in my last moments, that I may eternally sing the praises of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. Amen.

(Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be)


22 posted on 03/17/2016 9:09:34 AM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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March 2016

Pope's Intentions

General Intention: Families in Difficulty: That families in need may receive the necessary support, and that children may grow up in healthy and peaceful environments.

Evangelization: Persecuted Christians: That those Christians who, on account of their faith, are discriminated against or are being persecuted, may remain strong and faithful to the Gospel, thanks to the incessant prayer of the Church.


23 posted on 03/17/2016 9:10:48 AM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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Daily Gospel Commentary

Thursday of the Fifth Week of Lent
Commentary of the day
Saint Ambrose (c.340-397), Bishop of Milan and Doctor of the Church
On Abraham, I, 67-68

“Abraham saw my day”

“God called to Abraham: Take your son whom you love, Isaac whom you have treasured; go to the heights and you shall offer him up as a holocaust.” (cf. Gen 22:2) Isaac prefigures Christ who will suffer. He comes on a donkey… When the Lord came to suffer his passion for us, he untied the foal of a donkey and sat on it… Abraham said to his servants: “We will come back to you.” He prophesied that which he did not know… Isaac carried the wood; Christ carried the gibbet of the cross. Abraham went with his son; the Father went with Christ. For he said: “You will leave me quite alone. Yet I can never be alone; the Father is with me.” (Jn 16:32) Isaac said to his father…: “Here is the wood, but where is the sheep for the holocaust?” He spoke prophetic words but he did not know it. For the Lord was preparing a lamb for the sacrifice. Abraham also prophesied when he answered: “God himself will provide the sheep for the holocaust, my son.”…

“The angel said: ‘Abraham, Abraham… Do not lay your hand on the boy, do not do the least thing to him. I know now how devoted you are to God, since you did not withhold from me your own beloved son.’ (cf. Rom 8:32)… Abraham looked about and spied a ram hanging by its horns in the thicket.” Why a ram? He is the most valuable in the flock. Why hanging? To show you that it was no earthly victim... Our horn, our strength is Christ (Lk 1:69), who is superior to every human being, as we read: “Fairer in beauty are you than the sons of men.” (Ps 45:3) He alone was raised up from the earth and exalted, as he teaches us by his words: “I do not belong to this world; I belong to what is above.” (Jn 8:23) Abraham saw him in this sacrifice, he glimpsed his passion. That is why the Lord said of him: “Abraham saw my day and was glad.” He appeared to Abraham and revealed to him that his body would suffer the passion by means of which he redeemed the world. He even indicated what kind of passion he would undergo by showing the ram hanging. The bush is the gibbet of the cross. And raised up on this wood, the flock’s incomparable guide drew everything to himself so as to make himself known to everyone.

24 posted on 03/17/2016 9:13:37 AM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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'If Christ Jesus dwells in a man as his friend and noble leader, that man can endure all things, for Christ helps and strengthens us and never abandons us. He is a true friend. And I clearly see that is we expect to please him and receive an abundance of his graces, God desires that these graces must come to us from the hands of Christ, through his most sacred humanity, in which God takes delight. All blessings come to us through our Lord. He will teach us, for in beholding his life we find that he is the best example. What more do we desire from such a good friend at our side? Unlike our friends in the world, he will never abandon us when we are troubled or distressed. Blessed is the one who truly loves him and always keeps him near.'

St. Teresa of Jesus

25 posted on 03/17/2016 9:17:21 AM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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The Angelus 

The Angel of the Lord declared to Mary: 
And she conceived of the Holy Spirit. 

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of
our death. Amen. 

Behold the handmaid of the Lord: Be it done unto me according to Thy word. 

Hail Mary . . . 

And the Word was made Flesh: And dwelt among us. 

Hail Mary . . . 


Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ. 

Let us pray: 

Pour forth, we beseech Thee, O Lord, Thy grace into our hearts; that we, to whom the incarnation of Christ, Thy Son, was made known by the message of an angel, may by His Passion and Cross be brought to the glory of His Resurrection, through the same Christ Our Lord.

Amen. 


"Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you" (Lk 1:28) 

 "Blessed are you among women,
 and blessed is the fruit of your womb"
(Lk 1:42). 


26 posted on 03/17/2016 9:17:56 AM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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St. Patrick, Bishop


Saint Patrick, Bishop
Optional Memorial

March 17th

St.-Patrick.jpg - Public Domain

prayer card

Hail, Glorious Saint Patrick, dear saint of our isle
On us, thy poor children, bestow a sweet smile
And now thou art high in the mansions above
On Erin's green valleys look down in thy love.

(Father F. W. Faber)

Readings, and the Gospel | Saint Patrick's Day Customs | Traditional Irish Foods | Sweet Treats for School

Saint Patrick, Apostle of Ireland, was born near Dumbarton, in Scotland, in the year 387. When he was about sixteen, Patrick was taken captive by Irish marauders and sold as a slave to a chieftain. For six years he was a shepherd in the valley of the Braid and on the slopes of Slemish.

He relates in his "Confessions" that during his captivity while tending the flocks he prayed many times in the day. "The love of God", he wrote, "and His fear increased in me more and more, and the faith grew in me, and the Spirit was roused, so that, in a single day, I have said as many as hundred prayers, and in the night nearly the same, so that whilst in the woods and on the mountain, even before the dawn, I was roused to prayer and I felt no hurt from it, whether there was snow or ice or rain; nor was there any slothfulness in me, such as I see now, because the Spirit was then fervent within me."

Patrick's captivity became a preparation for his future apostolate. He acquired a perfect knowledge of the Celtic tongue in which he would one day announce the glad tidings of Redemption. His master, Milchu, was a Druid high priest, and this allowed Patrick to become familiar with all of the details of Druidism.

After six years, on the advice of an angel, Patrick fled from his master. He traveled until he found a ship ready to set sail. In a few days he was in Britain, but now his heart was set on devoting himself to the service of God in the sacred ministry. He went to France where he joined Saint Germain, bishop of Auxerre, and put himself under the bishop's guidance and was ordained to the priesthood. Saint Germain was sent by the pope to Britain to combat the Pelagian heresy, and took Patrick with him to be one of his missionary companions in Rome.

Pope Saint Celestine I, who had called the Council of Ephesus to address the Nestorian and Pelagian heresies, sent Patrick as a missionary to Ireland on the recommendation of St. Germain. On his journey from Rome, Patrick was consecrated bishop by St. Masimus at Turin, then returned to St. Germain in Auxerre to prepare for the missionary journey to Ireland.

His arrival in Ireland (ca. 433) was greeted with opposition from Druid chieftans. He returned to Dalaradia where he had been a slave to pay the price of ransom to his former master, and to bring him to Christ but as he approached he saw the castle burning in the distance. The word of Patrick's miraculous powers had preceded him, and the frenzied Milchu gathered his treasures into his mansion, set it on fire, and cast himself into the flames. An ancient record adds: "His pride could not endure the thought of being vanquished by his former slave."

The druids and magicians fought to maintain their control over the Irish, but Patrick's prayer and faith triumphed. On Easter Day 433, after winning the Irish Chieftains over to Christianity, Saint Patrick is said to have plucked a shamrock to explain by its triple leaf and single stem the Blessed Trinity. This trefoil, called "Patrick's Cross," became the symbol both of the saint and of Ireland itself.

Saint Patrick's Breast-Plate

Saint Patrick's prayer, popularly known as "Saint Patrick's Breast-Plate" (or "Lorica"), is believed to have been composed by him in preparation for this victory over paganism.

Click HERE for the complete hymn with music from the Adoremus Hymnal.

Following is a literal translation of the old Irish text:

I bind to myself to-day
The strong virtue of the Invocation of the Trinity:
I believe the Trinity in the Unity
The Creator of the Universe.

I bind to myself to-day
The virtue of the Incarnation of Christ with His Baptism,
The virtue of His crucifixion with His burial,
The virtue of His Resurrection with His Ascension,
The virtue of His coming on the Judgment Day.

I bind to myself to-day
The virtue of the love of seraphim,
In the obedience of angels,
In the hope of resurrection unto reward,
In prayers of Patriarchs,
In predictions of Prophets,
In preaching of Apostles,
In faith of Confessors,
In purity of holy Virgins,
In deeds of righteous men.

I bind to myself to-day
The power of Heaven,
The light of the sun,
The brightness of the moon,
The splendour of fire,
The flashing of lightning,
The swiftness of wind,
The depth of sea,
The stability of earth,
The compactness of rocks.

I bind to myself to-day
God's power to guide me,
God's Might to uphold me,
God's Wisdom to teach me,
God's Eye to watch over me,
God's Ear to hear me,
God's Word to give me speech,
God's Hand to guide me,
God's Way to lie before me,
God's Shield to shelter me,
God's Host to secure me,
Against the snares of demons,
Against the seduction of vices,
Against the lust of nature,
Against everyone who meditates injury to me,
Whether far or near,
Whether few or with many.

I invoke to-day all these virtues
Against every hostile merciless power
Which may assail my body and my soul,
Against the incantations of false prophets,
Against the black laws of heathenism,
Against the false laws of heresy,
Against the deceits of idolatry,
Against the spells of women, and smiths, and druids,
Against every knowledge that binds the soul of man.

Christ, protect me to-day
Against every poison, against burning,
Against drowning, against death-wound,
That I may receive abundant reward.

Christ with me, Christ before me,
Christ behind me, Christ within me,
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ at my right, Christ at my left,
Christ in the fort,
Christ in the chariot seat,
Christ in the poop [deck],
Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks to me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.

I bind to myself to-day
The strong virtue of an invocation of the Trinity.
I believe the Trinity in the Unity
The Creator of the Universe.
------

St. Patrick's Farewell Blessing

St. Patrick spent seven years in Munster where he founded monastic cells and churches, performed ordinations, healed the sick, and, according to legend, resuscitated the dead. This is his farewell and blessing, as recorded in the bishop's Life:

"A blessing on the Munster people
Men, youths, and women;
A blessing on the land
That yields them fruit.

"A blessing on every treasure
That shall be produced on their plains,
Without any one being in want of help,
God's blessing be on Münster.

"A blessing be on their peaks,
On their bare flagstones,
A blessing on their glens,
A blessing on their ridges.

"Like the sand of the sea under ships,
Be the number of their hearths;
On slopes, on plains,
On mountains, on hills, a blessing."

Saint Patrick continued until his death to visit and watch over the churches which he had founded. It is recorded in his Life that he consecrated no fewer than 350 bishops.

He died at Saul, Downpatrick, Ireland, on March 17, 493.


Readings, and the Gospel

Collect
O God, who chose the Bishop Saint Patrick
to preach your glory to the peoples of Ireland,
grant, through his mertits and intercession,
that those who glory in the name of Christian
may never cease to proclaim your wondrous deeds to all.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. +Amen.

First reading: Peter 4:7b-11
Keep a calm and sober mind. Above all, never let your love for each other grow insincere, since love covers over many a sin. Welcome each other into your houses without grumbling. Each one of you has received a special grace, so, like good stewards responsible for all these different graces of God, put yourselves at the service of others. If you are a speaker, speak in words which seem to come from God; if you are a helper, help as though every action was done at God's orders; so that in everything God may receive the glory, through Jesus Christ, since to Him belong all glory and power for ever and ever. +Amen.

Gospel: Luke 5:1-11
While the people pressed upon Jesus to hear the word of God, He was standing by the lake of Gennesaret. And He saw two boats by the lake; but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon's, He asked him to put out a little from the land. And He sat down and taught the people from the boat. And when He had ceased speaking, He said to Simon, "Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch." And Simon answered, "Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets." And when they had done this, they enclosed a great shoal of fish; and as their nets were breaking, they beckoned to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord." For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the catch of fish which they had taken; and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, "Do not be afraid; henceforth you will be catching men." And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed Him.

Saint Patrick's Day Customs


Wearin' o' the Green.
During "penal times" when Catholics in Ireland were persecuted, and frequently had to hide, it was a crime to wear the color green, which symbolized Irish independence and defiance of their oppressors. But Irish-Americans today make a point of wearing something green on Saint Patrick's Day to signify pride in their Irish heritage. Parades and parties are commonly held on Saint Patrick's Day. Though these usually bear no resemblance to a religious celebration, they often feature traditional Irish music and dancing -- even people with no Irish ancestors wear green and join the festivities.

Sadly, there are still divisions in Ireland, and ancient hostilities between Irish Catholic "greensmen" and Protestant "orangemen" have persisted even into our own time and although the disputes are far more political than religious, this is a particularly sad example of the divisions that have existed among Christians for centuries.

Many brave souls have tried hard to bring peace and unity to the country and we can join in their prayers for peace.


Traditional Irish Foods

Besides potatoes, Irish-Americans customarily eat corned beef and cabbage, "Irish stew", and soda bread or oatmeal bread on Saint Patrick's Day. Recipes we use follow.

Irish Oatmeal Bread

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

Mix together:

3 cups flour
1 1/4 cups rolled oats (quick or regular)
1 1/2 Tbsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt

Beat together:

1 egg
1/4 cup honey
1 1/2 cups milk
1 Tbsp. butter

Add liquid mixture to dry ingredients, stirring until the dry ingredients are just moistened.

Pour in a greased loaf pan, and bake about 1 hour and a quarter. Remove loaf to rack, and brush generously with butter.



Soda Bread

Beat together

2/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup oil
2 eggs

Mix together:

1 cup milk
2 Tbsp. vinegar
and add to sugar and egg mixture

Stir in:

4 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup raisins
1 tsp. caraway seed

Knead a few times and form into a round loaf. Placed into 9-10" well-greased cast iron skillet. Cut cross in top. Brush with orange juice and sprinkle with sugar. Bake in skillet at 350 degrees F for 30 - 40 minutes until golden brown.


Joanna Bogle, a British Catholic journalist, gives this recipe for boiled bacon and cabbage in her 1988 book, Feasts and Seasons.

Boiled Bacon and Cabbage
To serve four (multiply as needed):
1 1/2 lbs. boiling bacon or ham
Cabbage

Wash the bacon and if it is very salty, steep it in cold water for a few hours. Place in a saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring slowly to a boil and simmer, allowing 25 minutes to each pound and 25 minutes extra at the end of cooking. When cooked, remove the bacon, and cook the cabbage in the same water, chopped up. Remove the rind from the bacon. Sprinkle bacon with bread crumbs an place under the grill for a few minutes to brown. Slice the bacon and serve hot with the freshly cooked cabbage. Hot parsley sauce can be served with the bacon, if desired.


Sweet Treats for School

Shamrock or Snake Cookies
Use either your favorite sugar cookie recipe, or a prepared cookie dough roll. If you make your own dough, color it green with food coloring. If you use ready-made dough, it may be easier to add green color with icing or colored sugar.

For Shamrocks:
Either use a clover shaped cookie cutter, or, lacking that slice round dough into 1/4" thick slices, pressing three circles together to form a clover, adding a pinch of dough rolled into a "stem). Sprinkle with green sugar before baking, or decorate with icing.

For Snakes:
You can make these about any size. Roll the dough into a long snake-like roll, then roll the "snake" in green sugar. Form into a snaky coil with the "head" sticking up in the middle and form the "tail" into a point. Place on a prepared cookie sheet. Add "eyes" made of bits of chocolate chip or currants.

Saint Patrick's Day cupcakes
Prepare batter from a white or yellow cake mix, or your own recipe. Sprinkle a few drops of green cake-coloring on top of the batter and cut through the batter with a rubber spatula a few times to give a "marble" effect. Spoon the batter into muffin pans lined with cupcake papers (each about 2/3 full), and bake in 350 degree oven about 15 minutes, or until done. Cool cupcakes on racks.

Prepare butter cream icing (or use canned white icing). Add about three drops green cake coloring and one drop yellow, and mix thoroughly, to give a leafy green.

For "grass": Add about 1/4 teaspoon of green food coloring and about 1 teaspoon water to 1 cup of shredded or flaked sweetened coconut, stirring until coconut is evenly colored.

Ice the cooled cakes with the green icing, and sprinkle them with the coconut "grass".

Decorate:
Adorn the cakes with "gummy worms" to represent the snakes St. Patrick drove out of Ireland, or with gumdrop shamrocks, or with small marzipan potatoes.

If you can't find ready-made shamrocks, you can roll out any green gumdrops on sugared waxed paper to about 1/4" thick, and cut out shamrock shapes with a small sharp knife.

Potatoes: Buy canned, sweetened almond paste, shape into ovals about 1 1/2" long, poke "eyes" with a toothpick or match stick, and brush them with food coloring thinned with a little water (caramel coloring, or mix a brown color by adding a drop of green and yellow to about 4 drops of red food coloring).

Roll the potatoes in powdered cocoa mixed with sugar, and put them on waxed paper to dry.


Through me many peoples were born again in God

"I give thanks to my God tirelessly who kept me faithful in the day of trial, so that today I offer sacrifice to him confidently, the living sacrifice of my life to Christ, my Lord, who preserved me in all my troubles. I can say therefore: Who am I, Lord, and what is my calling that you should cooperate with me with such divine power? Today, among heathen peoples, I praise and proclaim your name in all places, not only when things go well but also in times of stress. Whether I receive good or ill, I return thanks equally to God, who taught me always to trust him unreservedly. His answer to my prayer inspired me in these latter days to undertake this holy and wonderful work in spite of my ignorance, and to imitate in some way those who, as the Lord foretold, would preach his Good News as a witness to all nations before the end of the world.

How did I come by this wisdom which was not my own, I who neither knew what was in store for me, nor what it was to relish God? What was the source of the gift I got later, the great and beneficial gift of knowing and loving God, even if it meant leaving my homeland and my relatives?

I came to the Irish heathens to preach the Good News and to put up with insults from unbelievers. I heard my mission abused, I endured many persecutions even to the extent of chains; I gave up my free-born status for the good of others. Should I be worthy I am ready to give even my life, promptly and gladly, for his name; and it is there that I wish to spend it until I die, if the Lord should graciously allow me.

I am very much in debt to God; who gave me so much grace that through me many people were born again in God and afterwards confirmed, and that clergy were ordained for them everywhere. All this was for a people newly come to belief whom the Lord took from the very ends of the earth as he promised long ago, through his prophets: ‘To you the nations will come from the ends of the earth and will say, "How false are the idols our fathers made for themselves, how useless they are." 'And again: ‘I have made you a light for the nations so that you may be a means of salvation to the ends of the earth.’

I wish to wait there for the promise of one who never breaks his word, as he promises in the gospel: 'They will come from the east and the west to take their places with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob,' just as we believe the faithful will come from every part of the world."

A reading from the Confession of St Patrick (Conf 34,36,37,38,39)


27 posted on 03/17/2016 4:40:18 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: All
The Snakes of St Patrick
Resurrection Miracles Performed by St. Patrick, Apostle of Ireland
ST PATRICK, BISHOP, CONFESSOR, APOSTLE OF IRELAND—A.D. 464
St Patrick's Confession (The Words of the Real Patrick)
St. Patrick

St Patrick kicked out of school
St. Patrick
Apostle to the Irish (Who is the REAL St. Patrick ?)
Patrick: Deliverer of the Emerald Isle
Breastplate of St Patrick [Poem/Prayer]
Confessions of St. Patrick (In his own words)
Feast of Saint Patrick, the Enlightener of Ireland
St. Patrick(Happy St. Patrick's Day!)
St Patrick's 'day' moved to March 15th (in 2008)
St. Patrick’s Breastplate Prayer

St. Patrick (Erin Go Bragh!)
History of St. Patrick's Day
Patrick: The Good, the Bad, and the Misinformed
The Lorica of St. Patrick
Orthodox Feast of +Patrick, the Enlightener of Ireland
St. Patrick
St. Patrick's Breast Plate
Orthodox Feast of St Patrick, the Enlightener of Ireland, March 17
The Lorica of St. Patrick
To Truly Honor Saint Patrick, Bishop and Confessor
Apostle to the Irish: The Real Saint Patrick
St. Patrick
Saint Patrick [Apostle of Ireland]
Was St. Patrick Catholic?....Of Course!! [Happy St. Pat's Day]

28 posted on 03/17/2016 4:44:21 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: All
Information: St. Patrick

Feast Day: March 17

Born: between 387 and 390 at Scotland

Died: between 461 and 464 at Saul, County Down, Ireland

Patron of: Ireland, Nigeria, Montserrat, New York, Boston, Engineers, against snakes

29 posted on 03/17/2016 4:53:28 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: All

St. Patrick

Feast Day: March 17
Born: 385 :: Died: 461

St. Patrick was born in Scotland to Roman parents. When he was sixteen, he was kidnapped by pirates and taken on a ship to Ireland. There he was sold as a slave. His owner sent him to look after his flocks of sheep on the mountains. Patrick had very little food and clothing yet he took good care of the animals in rain, snow and ice.

Patrick was so lonely on the hillside that he turned often in prayer to Jesus and his Mother Mary. His life was hard but Patrick's trust in God grew stronger all the time. Six years later, he had a dream in which he was commanded to return to Britain. He saw this as a sign and escaped from Ireland.

In Britain he studied to become a priest. Then Patrick had a strong feeling that he had to go back to Ireland to bring that pagan land of non-believers to Christ. At last his wish came true. He became a priest and then a bishop. Pope St. Celestine I asked Patrick to go as a missionary and preach first in England then in Ireland. How happy he was to bring the Good News of the true God to the people who once held him a slave.

Patrick suffered much in Ireland and there was always the danger that he would be killed, yet the saint kept on preaching about Jesus. He traveled from one village to another where tribe after tribe became Christian. He hardly ever rested, he made sacrifices and did hard penance for these people whom he loved so dearly. Before he died, within the thirty-three years he worked in Ireland, the whole nation was Christian.

He was one of the most successful missionaries in the world but his great success in no way made St. Patrick proud. He called himself a poor sinner and gave all praise to God. Patrick died in 461.

Prayer of St. Patrick:
Christ shield me this day:
Christ with me,
Christ before me,
Christ behind me,
Christ in me,
Christ beneath me,
Christ above me,
Christ on my right,
Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down,
Christ when I arise,
Christ in the heart of every person who thinks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in the ear that hears me.


30 posted on 03/17/2016 4:58:32 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: All

Thursday

March 17, 2016

The Breastplate of St. Patrick

Christ with me,
Christ before me,
Christ behind me,
Christ in me,
Christ beneath me,
Christ above me,
Christ on my right,
Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down,
Christ when I sit down,
Christ when I arise,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.

I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through belief in the Threeness,
Through confession of the Oneness
of the Creator of creation. Amen.


Year of Mercy Calendar for Today: “St. Patrick’s Day. Google St. Patrick.”


31 posted on 03/17/2016 8:30:21 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: All
CATHOLIC ALMANAC

Thursday, March 17

Liturgical Color: Violet

Today is the optional memorial
of St. Patrick, bishop. St. Patrick
evangelized Ireland, converting
the whole country. Because of
his work, monasteries were
opened in Ireland that would
protect the European faith during
the Dark Ages.

32 posted on 03/17/2016 8:39:03 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: All
Catholic Culture

Lent: March 17th

Optional Memorial of St. Patrick, bishop and confessor (Solemnity Aus, Ire, Feast New Zeal, Scot, Wales)

MASS READINGS

March 17, 2016 (Readings on USCCB website)

COLLECT PRAYER

O God, who chose the Bishop Saint Patrick to preach your glory to the peoples of Ireland, grant, through his merits and intercession, that those who glory in the name of Christian may never cease to proclaim your wondrous deeds to all. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

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Recipes (21)

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Activities (4)

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Prayers (7)

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Library (8)


33 posted on 03/17/2016 8:47:21 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: All
The Word Among Us

Meditation: John 8:51-59

Saint Patrick, Bishop (Optional Memorial)

Abraham your father rejoiced to see my day. (John 8:56)

There is a scene in The Wizard of Oz where Dorothy’s dog, Toto, pulls back a curtain to show that the terrifying wizard really is a pleasant, rosy-cheeked old man. Mounting tension goes away after his identity—and his goodness—is revealed.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells the Jews gathered in the Temple that their forefather Abraham had a special gift for seeing “beyond the curtain.” Where everyone else thought God was punishing and fearsome, Abraham discovered how loving and trustworthy he was.

This close relationship between God and Abraham came about as God revealed himself to him and walked with him on the journey to the Promised Land. He blessed Abraham with a long-desired child, and he made a covenant, promising Abraham many descendants. And so, Jesus says, Abraham rejoiced, literally, he “exulted with joy,” that he might see the day of the Lord.

Because of all the other promises God had fulfilled, Abraham expected to see God’s promise of salvation come about. As Jesus describes it, Abraham’s faith was equivalent to sight: “Abraham your father rejoiced to see my day” (John 8:56). In other words, he experienced the joy of Jesus’ coming before it took place in time.

You might think it was easy for Abraham to have faith because he had experienced prosperity on earth. But remember that his wife, Sarah, was infertile for many decades before they had a child. And although Abraham was promised many descendants, he didn’t live to meet most of them. He could have despaired, but his faith changed his outlook.

Not all of your prayers have been answered yet either. But God’s salvation has come to you through Jesus. You can live with an outlook of faith just like Abraham, knowing that God will be victorious. This is not a happy delusion or a coping mechanism. It is meant to be the foundation for your whole life. Today, think about specific ways that God has loved you. Let this awareness enkindle a greater desire in you to see God’s kingdom come. Your expectant faith will help you see beyond even the most difficult challenges, just as it helped Abraham.

“Lord, give me eyes to see your glory breaking through.”

Genesis 17:3-9
Psalm 105:4-9

34 posted on 03/17/2016 8:50:21 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: All
Regnum Christi

Actions Speak Louder than Words
U. S. A. | SPIRITUAL LIFE | SPIRITUALITY
March 18, 2016 - Friday of the Fifth Week of Lent


Father Alex Yeung, LC


John 10:31-42


The Jews picked up rocks to stone Jesus. Jesus answered them, "I have shown you many good works from my Father. For which of these are you trying to stone me?" The Jews answered him, "We are not stoning you for a good work but for blasphemy. You, a man, are making yourself God." Jesus answered them, "Is it not written in your law, ´I said, "You are gods"´? If it calls them gods to whom the word of God came, and scripture cannot be set aside, can you say that the one whom the Father has consecrated and sent into the world blasphemes because I said, ´I am the Son of God´? If I do not perform my Father´s works, do not believe me; but if I perform them, even if you do not believe me, believe the works, so that you may realize and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father." Then they tried again to arrest him; but he escaped from their power. He went back across the Jordan to the place where John first baptized, and there he remained. Many came to him and said, "John performed no sign, but everything John said about this man was true." And many there began to believe in him.

Introductory Prayer: Lord, you are life and truth and goodness. You are also peace and mercy. How grateful I am to have this moment to turn to you. Without you I can do nothing good. In fact, when I do good, it is you working through me, despite my failings. Thank you, Lord. Here I am ready to love you more.

Petition: Lord, help me to put my faith into action.


  1. The Works Give Testimony: In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus teaches us that our faith is based not only on what God has promised, but also on what he has done. Christ points to his works as the basis for faith in him as the Son: “Even if you do not believe me, believe the works….” The greatest of all these works is his resurrection from the dead, which we will commemorate a few days from now. Works are always more powerful than words. Words may convince the mind, but works move the will to action – to decision. Jesus still continues to do the works of the Father today, especially in the Eucharist and in sacramental confession, as well in the other sacraments. Do I see these works as they really are – true actions of Christ with the power to transform?


  1. The World Needs the Testimony of Holy Lives: We can never underestimate the importance and the power of personal testimony in today’s world. We are inundated with information and external stimuli of all types. Words and images and slogans abound. Yet against this cacophonous backdrop, the works of true holiness speak louder than ever before. Pope Paul VI said it best: “Contemporary man needs testimony more than arguments.” In our personal case, do our works match our words? Do our works speak for themselves of what we profess? Or are we “all words and no works?”


  1. Let Your Light Shine in the World so that They Might Believe: God’s word has a special ability to penetrate the human heart and conscience. We need to trust the transforming ability of Scripture. When that word is assimilated in the lives of believers, its power is multiplied even more. The tremendous and even virulent opposition Jesus meets at the hands of his adversaries cannot keep others from believing in him. This mystery is repeated over and over again in the life of the Church. Where there is the greatest opposition to the Gospel message, there are also the greatest conversions. “Where sin abounds, grace abounds more abundantly,” (Romans 5:20) to paraphrase Saint Paul. This proven truth should protect us from discouragement in our own efforts to evangelize.


Conversation with Christ: I believe in you, Lord, when I cast out my nets one and one hundred times, and I draw them in wet, empty, almost broken. I believe that you test your chosen ones, because when the seed is sunk down into the earth then it can better take root in God. I want to abandon myself to you, that you may place me near you, as a seal on your heart

Resolution: I will strive today to make my works match what I profess to believe.


35 posted on 03/17/2016 9:16:49 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: All
Homily of the Day
March 17, 2016

Week after week, the liturgical readings of the Lenten season bring us closer to the week called Holy Week. The Gospel reading for today highlights the contrast between the senses of mission that Jesus had for himself and the utter opposition of the religious leaders of his day. They simply could not grasp the real meaning of Jesus saying that whoever would keep his word would not die or that he could rightly claim God to be his Father,

For them all that Jesus was and said were blasphemous and therefore deserving of death by stoning. They may have thought that they were being faithful to their understanding of God’s Law but their blindness to all that Jesus did and taught made them misunderstand his mission,

What a tragic misunderstanding that was! Little did they realize that by pretending to be religiously faithful to God (according to their “traditions”) they were actually creating an obstacle to the deepest and true meaning of their tradition. That tradition should have led them to accept the promised Messiah. Thus, their misguided religious fanaticism was in reality a betrayal of their tradition. How dangerous religious fanaticism can be! Where can we find relief? Do have an answer?

Ultimately God’s answer is in the Cross, the Cross that is a mystery, a stumbling block to some and a scandal to others. It is on the Cross that Jesus asks the Father to forgive us when we do not know what we are doing. It is the Cross on which death gives way to new life. It is the Cross of mercy, forgiveness and understanding.


36 posted on 03/17/2016 10:03:21 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: All
One Bread, One Body

One Bread, One Body

Language: English | Español

All Issues > Volume 32, Issue 2

<< Thursday, March 17, 2016 >> St. Patrick
 
Genesis 17:3-9
View Readings
Psalm 105:4-9 John 8:51-59
Similar Reflections
 

THE WORD'S WORD

 
"A man shall never know death if he keeps My word." —John 8:52
 

Because Jesus is God, the great I AM (Jn 8:58), His words are "living and effective" (Heb 4:12), and "spirit and life" (Jn 6:63). If we keep Jesus' words, we "shall never see death" (Jn 8:51).

This shows why the teachings of the Church and her Bible are so important. It also indicates the great importance of One Bread, One Body and other books which help us live God's Word. Therefore,

  • read, pray, and share God's Word daily,
  • love, live, and obey God's Word,
  • work and do anything you can to reach as many people as possible as deeply as possible with God's precious life-saving Word,
  • persevere in proclaiming God's Word "whether convenient or inconvenient — correcting, reproving, appealing — constantly teaching and never losing patience" (2 Tm 4:2), and
  • "pray for us that the word of the Lord may make progress and be hailed by many others, even as it has been by you" (2 Thes 3:1).

Jesus promised: "I solemnly assure you, if a man is true to My word, he shall never see death" (Jn 8:51).

 
Prayer: Father, give me a hunger for Your Word greater than my hunger for food (see Mt 4:4).
Promise: "You and your descendants after you must keep My covenant throughout the ages." —Gn 17:9
Praise: St. Patrick prayed, studied, struggled to bring the good news to those who had enslaved him. He taught forgiveness to his enemies who would, in turn, be the people God chose to evangelize Europe.

37 posted on 03/17/2016 10:06:40 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: All

Save the Children!

Support the couples who are expecting a child!

38 posted on 03/17/2016 10:08:47 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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