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reading of the Book of Revelation of St
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John they said to me John these two
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witnesses are the two olive trees and
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the two lampstands which are before the
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Lord of the earth if anyone wants to
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harm them fire will come out of their
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mouth and devour their enemies yes if
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anyone if you want to harm them that's
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how you will die they have the power to
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close the sky so that no rain falls
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while their prophetic Mission lasts they
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also have the power to turn the waters
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into blood they want they can Smite the
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Earth with every kind of plague when
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they finish their testimony the Beast
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that rises from the abyss will fight
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against them will overcome them and kill
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them and the corpses of the two
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witnesses will be exposed in the square
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of the great city which is symbolically
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called Sodom and Egypt and in which
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their lord was also crucified people of
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All Peoples races languages and Nations
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will see their corpses for 3 and 1/2
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days and will not let the bodies be
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buried the inhabitants of the land will
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celebrate the death of the witnesses
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they will congratulate each other and
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exchange gifts because these two
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prophets were disturbing the inhabitants
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of the land after 3 and 1/2 days a
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breath of life came from God penetrated
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the two prophets and they stood up all
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those who met them as they contemplated
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they were very afraid then I heard a
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loud voice coming from the sky and
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calling them both come up here they went
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up to the sky in the cloud while the
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enemies looked on word of the Lord thank
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God proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus
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Christ according to St Luke Glory To You
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Lord at that time some Sadducees who
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deny the resurrection approached Jesus
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and asked him Master Moses left us
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writing if anyone has a married brother
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and he dies without children he must
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marry the Widow in order to ensure
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descendant for his brother now there
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were seven brothers the first married
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and died leaving no children and the
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second and the third married the Widow
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finally the woman also died in the
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resurrection whose wife will she be all
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seven were married to her Jesus answered
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the Sadducees in this life men and women
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marry but those who are judged worthy of
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the Resurrection from the dead and of
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sharing in the Life to Come neither do
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they marry nor are they given in
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marriage and they will no longer be able
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to they will die for they will be equal
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to the angels they will be children of
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God because they have risen Moses also
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indicated that the dead Rise Again In
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The Passage through the Bush when he
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calls the Lord the god of Abraham the
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god of Isaac and the god of Jacob is not
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God of dead but of the living for all
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live for him some doctors of the law
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said to Jesus Master you spoke very well
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and no one else had the courage to ask
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Jesus anything word of
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Salvation Glory To You Lord
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my dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ
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as we delve into today's readings we are
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confronted with visions of Hope power
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and the promise of eternal life both the
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apocalypse and the gospel call us to
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reflect on the reality that transcends
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this Earthly life these passages invite
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us on a journey of Faith challenging us
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to live not only with our eyes fixed on
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the present but with our hearts anchored
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in eternity imagine yourself on a starry
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night looking up at the sky the stars
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seem fixed Eternal but we know that they
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also have a life cycle some shine
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brightly for millions of years before
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fading this is also how human life is
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brief and at the same time part of
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something infinitely larger what we do
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here matters but our true goal is beyond
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this Earthly Horizon in the first
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reading from revelation we are presented
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with an enigmatic Vision the two
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witnesses they represent God's
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faithfulness in the midst of persecution
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and suffering they are clothed with
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power described as two olive trees and
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lampstands these images refer to the Old
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Testament specifically to the prophet
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42-14 and symbolize those who remain
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firm as lights in the world nourished by
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the Holy Spirit even in times of
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the witnesses face Fierce opposition and
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are killed by the Beast that ascends out
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of the Abyss but in one glorious moment
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God resurrects them and takes them to
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heaven in Triumph this passage is a
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clear reminder that suffering does not
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have the last word evil may seem to
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Triumph momentarily but the final
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Victory belongs to God and His faithful
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let's think of a seed planted in the
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ground it needs to dive for a new plant
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to emerge this is all also the case with
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us we often face symbolic deaths in our
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lives failures losses and
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challenges however these experiences are
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opportunities for us to emerge Stronger
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by God's grace as living Witnesses of
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his power in Luke's gospel we find Jesus
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debating with the Sadducees a group that
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did not believe in the resurrection they
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present a complex issue based on the
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levirate law to try to discredit him
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they ask about a woman who has had
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several husbands whose husband will she
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be in the resurrection Jesus with Divine
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wisdom responds that life after the
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resurrection is different from life on
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Earth he explains that in the Kingdom of
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Heaven there will be no marriage as we
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know it because we will be like Angels
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living fully in the presence of God his
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answer challenges The Limited vision of
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the Sadducees and opens our eyes to the
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transformative reality of a eternal life
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Jesus message teaches us that we often
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try to understand the things of God with
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human categories it's like trying to
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measure the ocean with a glass God calls
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us to expand our vision to trust that
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eternity will be infinitely greater and
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more wonderful than we can imagine to
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illustrate this let's think of a child
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trying to imagine adult life it can
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understand only fragments work
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responsibilities freedom but what she
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fails to capture is the depth of the
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adult experience the joys the challenges
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and the connections so are we in
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relation to eternal life we only know
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fragments but we trust that it will be a
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glorious reality today's readings also
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invite us to reflect on the power of the
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resurrection and its impact on our lives
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now Jesus reminds us that God is not the
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god of the dead but of the living this
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means that the resurrection ction is not
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just a future event it is a force that
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is already at work within us each time
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we choose good over evil hope over
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despair forgiveness over bitterness we
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experience a glimpse of Resurrection
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let's go back to the image of the two
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witnesses they represent each of us
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called to be lights in the world even in
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the midst of opposition we may not face
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direct persecution but we certainly face
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times when our faith is challenged it
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can be in the workplace in family
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discussions or even in internal
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struggles against sin how can we be
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these faithful Witnesses first we need
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to feed on the Holy Spirit like the
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olive trees that provide oil for the
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lampstand this means a life of prayer
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sacraments and meditation on the word of
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God only with this strength can we shine
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in the midst of Darkness second we must
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remember that our light does not come
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but from god let's think about the Moon
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it doesn't have its own light but it
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reflects light from the Sun so too our
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mission is to reflect the Light of
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Christ to the world when we Face
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difficulties let us remember that we are
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not alone just as God resurrected the
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witnesses of the Apocalypse he also
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sustains us in our daily battles finally
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we are called to live with our eyes on
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eternity this does not mean ignoring our
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responsibilities but living with the
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knowledge that our choices here have an
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eternal impact let's think of a sculptor
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working on a piece of marble each stroke
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no matter how small contributes to the
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final work so too Every Act of love
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every word of kindness and every moment
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of prayer shapes our Eternal Destiny I
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now invite you to a moment of reflection
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let us close our eyes and ask ourselves
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how am I living my life in light of the
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Resurrection am I being a faithful
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witness even in adversity am I allowing
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the hope of eternal life to shape my
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daily choices Lord we ask for your help
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to be faithful Witnesses of your love
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give us courage to face the darkness of
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this world with the light of your grace
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teach us to live with our eyes fixed on
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eternity trusting in your promise of
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resurrection and full life may we be
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living son of your transforming power
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amen my brothers and sisters as we leave
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this moment of meditation let us
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remember that we are called to be lights
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in the world signs of Hope and witnesses
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to the power of the Resurrection let us
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live with joy and courage trusting that
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the god of the living accompanies us at
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every step May the grace and peace of
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Christ be with you all amen
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St Michael the Archangel defend Us in
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battle be our protection against the
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wickedness and snares of the devil may
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God rebuke him we humbly pray and do
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thou oh Prince of the Heavenly Host by
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the power of God cast into hell Satan
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and all the evil spirits who prowl
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throughout the world seeking the ruin of
