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reading of St Paul's letter to the
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Ephesians to conclude Brothers take
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comfort in the Lord and in the domain of
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his strength clothe yourselves with the
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armor of God so that you will be in a
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position to face the devil's Maneuvers
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for it is not men that we face but the
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authorities the powers the dominations
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of this Dark World the evil spirits that
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are in the Heavens therefore put on the
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armor of God so that in the evil day you
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will be able to resist and stand firm in
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everything so stand up gird your loins
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with truth clothe yourselves with the
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breastplate of righteousness and shod
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your feet with Readiness to proclaim the
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gospel of peace take the shield of Faith
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which will allow you to extinguish all
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the fiery arrows of the evil one finally
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take the helmet of salvation and the
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sword of the spirit that is the word of
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God with prayers and supplications of
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various orders pray in all circumstances
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in the spirit and watch with all
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perseverance interceding for all the
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saints pray also for me so that the word
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may be placed in my mouth to
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courageously proclaim the mystery of the
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Gospel of which I am an ambassador in
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Chains may I as is my duty Proclaim it
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with all boldness 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 Pharisees
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approached and said to Jesus you must
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leave here because Herod wants to kill
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you Jesus said go and tell that fox I
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cast out demons and perform healings
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today and tomorrow and on the third day
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I will finish my work however I must
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walk today tomorrow and the day after
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tomorrow because it is not appropriate
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for a prophet to die outside of
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Jerusalem Jerusalem Jerusalem you who
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killed the prophets and Stone Those sent
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to you how many times have I wanted to
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gather your children as a hen gathers
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her chicks under her wings but you did
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not want to I tell you you will see me
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no more until the time comes when you
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yourselves will say blessed is he who
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comes in the name of the Lord word of
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Salvation Glory To You
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Lord dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ
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be strong in the Lord and in his
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Sovereign power with these vibrant words
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sa Paulo begins our first reading today
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imagine a general preparing his troops
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for a crucial battle but this is no
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ordinary battle with Conventional
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Weapons Paul tells us about a spiritual
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war a fight that each of us faces daily
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for it is not against human beings that
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we have to fight but against
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principalities and Powers against the
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rulers of this Dark World against the
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spirits of evil spread throughout space
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what a powerful description of the
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spiritual reality that surrounds us Paul
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lifts the veil from the visible world to
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show us a deeper more meaningful battle
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and for this battle Paul presents us
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God each piece of this armor has a deep
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meaning and a vital function let's
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examine them the belt of Truth in a
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world of fake news and Hal truths where
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people shape reality according to their
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preferences we are called to stand firm
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in God's truth which is immutable and
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eternal the breastplate of righteousness
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not not our own righteousness which is
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like dirty rags before God but the
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righteousness that comes from Christ
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which protects us from the accusations
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of the enemy the shoes of zeal to
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proclaim the gospel of peace what a
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wonderful Paradox in the midst of
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spiritual battle our mission is to
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Proclaim peace not a superficial peace
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but the Deep peace that only Christ can
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give the shield of Faith with which you
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will be able to quench all the fiery
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arrows of the evil one how many arrows
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of Doubt fear discouragement and
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Temptation are shot at us daily but
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faith in Christ is our protective shield
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the helmet of salvation protecting our
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minds our thoughts our identity as Sons
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and Daughters of God the sword of the
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spirit which is the word of God our only
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offensive weapon powerful to tear down
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strongholds and arguments contrary to
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God but look Paul does not end with the
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description of the armor he emphasizes
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the crucial importance of prayer Pray in
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the spirit on All Occasions with all
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kinds of prayers and supplications
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prayer is not an optional accessory it
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is our Vital line of communication with
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the Supreme Commander and this is where
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our Gospel reading connects perfectly we
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see Jesus facing a deadly threat from
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Herod responding with unshakable
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determination go and tell that Fox I
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cast out demons and perform healings
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today and tomorrow and on the third day
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I will be finished Jesus is not wearing
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physical armor but we see in him the
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perfect manifestation of every spiritual
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element Paul describes he is girded with
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truth clothed with righteousness his
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feet firm in God's purpose his faith
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unshakable his mind focused on the
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Salvation that would come through his
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death and resurrection and his words are
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like a sharp sword but but also notice
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the Heart of Jesus In this passage when
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he looks at Jerusalem the city that
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would reject and crucify him his
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response is not one of bitterness or
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Revenge Jerusalem Jerusalem you kill the
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prophets and Stone Those sent to you how
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many times have I wanted to gather your
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children together as the hen gathers her
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chicks under her wings but you didn't
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want to what a touching image in the
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midst of spiritual warfare in the face
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of rejection and persecution Jesus heart
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overflows with compassionate love he
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does not give up on his people even when
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they reject him this is the true nature
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of spiritual warfare it is not about
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destroying enemies but about rescuing
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Souls about bringing healing and
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restoration so what do these readings
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mean for us today first we need to
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recognize that we are in a battle we
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cannot be naive or complacent the forces
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of evil are real and active seeking to
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divert us from God's path second we do
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not fight with our own strengths or
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strategies God has provided us with
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complete armor but we need to
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consciously put on it every day through
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prayer meditation on the word communion
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with our brothers and sisters third like
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Jesus we must keep our hearts full of
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love even in the midst of conflict
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spiritual warfare is not an excuse to
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hate hate or despise people but an
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opportunity to manifest the transforming
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Love Of Christ fourth we need to stay
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focused on our mission like Jesus was
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threats and oppositions will come but we
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cannot deviate from the purpose that God
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has for us finally we must maintain our
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confidence in God's ultimate Victory
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Jesus knew that he would go through the
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suffering of the Cross but he also knew
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the glory of the Resurrection that would
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come in the same way we can face our
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battles with hope knowing that the
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victory has already been won on the
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cross my dear brothers and sisters may
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we today renew our determination to
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strengthen ourselves in the Lord may we
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put on the armor of God daily never
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forgetting that our fight is not against
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people but against the spiritual forces
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of evil may we like Jesus keep our
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hearts full of compassionate love even
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when we face opposition may we be firm
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in our mission faithful in our prayer
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and confident in God's final Victory and
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may the Lord of Peace who overcame the
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world keep your hearts and Minds in his
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perfect love may his protection be over
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you like the wings of a hen over her
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chicks guarding them from all evil and
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guiding them in their Paths of justice
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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 o 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
