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beginning of the letter from St Paul to
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Titus dear friend your teaching must be
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in accordance with sound Doctrine the
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elders must be sober thoughtful prudent
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strong in faith in charity in patience
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in the same way let old women observe
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holy conduct not being slanderers or
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slaves to wine but teachers of good know
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how to teach young women to love their
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husbands to take care of their children
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to be prudent chased Good Housewives
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docel to their husbands kind so that the
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word of God is Not defamed also urge
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young people to be moderate and show
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yourself in everything as an example of
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good works of integrity and doctrine of
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thoughtfulness of sound and
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irreproachable speech so that
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adversaries may be confused having
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nothing bad to say about us
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for the grace of God has appeared
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bringing salvation to all men it teaches
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us to abandon ungodliness and worldly
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passions and to live in this world with
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balance Justice and godliness awaiting
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the happy hope and the manifestation of
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the glory of our great God and Savior
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Jesus Christ he gave himself for us to
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rescue us from all evil and purify for
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himself of people who belong to him and
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who dedicate themselves to doing good
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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 Jesus said if any of
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you has an employee who works the land
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or takes care of animals will you
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perhaps say to him when he returns from
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the field come quickly to the table on
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the contrary will you not say to the
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servant prepare dinner for me G yourself
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and serve me while I eat and drink after
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that you will be able to eat and drink
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will he thank the servant because he did
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what he was told so you too when you
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have done everything you were told say
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we are in profitable servants we have
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done what we were supposed to do word of
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Salvation Glory To You Lord
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dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ
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imagine yourself as a servant working
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hard in the fields sweat running down
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your face as you tend the land you
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return home at the end of the day
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exhausted but with a feeling of
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accomplishment and then your boss simply
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says you just did what you were supposed
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to do this is the reality that Jesus
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evokes In Our Gospel reading today a
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reality that profoundly challenges our
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understanding of serving and being
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rewarded but before we dive into this
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challenging Parable let's turn to St
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Paul's wise guidance in the first
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reading addressed to Titus here Paul
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gives us a comprehensive view of what it
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means to live an authentic Christian
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Life he exhorts us to teach what is in
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accordance with sound Doctrine it is not
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just about accumulating knowledge but
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about molding our character and conduct
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in accordance with the teachings of
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Christ Paul invites us to be models of
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good good works not just saying the
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right words but living them with
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Integrity he challenges us to have
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dignity in our Behavior to be prudent in
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our decisions and to remain firm in our
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faith these are not easy qualities to
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cultivate especially in a world that so
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often celebrates excitement
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impulsiveness and moral relativity
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however Paul reminds us that the source
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of all this transformation is God's Own
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Grace for the grace of God has appeared
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for the Salvation of all men it is this
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grace that enables us to deny
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ungodliness and worldly passions and to
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live soberly righteously and godly my
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friends being an authentic Christian
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does not mean being perfect but it means
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being in a constant process of
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conversion allowing God's grace to shape
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our character it is a journey of
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learning and growth not an achievement
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to be achieved once and for all and this
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is where Jesus parable comes into play
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when the servant returns from the field
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the boss does not praise him for his
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hard work he simply says you just did
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what you had to do this Parable may seem
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harsh and even discouraging at first
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glance after all shouldn't we expect to
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be rewarded for doing what is right but
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Jesus is teaching us something profound
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about the nature of Christian service he
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is challenging our tendency to think
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that God owes us something in exchange
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for our obedience he is reminding us
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that serving God and others is not
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something extra we do to earn rewards
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but is the very essence of our Christian
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identity imagine if your mom or dad said
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to you thank you for helping me wash the
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dishes you deserve a bonus for that that
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would seem strange wouldn't it for this
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is how God views our service to him we
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are not indentured servants but beloved
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Sons and Daughters called to live a life
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of obedience and service out of pure
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love this does not mean that God does
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not reward us indeed his promises of
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Eternal blessings and Abundant Life are
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incredible but these rewards are not why
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we serve we serve because we have been
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transformed by God's grace because we
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recognize that everything we are and
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have comes from him so how can we live
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this reality in our daily lives first we
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need to cultivate an attitude of
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humility recognize that we are servants
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not Masters that everything we have
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comes from God not from our own merits
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second we must pursue Integrity in our
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service not doing the minimum necessary
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but doing our best even when no one is
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looking be a model of good works as Paul
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exhorts and finally we need to stay
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focused on the true reason for our
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service God's love not to serve to
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please others or to obtain rewards but
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because we have been transformed by
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divine grace and want to live in a way
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that glorifies God my dear brothers and
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sisters let us be like that faithful
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servant in the parable who fulfills his
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obligations diligently not out of
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obligation but out of love may Our Lives
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be a living testimony of God's
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transforming Grace reflected in our
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character and actions may we be vigilant
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and sober in our faith as Paul exhorts
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resisting The Temptations of the world
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and remaining firm in our commitment to
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Christ and that at the end of our
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journey we can hear the Master's words
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well done good and faithful servant
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enter into the joy of your lord May the
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blessing of God the Father the Son and
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the Holy Spirit come upon you and remain
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s 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 prow
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throughout the world seeking the ruin of
