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reading from the letter of St Paul to
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Titus dear friend admonish everyone to
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live submissive to princes and
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authorities to obbey them and be ready
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to do any good work do not insult anyone
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be peaceful affable and show gentleness
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towards all men for we were once foolish
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rebellious astray slaves to all sorts of
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passions and Pleasures living in
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wickedness and envy worthy of hatred and
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hating one another but one day the
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goodness of God our savior and his love
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for men were revealed he saved us not
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because of the acts of Justice we had
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done but because of his Mercy when we
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were reborn and renewed in baptism by
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the Holy Spirit which he poured out
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abundantly on us through our Savior
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Jesus Christ thus justified by his grace
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we become heires of eternal life and
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Hope 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 it happened that walking towards
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Jerusalem Jesus was passing between
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Samaria and Galilee when he was about to
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enter a village 10 lepers came to meet
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him they stopped at a distance and
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Jesus Master have mercy on us when Jesus
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saw them he said go present yourselves
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to the priests as they walked it came to
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pass that they were healed one of them
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upon realizing that he was healed
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returned glorifying God in a loud voice
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he threw himself at jesus' feet with his
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face on the ground and thanked him and
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this was a Samaritan then Jesus asked
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him weren't 10 healed and the other nine
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where are they didn't anyone return to
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give glory to God except this forigner
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and he said to him get up and go your
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faith has saved you word of Salvation
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Lord dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ
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let's imagine a scene you are walking
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along a busy street people Rush past
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some bumping into you others completely
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absorbed in their phones suddenly
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someone stops looks you in the eye
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smiles and says thank you for holding
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the door this small moment of gratitude
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amid the rush of the day lights up your
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heart it's surprising how a simple thank
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you can completely transform our day
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isn't it today's readings invite us to
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reflect on two deeply interconnected
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themes God's transforming Grace and our
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grateful response to it in the letter to
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Titus Paul presents us with a powerful
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before and after he begins by reminding
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us of our responsibilities as citizens
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of the world to be submissive to
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authorities to be ready for every good
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work to slander no one to avoid quarrels
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to be kind and to show all gentleness
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toward everyone but then Paul does
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something fascinating he reminds us of
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who we were for we also were once
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foolish disobedient astray slaves to all
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kinds of passions and Pleasures not a
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very pretty picture is it Paul is
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reminding us that none of us can put
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ourselves on a moral pedestal we have
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all lived in Malice and envy hateful and
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hating one another but then comes the
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great turning point of the text
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introduced by two of the most beautiful
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words in scripture but when but when the
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goodness of God our savior and his love
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toward men appeared what a moment it's
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as if Paul is saying remember what it
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was like now look what God did
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transformation came not because of our
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good works or our moral efforts but
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through the pure mercy of God and this
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is where our reading of the Gospel
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connects so beautifully with Paul's
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message Luke tells us the story of the
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10 lepers who meet Jesus leprosy was not
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just a a devastating physical illness it
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was a social death sentence lepers were
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forced to live in isolation shout
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unclean when someone approached and
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abandoned all hope of a normal life
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these 10 men United in their suffering
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cry out to Jesus Jesus Master have mercy
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on us note that they don't specifically
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ask for healing they ask for compassion
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and Jesus responds with an order that
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must have seemed strange
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go show yourselves to the priests the
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law required a cured leper to present
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himself to the priest to be declared
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officially clean and readmitted to
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society but these men were not yet
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healed when Jesus gave them this order
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it was a test of faith they had to start
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walking towards the priests still
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covered in leprosy and as they went they
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purified imagine the scene as they
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walked they saw their model and
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disfigured skin transforming feeling
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strength returning to their limbs
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sensitivity returning where there had
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been numbness what an Indescribable
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moment it must have been but here comes
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the Crux of the story only one comes
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back to say thank you and he doesn't
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just return Luke tells us that he
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returned glorifying god with a loud
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voice and fell down at jesus' feet and
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thanked him and he was a Samaritan a
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foreigner someone the Jews considered a
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heretic and unclean Jesus then asks a
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question that Echoes down the centuries
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to us weren't 10 cleansed where are the
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other nine and then he adds something
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deeply significant arise and go your
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faith has saved you note the difference
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all 10 were physically healed but only
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this one received the Declaration of
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Salvation her gratitude revealed deeper
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healing not just of the body but of the
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Soul this story challenges us to ask are
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we like the nine who went their way or
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like the one who returned to give thanks
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how many times do we receive God's
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blessings Health family work food on the
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table and simply move on without a
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moment of gratitude gratitude is not
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just good manners it is a fundamental
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spiritual posture it is the recognition
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that everything we have in our is a gift
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from God as Paul reminds us in Titus we
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were not saved because of works of
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righteousness that we had done but
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according to his Mercy true gratitude
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transforms us it makes us more aware of
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God's blessings more sensitive to the
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needs of others more ready to share what
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we have received gratitude frees us from
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the poison of Envy resentment and
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bitterness and here is the beautiful
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connection between our two readings
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God's transforming Grace in Titus and
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the Samaritan's grateful response in the
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gospel are two sides of the same coin
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when we truly understand the depth of
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God's mercy that he saved us not because
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of our goodness but because of his
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goodness our natural response is
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gratitude this gratitude then manifests
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itself in the attitudes that Paul
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describes at the beginning of his letter
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submission to authorities Readiness for
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good works kindness toward everyone we
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do these things not to earn God's favor
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but because we have already received his
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unmerited favor so my dear brothers and
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sisters today we are invited to do an
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examination of conscience do we truly
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recognize everything that God has done
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for us do we remember the before and
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after in our own lives how we were and
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what God has done in Us by his grace and
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most importantly how do we express our
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gratitude not just in words but in
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actions are we like the Samaritan who
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returned glorifying god with a loud
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voice is our gratitude manifested in how
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we treat others in our willingness to
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serve in our Readiness to forgive may we
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be a people marked by gratitude may we
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begin each morning with a thank you to
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God for his renewed Mercy may we end
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each night recognizing his blessings of
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the day and may our gratitude overflow
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in love and service to others reflecting
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the kindness and love we receive so
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freely from our savior May the Holy
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Spirit who has been poured out richly
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Upon Us continue to transform us so that
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we are not only recipients but also
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channels of God's grace in our world
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Amen St Michael the Archangel defend Us
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in 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
