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<table style="font-size:13px;min-width:100%;border-collapse:initial" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%" border="0"><tbody><tr id="gmail-m_7115296307882176510layout-row19375" class="gmail-m_7115296307882176510layout gmail-m_7115296307882176510layout-row gmail-m_7115296307882176510widget gmail-m_7115296307882176510_widget_html gmail-m_7115296307882176510style19375" style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255)"><td id="gmail-m_7115296307882176510layout-row-padding19375" style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255);padding:0px 30px" valign="top"><table style="font-size:13px;min-width:100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%" border="0"><tbody><tr><td id="gmail-m_7115296307882176510html_div18944" align="left" width="590"> <p style="color:white;font-family:Sorts Mill Goudy;font-size:4px;line-height:1.5">Your daily Gospel reflection...</p>
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<table style="font-size:13px;min-width:100%;border-collapse:initial" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%" border="0"><tbody><tr id="gmail-m_7115296307882176510layout-row19378" class="gmail-m_7115296307882176510layout gmail-m_7115296307882176510layout-row gmail-m_7115296307882176510widget gmail-m_7115296307882176510_widget_text gmail-m_7115296307882176510style19378" style="margin:0px;padding:0px"><td id="gmail-m_7115296307882176510layout-row-padding19378" style="padding:30px 30px 20px" valign="top"><table style="font-size:13px;min-width:100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%" border="0"><tbody><tr><td id="gmail-m_7115296307882176510text_div18947" class="gmail-m_7115296307882176510td_text gmail-m_7115296307882176510td_block" style="color:inherit;font-size:12px;font-weight:inherit;line-height:1;text-decoration:inherit;font-family:Arial" align="left" valign="top"> <div style="margin:0px;outline:medium none currentcolor;padding:0px;font-size:26px"> <div style="margin:0px;outline:medium none currentcolor;padding:0px;text-align:center"><b style="margin:0px;outline:medium none currentcolor;padding:0px;font-style:italic;font-family:georgia,"times new roman";font-weight:normal"><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-size:26px;font-weight:400;line-height:inherit;text-decoration:inherit;font-family:georgia,"times new roman";font-style:italic">Friday, December 8, 2017</span></b><br></div>
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<table style="font-size:13px;min-width:100%;border-collapse:initial" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%" border="0"><tbody><tr id="gmail-m_7115296307882176510layout-row19377" class="gmail-m_7115296307882176510layout gmail-m_7115296307882176510layout-row gmail-m_7115296307882176510widget gmail-m_7115296307882176510_widget_picture gmail-m_7115296307882176510style19377" style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255)" align="center"><td id="gmail-m_7115296307882176510layout-row-padding19377" style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255);padding:20px 30px 0px" valign="top"><table style="font-size:13px;min-width:100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%" border="0"><tbody><tr><td class="gmail-m_7115296307882176510image-td" align="center" width="590" valign="top"><a href="http://wordonfire.acemlnb.com/lt.php?s=f4b404287914110dac7009c89e87fa0d&i=1410A1758A29A1266042" style="margin:0px;outline:medium none currentcolor;padding:0px;color:rgb(237,119,34);display:block;min-width:100%" target="_blank"><img src="http://wordonfire.imgus11.com/public/7e2867fcaf0c2ddd581483e5e17f4d20.png?r=97940188" alt="" style="display: block; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: none; border-width: medium; border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch; outline: medium none currentcolor; width: 221px; opacity: 1; max-width: 100%;" class="gmail-CToWUd" width="221"></a></td>
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<table style="font-size:13px;min-width:100%;border-collapse:initial" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%" border="0"><tbody><tr id="gmail-m_7115296307882176510layout-row19373" class="gmail-m_7115296307882176510layout gmail-m_7115296307882176510layout-row gmail-m_7115296307882176510widget gmail-m_7115296307882176510_widget_html gmail-m_7115296307882176510style19373" style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255)"><td id="gmail-m_7115296307882176510layout-row-padding19373" style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255);padding:30px 30px 0px" valign="top"><table style="font-size:13px;min-width:100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%" border="0"><tbody><tr><td id="gmail-m_7115296307882176510html_div18942" align="left" width="590"> <p style="color:black;font-family:Avenir Next;font-size:20px;font-weight:500;line-height:1.25;text-align:center;text-transform:uppercase">1st Friday of Advent - Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed
Virgin Mary</p>
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<table style="font-size:13px;min-width:100%;border-collapse:initial" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%" border="0"><tbody><tr id="gmail-m_7115296307882176510layout-row19374" class="gmail-m_7115296307882176510layout gmail-m_7115296307882176510layout-row gmail-m_7115296307882176510widget gmail-m_7115296307882176510_widget_html gmail-m_7115296307882176510style19374" style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255)"><td id="gmail-m_7115296307882176510layout-row-padding19374" style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255);padding:5px 30px 0px" valign="top"><table style="font-size:13px;min-width:100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%" border="0"><tbody><tr><td id="gmail-m_7115296307882176510html_div18943" align="left" width="590"> <p style="color:rgb(237,119,34);font-family:Avenir Next;font-size:18px;line-height:1.25;text-align:center;text-transform:uppercase">Luke 1:26-38</p>
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<table style="font-size:13px;min-width:100%;border-collapse:initial" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%" border="0"><tbody><tr id="gmail-m_7115296307882176510layout-row19379" class="gmail-m_7115296307882176510layout gmail-m_7115296307882176510layout-row gmail-m_7115296307882176510widget gmail-m_7115296307882176510_widget_text gmail-m_7115296307882176510style19379" style="margin:0px;padding:0px"><td id="gmail-m_7115296307882176510layout-row-padding19379" style="padding:10px 30px 0px" valign="top"><table style="font-size:13px;min-width:100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%" border="0"><tbody><tr><td id="gmail-m_7115296307882176510text_div18948" class="gmail-m_7115296307882176510td_text gmail-m_7115296307882176510td_block" style="color:inherit;font-size:12px;font-weight:inherit;line-height:1.5;text-decoration:inherit;font-family:Arial" align="left" valign="top"> <div style="margin:0px;outline:medium none currentcolor;padding:0px;font-size:18px;line-height:1.5"> <div style="margin:0px;outline:medium none currentcolor;padding:0px"><b style="margin:0px;outline:medium none currentcolor;padding:0px;font-family:georgia,"times new roman";font-weight:normal"><b style="margin:0px;outline:medium none currentcolor;padding:0px;font-size:18px;font-family:georgia,"times new roman";color:rgb(0,0,0);font-weight:normal;font-style:normal"><b style="margin:0px;outline:medium none currentcolor;padding:0px;font-size:18px;font-family:georgia,"times new roman";color:rgb(0,0,0);font-weight:normal;font-style:normal"><b style="margin:0px;outline:medium none currentcolor;padding:0px;font-size:18px;font-family:georgia,"times new roman";color:rgb(0,0,0);font-weight:normal;font-style:normal"><b style="margin:0px;outline:medium none currentcolor;padding:0px;font-size:18px;font-family:georgia,"times new roman";color:rgb(0,0,0);font-weight:normal;font-style:normal"><div style="margin:0px;outline:medium none currentcolor;padding:0px;font-size:18px;font-family:georgia,"times new roman";color:rgb(0,0,0);font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;text-align:start"><span style="color:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-weight:400;line-height:inherit;text-decoration:inherit"><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-size:18px;font-weight:normal;line-height:inherit;text-decoration:inherit;font-family:georgia,"times new roman";font-style:normal;text-align:start"><span style="color:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-weight:400;line-height:inherit;text-decoration:inherit">Friends,
<span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b> today we celebrate the feast of the Immaculate Conception. The Church
Fathers consistently referred to Mary as the New Eve, which is to say,
the one who reversed <span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)">the momentum started by </span><span style="background-color:rgb(217,234,211)">the mother of the human
race.</span> </b><b>The </b></span></span><span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b><i style="margin:0px;outline:medium none currentcolor;padding:0px"><span style="color:inherit;font-size:inherit;line-height:inherit;text-decoration:inherit">Ave</span></i></b></span><span style="color:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-weight:400;line-height:inherit;text-decoration:inherit"><span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b> of the angel was seen as the reversal of</b></span> </span><span style="background-color:rgb(217,234,211)"><b><i style="margin:0px;outline:medium none currentcolor;padding:0px"><span style="color:inherit;font-size:inherit;line-height:inherit;text-decoration:inherit">Eva</span></i></b></span><span style="color:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-weight:400;line-height:inherit;text-decoration:inherit"><span style="background-color:rgb(217,234,211)"><b>.</b></span> While Eve grasped at divinity, Mary said "Let it be done unto me."<br></span></span><br><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-size:18px;font-weight:normal;line-height:inherit;text-decoration:inherit;font-family:georgia,"times new roman";font-style:normal;text-align:start">Here’s
the liberating paradox: passivity before objective values is precisely
what makes life wonderful. <span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b>Allowing oneself to be invaded and rearranged
by objective value is what makes life worth living. </b></span>And this applies
unsurpassably to our relationship with God. <span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b>The message that your life
is not about you does indeed crush</b></span> <span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)"><b>the false self that would bend the
whole world to its purposes,</b></span> <span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b>but it sets free the true self.</b></span><br></span><br><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-size:18px;font-weight:normal;line-height:inherit;text-decoration:inherit;font-family:georgia,"times new roman";font-style:normal;text-align:start">The
Immaculate Conception itself is concealed in the privacy of salvation
history, but the effects of it are on clear display in this Gospel. <span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b>In
the presence of the supreme value, we ought to say, along with Mary, "Be
it done unto me!"</b></span></span></span></div>
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