<div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail-ajy" tabindex="0"><img class="gmail-ajz" id="gmail-:1t9" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/images/cleardot.gif" alt=""></div>
<table style="font-size:13px;min-width:100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr id="gmail-m_-7257920414535472203layout-row20292" class="gmail-m_-7257920414535472203layout gmail-m_-7257920414535472203layout-row gmail-m_-7257920414535472203widget gmail-m_-7257920414535472203_widget_picture" align="left"><td id="gmail-m_-7257920414535472203layout-row-padding20292" valign="top"><table style="font-size:13px;min-width:100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td class="gmail-m_-7257920414535472203image-td" align="left" width="650" valign="top"><a href="http://wordonfire.acemlnb.com/lt.php?s=f4b404287914110dac7009c89e87fa0d&i=1488A1914A29A1266682" 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/4b960868d8cca37f5b0fa9ef087f3099.png?r=416781045" alt="" style="display: block; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: none; border-width: medium; border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch; outline: medium none currentcolor; opacity: 1; margin-right: 0px;" class="gmail-CToWUd" width="232" height="114"></a></td>
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<table style="font-size:13px;min-width:100%;border-collapse:initial" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr id="gmail-m_-7257920414535472203layout-row20295" class="gmail-m_-7257920414535472203layout gmail-m_-7257920414535472203layout-row gmail-m_-7257920414535472203widget gmail-m_-7257920414535472203_widget_html gmail-m_-7257920414535472203style20295" style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255)"><td id="gmail-m_-7257920414535472203layout-row-padding20295" style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255);padding:0px 30px" valign="top"><table style="font-size:13px;min-width:100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td id="gmail-m_-7257920414535472203html_div19855" 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" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr id="gmail-m_-7257920414535472203layout-row20297" class="gmail-m_-7257920414535472203layout gmail-m_-7257920414535472203layout-row gmail-m_-7257920414535472203widget gmail-m_-7257920414535472203_widget_text gmail-m_-7257920414535472203style20297" style="margin:0px;padding:0px"><td id="gmail-m_-7257920414535472203layout-row-padding20297" style="padding:30px 30px 20px" valign="top"><table style="font-size:13px;min-width:100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td id="gmail-m_-7257920414535472203text_div19857" class="gmail-m_-7257920414535472203td_text gmail-m_-7257920414535472203td_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"><span class="gmail-aBn" tabindex="0"><span class="gmail-aQJ">Tuesday, December 26, 2017</span></span></span></b><br></div>
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<table style="font-size:13px;min-width:100%;border-collapse:initial" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr id="gmail-m_-7257920414535472203layout-row20296" class="gmail-m_-7257920414535472203layout gmail-m_-7257920414535472203layout-row gmail-m_-7257920414535472203widget gmail-m_-7257920414535472203_widget_picture gmail-m_-7257920414535472203style20296" style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255)" align="center"><td id="gmail-m_-7257920414535472203layout-row-padding20296" style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255);padding:20px 30px 0px" valign="top"><table style="font-size:13px;min-width:100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td class="gmail-m_-7257920414535472203image-td" align="center" width="590" valign="top"><a href="http://wordonfire.acemlnb.com/lt.php?s=f4b404287914110dac7009c89e87fa0d&i=1488A1914A29A1266712" 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=1543546922" 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" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr id="gmail-m_-7257920414535472203layout-row20293" class="gmail-m_-7257920414535472203layout gmail-m_-7257920414535472203layout-row gmail-m_-7257920414535472203widget gmail-m_-7257920414535472203_widget_html gmail-m_-7257920414535472203style20293" style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255)"><td id="gmail-m_-7257920414535472203layout-row-padding20293" style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255);padding:30px 30px 0px" valign="top"><table style="font-size:13px;min-width:100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td id="gmail-m_-7257920414535472203html_div19853" 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">Feast of Saint Stephen</p>
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<table style="font-size:13px;min-width:100%;border-collapse:initial" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr id="gmail-m_-7257920414535472203layout-row20294" class="gmail-m_-7257920414535472203layout gmail-m_-7257920414535472203layout-row gmail-m_-7257920414535472203widget gmail-m_-7257920414535472203_widget_html gmail-m_-7257920414535472203style20294" style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255)"><td id="gmail-m_-7257920414535472203layout-row-padding20294" style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255);padding:5px 30px 0px" valign="top"><table style="font-size:13px;min-width:100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td id="gmail-m_-7257920414535472203html_div19854" 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">Matthew 10:17-22</p>
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<table style="font-size:13px;min-width:100%;border-collapse:initial" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr id="gmail-m_-7257920414535472203layout-row20298" class="gmail-m_-7257920414535472203layout gmail-m_-7257920414535472203layout-row gmail-m_-7257920414535472203widget gmail-m_-7257920414535472203_widget_text gmail-m_-7257920414535472203style20298" style="margin:0px;padding:0px"><td id="gmail-m_-7257920414535472203layout-row-padding20298" style="padding:10px 30px 30px" valign="top"><table style="font-size:13px;min-width:100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td id="gmail-m_-7257920414535472203text_div19858" class="gmail-m_-7257920414535472203td_text gmail-m_-7257920414535472203td_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"><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-size:18px;font-weight:400;line-height:inherit;text-decoration:inherit;font-family:georgia,"times new roman";font-style:normal">Friends,<span style="background-color:rgb(208,224,227)"><b>
today we celebrate the martyrdom of St. Stephen. The Gospel tells us to
expect persecution.</b></span><span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b> Martyrs like Stephen are witnesses who have given
their lives for the faith, participating in<span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)"> the bloody death</span> of Jesus
himself.</b></span> <span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b>They are part of the great chorus that gives praise to Christ
in heaven. </b></span>The Lamb has become their shepherd, leading them to springs
of life-giving water.</span><br><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-size:18px;font-weight:400;line-height:inherit;text-decoration:inherit;font-family:georgia,"times new roman";font-style:normal"> </span><span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b><br></b></span><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-size:18px;font-weight:400;line-height:inherit;text-decoration:inherit;font-family:georgia,"times new roman";font-style:normal"><span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b>"And
God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."</b></span> This is an
eschatological hope, one held out for us in God’s definitive future. But<span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)"><b>
a terrible price was paid, and a terrible war was waged. </b></span><span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b>Their robes
are washed clean, but in the blood of the Lamb. </b></span>Please notice <span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b>the
<span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)">presence</span> of martyrdom up and down the ages, to the present day. </b></span>The
twentieth was the Christian century with the most martyrs ever, in fact
more than all the other centuries combined. <span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)"><b>The most persecuted <span style="background-color:rgb(217,234,211)">religion</span>
on planet earth today </b></span><span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)"><b>is</b></span><b> Christianity</b></span>. <span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b>St. Stephen, pray for us!</b></span></span></b></div>
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