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<table style="font-size:13px;min-width:100%;border-collapse:initial" width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0"><tbody><tr id="m_-6515719812885947620m_4616342068143346638gmail-m_7986262863496068527layout-row20441" class="m_-6515719812885947620m_4616342068143346638gmail-m_7986262863496068527layout m_-6515719812885947620m_4616342068143346638gmail-m_7986262863496068527layout-row m_-6515719812885947620m_4616342068143346638gmail-m_7986262863496068527widget m_-6515719812885947620m_4616342068143346638gmail-m_7986262863496068527_widget_text m_-6515719812885947620m_4616342068143346638gmail-m_7986262863496068527style20441" style="margin:0px;padding:0px"><td id="m_-6515719812885947620m_4616342068143346638gmail-m_7986262863496068527layout-row-padding20441" style="padding:30px 30px 20px" valign="top"><table style="font-size:13px;min-width:100%" width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0"><tbody><tr><td id="m_-6515719812885947620m_4616342068143346638gmail-m_7986262863496068527text_div20000" class="m_-6515719812885947620m_4616342068143346638gmail-m_7986262863496068527td_text m_-6515719812885947620m_4616342068143346638gmail-m_7986262863496068527td_block" style="color:inherit;font-size:12px;font-weight:inherit;line-height:1;text-decoration:inherit;font-family:Arial" valign="top" align="left"> <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"><b style="margin:0px;outline:medium none currentcolor;padding:0px;font-size:26px;font-family:georgia,"times new roman";color:rgb(0,0,0);font-weight:normal;font-style:italic"><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="m_-6515719812885947620m_4616342068143346638gmail-aBn"><span class="m_-6515719812885947620m_4616342068143346638gmail-aQJ">Tuesday, January 2, 2018</span></span></span></b></b><br></div>
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<table style="font-size:13px;min-width:100%;border-collapse:initial" width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0"><tbody><tr id="m_-6515719812885947620m_4616342068143346638gmail-m_7986262863496068527layout-row20440" class="m_-6515719812885947620m_4616342068143346638gmail-m_7986262863496068527layout m_-6515719812885947620m_4616342068143346638gmail-m_7986262863496068527layout-row m_-6515719812885947620m_4616342068143346638gmail-m_7986262863496068527widget m_-6515719812885947620m_4616342068143346638gmail-m_7986262863496068527_widget_picture m_-6515719812885947620m_4616342068143346638gmail-m_7986262863496068527style20440" style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255)" align="center"><td id="m_-6515719812885947620m_4616342068143346638gmail-m_7986262863496068527layout-row-padding20440" style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255);padding:20px 30px 0px" valign="top"><table style="font-size:13px;min-width:100%" width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0"><tbody><tr><td class="m_-6515719812885947620m_4616342068143346638gmail-m_7986262863496068527image-td" width="590" valign="top" align="center"><a href="http://wordonfire.acemlnb.com/lt.php?s=f4b404287914110dac7009c89e87fa0d&i=1504A1932A29A1266862" 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=563036963" alt="" style="display:block;border-color:currentcolor;border-style:none;border-width:medium;outline:medium none currentcolor;width:221px;opacity:1;max-width:100%" class="m_-6515719812885947620m_4616342068143346638gmail-CToWUd" width="221"></a></td>
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<table style="font-size:13px;min-width:100%;border-collapse:initial" width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0"><tbody><tr id="m_-6515719812885947620m_4616342068143346638gmail-m_7986262863496068527layout-row20437" class="m_-6515719812885947620m_4616342068143346638gmail-m_7986262863496068527layout m_-6515719812885947620m_4616342068143346638gmail-m_7986262863496068527layout-row m_-6515719812885947620m_4616342068143346638gmail-m_7986262863496068527widget m_-6515719812885947620m_4616342068143346638gmail-m_7986262863496068527_widget_html m_-6515719812885947620m_4616342068143346638gmail-m_7986262863496068527style20437" style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255)"><td id="m_-6515719812885947620m_4616342068143346638gmail-m_7986262863496068527layout-row-padding20437" style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255);padding:30px 30px 0px" valign="top"><table style="font-size:13px;min-width:100%" width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0"><tbody><tr><td id="m_-6515719812885947620m_4616342068143346638gmail-m_7986262863496068527html_div19996" width="590" align="left"> <p style="color:black;font-family:Avenir Next;font-size:20px;font-weight:500;line-height:1.25;text-align:center;text-transform:uppercase">Memorial of Saints Basil the Great and Gregory Nazianzen</p>
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<table style="font-size:13px;min-width:100%;border-collapse:initial" width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0"><tbody><tr id="m_-6515719812885947620m_4616342068143346638gmail-m_7986262863496068527layout-row20438" class="m_-6515719812885947620m_4616342068143346638gmail-m_7986262863496068527layout m_-6515719812885947620m_4616342068143346638gmail-m_7986262863496068527layout-row m_-6515719812885947620m_4616342068143346638gmail-m_7986262863496068527widget m_-6515719812885947620m_4616342068143346638gmail-m_7986262863496068527_widget_html m_-6515719812885947620m_4616342068143346638gmail-m_7986262863496068527style20438" style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255)"><td id="m_-6515719812885947620m_4616342068143346638gmail-m_7986262863496068527layout-row-padding20438" style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255);padding:5px 30px 0px" valign="top"><table style="font-size:13px;min-width:100%" width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0"><tbody><tr><td id="m_-6515719812885947620m_4616342068143346638gmail-m_7986262863496068527html_div19997" width="590" align="left"> <p style="color:rgb(237,119,34);font-family:Avenir Next;font-size:18px;line-height:1.25;text-align:center;text-transform:uppercase">John 1:19-28</p>
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<table style="font-size:13px;min-width:100%;border-collapse:initial" width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0"><tbody><tr id="m_-6515719812885947620m_4616342068143346638gmail-m_7986262863496068527layout-row20442" class="m_-6515719812885947620m_4616342068143346638gmail-m_7986262863496068527layout m_-6515719812885947620m_4616342068143346638gmail-m_7986262863496068527layout-row m_-6515719812885947620m_4616342068143346638gmail-m_7986262863496068527widget m_-6515719812885947620m_4616342068143346638gmail-m_7986262863496068527_widget_text m_-6515719812885947620m_4616342068143346638gmail-m_7986262863496068527style20442" style="margin:0px;padding:0px"><td id="m_-6515719812885947620m_4616342068143346638gmail-m_7986262863496068527layout-row-padding20442" style="padding:10px 30px 30px" valign="top"><table style="font-size:13px;min-width:100%" width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0"><tbody><tr><td id="m_-6515719812885947620m_4616342068143346638gmail-m_7986262863496068527text_div20001" class="m_-6515719812885947620m_4616342068143346638gmail-m_7986262863496068527td_text m_-6515719812885947620m_4616342068143346638gmail-m_7986262863496068527td_block" style="color:inherit;font-size:12px;font-weight:inherit;line-height:1.5;text-decoration:inherit;font-family:Arial" valign="top" align="left"> <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"><b style="margin:0px;outline:medium none currentcolor;padding:0px;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> in today’s Gospel John the Baptist identifies himself as "the voice of
one crying out in the desert."</b></span> How often <span style="background-color:rgb(208,224,227)"><b>the great heroes of the
Biblical revelation have to spend time in the desert: </b></span></span></b></span></b><span style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255)"><span 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;line-height:inherit;text-decoration:inherit;font-family:georgia,"times new roman";font-style:normal"><span style="margin:0px;outline:medium none currentcolor;padding:0px;font-weight:normal"><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-size:18px;line-height:inherit;text-decoration:inherit;font-family:georgia,"times new roman";font-style:normal">Abraham, Moses,
John the Baptist, Paul. Even Jesus himself spends forty
days and nights in the desert <span style="background-color:rgb(208,224,227)"><b>b</b></span></span></span></span></span></span><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"><b style="margin:0px;outline:medium none currentcolor;padding:0px;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"><span style="background-color:rgb(208,224,227)"><b>efore commencing</b></span></span></b></span></b><span style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255)"><span 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;line-height:inherit;text-decoration:inherit;font-family:georgia,"times new roman";font-style:normal"><span style="margin:0px;outline:medium none currentcolor;padding:0px;font-weight:normal"><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-size:18px;line-height:inherit;text-decoration:inherit;font-family:georgia,"times new roman";font-style:normal"> his </span></span></span></span></span><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"><b style="margin:0px;outline:medium none currentcolor;padding:0px;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"><span style="background-color:rgb(208,224,227)"><b>ministry.</b></span></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><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 style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b>They
have to wait through <span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)">a painful</span> time,</b></span></span></b></span></b><span style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255)"><span 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;line-height:inherit;text-decoration:inherit;font-family:georgia,"times new roman";font-style:normal"><span style="margin:0px;outline:medium none currentcolor;padding:0px;font-weight:normal"><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-size:18px;line-height:inherit;text-decoration:inherit;font-family:georgia,"times new roman";font-style:normal"> living a stripped-down life,</span></span></span></span></span><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"><b style="margin:0px;outline:medium none currentcolor;padding:0px;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"><span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b>
before they are ready.</b></span> <span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b>What does the desert symbolize? Confrontation
with one’s <span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)">own sin</span>; seeing one’s <span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)">dark side</span>; a deep realization of one’s
dependency upon God; an ordering of the priorities of one’s life; </b></span></span></b></span></b><span style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255)"><span 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;line-height:inherit;text-decoration:inherit;font-family:georgia,"times new roman";font-style:normal"><span style="margin:0px;outline:medium none currentcolor;padding:0px;font-weight:normal"><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-size:18px;line-height:inherit;text-decoration:inherit;font-family:georgia,"times new roman";font-style:normal">a
simplification, a getting back to basics. </span></span></span></span></span><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"><b style="margin:0px;outline:medium none currentcolor;padding:0px;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">It means any and all of these
things. </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></b></span></b><span 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;line-height:inherit;text-decoration:inherit;font-family:georgia,"times new roman";font-style:normal"><span style="margin:0px;outline:medium none currentcolor;padding:0px;font-weight:normal"><br><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-size:18px;line-height:inherit;text-decoration:inherit;font-family:georgia,"times new roman";font-style:normal"><span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><span style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255)">But
the bottom line is that</span> </span></span></span></span></span><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"><b style="margin:0px;outline:medium none currentcolor;padding:0px;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"><span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b>they are compelled to wait,</b></span></span></b></span></b><span style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255)"><span 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;line-height:inherit;text-decoration:inherit;font-family:georgia,"times new roman";font-style:normal"><span style="margin:0px;outline:medium none currentcolor;padding:0px;font-weight:normal"><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-size:18px;line-height:inherit;text-decoration:inherit;font-family:georgia,"times new roman";font-style:normal"> during a time and</span></span></span></span></span><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"><b style="margin:0px;outline:medium none currentcolor;padding:0px;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"><span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b>
in a place where <span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)">very little </span>life seems to be on offer.</b><b> But<u> it is
precisely in such deserts that the flowers bloom</u></b></span><u>. </u><span style="background-color:rgb(208,224,227)"><b>Moses becomes a great
leader; Abraham is the father of many nations; Joseph becomes the savior
of his people; John the Baptist is the forerunner of the Messiah; Paul
is the Apostle to the Gentiles</b></span>—<span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b>all of this flowering was made possible
by the desert.</b></span></span></b></span></b></div></div></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></div></div>