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<tr style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255)"><td id="gmail-m_748814940714418888layout-row-margin20993" style="padding:5px;background-color:rgb(255,255,255)" valign="top"><table style="font-size:13px;min-width:100%;border-collapse:initial" width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0"><tbody><tr id="gmail-m_748814940714418888layout-row20993" class="gmail-m_748814940714418888layout gmail-m_748814940714418888layout-row gmail-m_748814940714418888widget gmail-m_748814940714418888_widget_text gmail-m_748814940714418888style20993" style="margin:0px;padding:0px"><td id="gmail-m_748814940714418888layout-row-padding20993" 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="gmail-m_748814940714418888text_div20552" class="gmail-m_748814940714418888td_text gmail-m_748814940714418888td_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"><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"><b style="margin:0px;outline:medium none currentcolor;padding:0px;font-family:georgia,"times new roman";font-weight:normal;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-size:26px;font-style:italic"><b style="margin:0px;outline:medium none currentcolor;padding:0px;font-family:georgia,"times new roman";font-weight:normal;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-size:26px;font-style:italic"><b style="margin:0px;outline:medium none currentcolor;padding:0px;font-family:georgia,"times new roman";color:rgb(0,0,0);font-size:26px;font-style:italic;font-weight:normal"><b style="margin:0px;outline:medium none currentcolor;padding:0px;font-family:georgia,"times new roman";color:rgb(0,0,0);font-size:26px;font-style:italic;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">Friday, February 9, 2018</span></span></span></b></b></b></b></b></b><br></div>
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<tr style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255)"><td id="gmail-m_748814940714418888layout-row-margin20989" style="padding:0px;background-color:rgb(255,255,255)" valign="top"><table style="font-size:13px;min-width:100%;border-collapse:initial" width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0"><tbody><tr id="gmail-m_748814940714418888layout-row20989" class="gmail-m_748814940714418888layout gmail-m_748814940714418888layout-row gmail-m_748814940714418888widget gmail-m_748814940714418888_widget_html gmail-m_748814940714418888style20989" style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255)"><td id="gmail-m_748814940714418888layout-row-padding20989" 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="gmail-m_748814940714418888html_div20548" 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;">5th Week in Ordinary Time</p>
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<tr style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255)"><td id="gmail-m_748814940714418888layout-row-margin20990" style="padding:0px;background-color:rgb(255,255,255)" valign="top"><table style="font-size:13px;min-width:100%;border-collapse:initial" width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0"><tbody><tr id="gmail-m_748814940714418888layout-row20990" class="gmail-m_748814940714418888layout gmail-m_748814940714418888layout-row gmail-m_748814940714418888widget gmail-m_748814940714418888_widget_html gmail-m_748814940714418888style20990" style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255)"><td id="gmail-m_748814940714418888layout-row-padding20990" 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="gmail-m_748814940714418888html_div20549" 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;">Mark 7:31-37</p>
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<tr style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255)"><td id="gmail-m_748814940714418888layout-row-margin20994" style="padding:5px;background-color:rgb(255,255,255)" valign="top"><table style="font-size:13px;min-width:100%;border-collapse:initial" width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0"><tbody><tr id="gmail-m_748814940714418888layout-row20994" class="gmail-m_748814940714418888layout gmail-m_748814940714418888layout-row gmail-m_748814940714418888widget gmail-m_748814940714418888_widget_text gmail-m_748814940714418888style20994" style="margin:0px;padding:0px"><td id="gmail-m_748814940714418888layout-row-padding20994" 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="gmail-m_748814940714418888text_div20553" class="gmail-m_748814940714418888td_text gmail-m_748814940714418888td_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"><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>
 our Gospel for today has to do with Jesus’ healing of a deaf man with a
 speech impediment. </b></span>As
always, we have to look at the surface and at the depth. </span></b></span></b></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="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"><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">Jesus is 
performing a physical miracle. But every one of his </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"><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"><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">actions should also 
be read symbolically, </span></b></span></b></b><span style="margin:0px;outline:medium none currentcolor;padding:0px;font-family:georgia,"times new roman";font-weight:normal"><span 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"><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"><span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><span style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255)">so as to uncover </span></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"><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"><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>a deeper spiritual meaning.</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></b></span></b></b><span style="margin:0px;outline:medium none currentcolor;padding:0px;font-family:georgia,"times new roman";font-weight:normal"><span 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"><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"><span style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255)">So
 what does Jesus do?</span><span style="background-color:rgb(208,224,227)"><span style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255)"> </span></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"><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"><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>He “put his finger in the man’s ears and, spitting,
 touched his tongue.”</b></span> Jesus establishes, as it were, an electrical 
current, running from God the Father, through him, to this man. 
<span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b>He—almost literally—plugs him into the divine current, compelling him to
 hear the Word. He says “</b></span></span><span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-size:18px;line-height:inherit;text-decoration:inherit;font-family:georgia,"times new roman";font-style:italic">Ephphatha,</span><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">” be opened. When he does, his speech impediment is immediately overcome. Now he is able to speak the Word of God clearly.</span></b></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">So
 this deaf man stands for all of us who do not hear the word of God, who
 have grown oblivious to it. And what is the result of this deafness? A 
speech impediment. <span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b>At the spiritual level,</b></span><span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)"><b> if you
don’t hear</b></span> <span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b>the Word of God clearly</b></span>, <span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)"><b>then <span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)">your capacity to speak it </span>is 
also severely compromised.</b></span></span></b></span></b></b></div></div></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></div></div></div></div>

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