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<table class="gmail-m_-123487677226660663layout gmail-m_-123487677226660663layout-table gmail-m_-123487677226660663root-table" style="font-size:13px;min-width:100%;background-color:rgb(255,255,255)" width="650" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0"><tbody><tr style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255)"><td id="gmail-m_-123487677226660663layout-row-margin21551" 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_-123487677226660663layout-row21551" class="gmail-m_-123487677226660663layout gmail-m_-123487677226660663layout-row gmail-m_-123487677226660663widget gmail-m_-123487677226660663_widget_text gmail-m_-123487677226660663style21551" style="margin:0px;padding:0px"><td id="gmail-m_-123487677226660663layout-row-padding21551" style="padding:10px 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_-123487677226660663text_div21110" class="gmail-m_-123487677226660663td_text gmail-m_-123487677226660663td_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"><b style="margin:0px;outline:medium none currentcolor;padding:0px;font-weight:normal;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:georgia,"times new roman";font-size:18px;font-style:normal;text-align:start"><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> today Jesus tells us of the Pharisee and the tax collector—so, 
stereotypically righteous and unrighteous people—who both enter the 
Temple to pray.</b></span> But what a world of difference in their
manner of praying!</span><span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b><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><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>The
 entire point of religion is to make us humble before God and to open us
 to the path of love.</b></span> <span style="background-color:rgb(217,234,211)"><b>Everything else is more or less a footnote</b></span>. 
<span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b>Liturgy, prayer, the precepts of the Church, the Commandments, 
sacraments, sacramentals—all of it—are finally meant to conform us to 
the way of love. </b></span><span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)"><b>When</b></span><span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b> they</b></span> <span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)"><b>instead turn us away from</b></span> <span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b>that path, they 
</b></span><span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)"><b>have been undermined</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>Both
 St. Paul and the Gospel writers—as well as Jesus himself, of course—are
 intensely aware of</b></span> <span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)"><b>this danger. </b><b>This is </b></span><span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b>precisely why Paul speaks of 
</b></span><span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)"><b>the dangers </b><b>of </b></span><span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b>the Law.</b></span> He knew that<span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)"><b> people often use<span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"> </span></b></span><span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b>the Law </b></span><span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)"><b>as a 
weapon of aggression</b></span>: <span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)"><b>since I know what is right and wrong in some 
detail, then I am uniquely positioned to point out your flaws. And when I
 point out your flaws, I elevate myself</b></span>. In short, <span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b>the Law, which is a 
gift from God</b></span>, <span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)"><b>has been co-opted for the purposes of the ego.</b></span></span></b><br></span></b></div>
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