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dding: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:currentcolor none medium;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:currentcolor none medium;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:currentcolor none medium;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:currentcolor none medium;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">Monday, September 24, 2018</span></b></b></b></b></b></b></b></b></b></b></b></b></b></b></b></b></b></b></b></b></b></b></b></b></b><br></div>
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<tr style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255)"><td id="gmail-m_6339154927117546313layout-row-margin27473" 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_6339154927117546313layout-row27473" class="gmail-m_6339154927117546313layout gmail-m_6339154927117546313layout-row gmail-m_6339154927117546313widget gmail-m_6339154927117546313_widget_picture gmail-m_6339154927117546313style27473" style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255)" align="center"><td id="gmail-m_6339154927117546313layout-row-padding27473" 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="gmail-m_6339154927117546313image-td" width="590" valign="top" align="center"><a href="http://wordonfire.emlnk1.com/lt.php?s=f4b404287914110dac7009c89e87fa0d&i=2275A3068A29A1272945" style="margin:0px;outline:currentcolor none medium;padding:0px;color:rgb(237,119,34);display:block;min-width:100%" target="_blank"><img src="http://wordonfire.imgus11.com/public//7e2867fcaf0c2ddd581483e5e17f4d20.png?r=1402754006" alt="" style="border: medium none; display: block; outline: currentcolor none medium; width: 221px; opacity: 1; max-width: 100%;" class="gmail-CToWUd" width="221"></a></td>
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<tr style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255)"><td id="gmail-m_6339154927117546313layout-row-margin27470" 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_6339154927117546313layout-row27470" class="gmail-m_6339154927117546313layout gmail-m_6339154927117546313layout-row gmail-m_6339154927117546313widget gmail-m_6339154927117546313_widget_html gmail-m_6339154927117546313style27470" style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255)"><td id="gmail-m_6339154927117546313layout-row-padding27470" 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_6339154927117546313html_div26990" 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">Twenty-fifth Week in Ordinary Time</p>
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<tr style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255)"><td id="gmail-m_6339154927117546313layout-row-margin27471" 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_6339154927117546313layout-row27471" class="gmail-m_6339154927117546313layout gmail-m_6339154927117546313layout-row gmail-m_6339154927117546313widget gmail-m_6339154927117546313_widget_html gmail-m_6339154927117546313style27471" style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255)"><td id="gmail-m_6339154927117546313layout-row-padding27471" 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_6339154927117546313html_div26991" 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">Luke 8:16-18</p>
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<tr style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255)"><td id="gmail-m_6339154927117546313layout-row-margin27475" 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_6339154927117546313layout-row27475" class="gmail-m_6339154927117546313layout gmail-m_6339154927117546313layout-row gmail-m_6339154927117546313widget gmail-m_6339154927117546313_widget_text gmail-m_6339154927117546313style27475" style="margin:0px;padding:0px"><td id="gmail-m_6339154927117546313layout-row-padding27475" 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_6339154927117546313text_div26995" class="gmail-m_6339154927117546313td_text gmail-m_6339154927117546313td_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:currentcolor none medium;padding:0px;font-size:18px;line-height:1.5"> <div style="margin:0px;outline:currentcolor none medium;padding:0px"><b style="margin:0px;outline:currentcolor none medium;padding:0px;font-family:georgia,"times new roman";font-weight:normal"><b style="margin:0px;outline:currentcolor none medium;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:currentcolor none medium;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:currentcolor none medium;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:currentcolor none medium;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:currentcolor none medium;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:currentcolor none medium;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:currentcolor none medium;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:currentcolor none medium;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:currentcolor none medium;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:currentcolor none medium;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:currentcolor none medium;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:currentcolor none medium;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:currentcolor none medium;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">Friends,
<span style="background-color:rgb(208,224,227)"><b> today’s Gospel is the parable of the lamp, which, placed on a 
lampstand, gives light to all.</b></span> Light obviously isn’t for itself. Rather,
 we see things by it. It illuminates things upon which it shines. </span><br><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>We
 are light by which people around us come to see what is worth seeing. 
By the very quality and integrity of our lives, we shed light, 
illumining what is beautiful and<span style="background-color:rgb(217,234,211)"> revealing </span><span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)">what is ugly</span>.</b></span> The clear 
implication is that <span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)"><b>without</b></span><span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b> vibrant Christians</b></span> <span style="background-color:rgb(217,234,211)"><b>the world i<span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)">s</span></b></span><span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)"><b> a much worse
 place. </b></span>Let me illustrate this principle with an example. One of the 
most painful truths of the last century is that the weakness of 
Christian witness allows some of the worst elements in society to 
flourish.</span><br><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">Think
 of<span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)"><b> the rise of </b><b>the evil powers that created World War II. <span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)">Christianity 
</span>had become so weak, so uncompelling, so attenuated that great evil was 
allowed to flourish. </b></span>Yes, indeed <span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b>there were a handful of powerful 
Christian resisters,</b></span> <span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)"><b>but</b></span> let’s
face it:<span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)"><b> the overwhelmingly vast majority of <span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)">Christians</span> either supported
 Hitler or remained in silence, out of either fear or indifference.</b></span></span></b></b></b></b></b></b></b></b></b></b></b></b></b></b></div></div></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table>

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