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<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> in today’s Gospel Jesus uses apocalyptic language from the prophet
Daniel: “On earth nations will be in dismay, perplexed by the roaring of
the sea and the waves. People will die of fright in anticipation of
what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be
shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming
in a cloud with power and great glory.”</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="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:normal">I
realize how strange and distant all of this can sound, but there is a
spiritual point of enormous significance behind all of it: we should not
trust in <span style="background-color:rgb(217,234,211)">any of the powers of the world to give us security and peace.
</span>Such peace will come only with the arrival of God’s kingdom.</span></b></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">One
of the most enduring convictions of human beings—you can see it up and
down the centuries
and across the cultures—is that we can make things right if only we find
the correct political, economic, or cultural configuration. But <span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b>you
should never put your ultimate faith in<span style="background-color:rgb(217,234,211)"> any of the kingdoms, social
arrangements, or political programs of the world</span>. </b></span><span style="background-color:rgb(217,234,211)"><b>They are all, in one
way or another, attractive, and they are all destined to fall. They all
lead to <span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)">tribulations</span>.</b></span></span><br><br><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:normal">What
you should look to is the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven.
Now, is this meant in an ultimate sense? Yes, the second coming signals
<span style="background-color:rgb(217,234,211)">the end of the world</span> as we know it. But the Son of Man is coming on the
clouds of heaven even now in the life of the Church. Think of the clouds
of incense that accompany the manifestations of Christ in the high
liturgy. Even now the true king, the successor of David,
is in our midst. </span></b></span></b></b></b></b></b></b></b></b></b></b></b></b></b></b>
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