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<table class="gmail-m_-4404177191362796385layout gmail-m_-4404177191362796385layout-table gmail-m_-4404177191362796385root-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_-4404177191362796385layout-row-margin36384" 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_-4404177191362796385layout-row36384" class="gmail-m_-4404177191362796385layout gmail-m_-4404177191362796385layout-row gmail-m_-4404177191362796385widget gmail-m_-4404177191362796385_widget_text gmail-m_-4404177191362796385style36384" style="margin:0px;padding:0px"><td id="gmail-m_-4404177191362796385layout-row-padding36384" 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_-4404177191362796385text_div35847" class="gmail-m_-4404177191362796385td_text gmail-m_-4404177191362796385td_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"><div 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;text-align:start"><b style="margin:0px;outline:currentcolor none medium;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:currentcolor none medium;padding:0px;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"><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:currentcolor none medium;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, a
stereotypically <span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)">righteous</span> person and <span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)">unrighteous</span> person—who both enter
the Temple to pray. </b><b>But what a world of difference in their manner of
praying!</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>The
entire point of religion is to make us humble before God and to open us
to <u>the path of love</u></b></span>. Everything else is more or less a footnote.
<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 <u>the way of love</u></b></span>. <span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)"><b>When <span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)">they</span> instead turn
us away from <span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)">that path, they</span> 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">Both
St. Paul and the Gospel writers—as well as Jesus himself, of course—are
intensely aware of this danger. This is precisely why Paul speaks of
the dangers of the law. He knew that people often use the law as a
weapon of aggression: since I know what is right and wrong in some
detail, then I am uniquely positioned to point out your flaws. And <span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)"><b>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></b><br> Reflect: How can <u><span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)"><b>pride </b></span></u>stand in the way of love? <span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b>Why does <u>true humility encourage love?</u></b></span> <br></span></b></div>
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