WEBVTT

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In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and

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of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Glory to Jesus Christ.

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Glory to God. One of the saints, many of the

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saints, tell us that the church, the liturgy

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in particular, raises us up to heaven, presents

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us all to God. who is above all. When we hear

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the words of the beginning of the liturgy, blessed

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is the kingdom of the Father and of the Son and

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of the Holy Spirit, now and ever, to ages of

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ages. This is Christ. You hear this. You see

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this. The gospel book is raised. We sing amen.

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This is Christ opening our spiritual eyes so

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we can See the kingdom of heaven. Feel it. Be

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satisfied. Be fed. Those who trust in the Lord

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lack no good thing. There were 12 baskets left

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over. It was abundance beyond abundance. And

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when we hear the words, blessed is the kingdom,

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we can say, this is what I choose for my life.

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The church takes us and raises us up and presents

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us to God himself, but is that what we feel?

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Is that our experience? Does our soul have the

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means of perception? Can we spiritually feel

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that, spiritually understand that, sense that,

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grasp that? Some days, maybe. Speaking for myself,

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some days, maybe not. For whatever reason. But

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it's God, be convinced, that gathers us together,

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that assembles us. This is why we have to take

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that beginning, blessed is the kingdom, where

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we hear the words and Christ is opening the kingdom

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to us. That's why we have to take it so seriously.

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We want to hear that. We want to be there to

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begin that together. St. Paul said in the epistle

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we just heard, so that we are all perfectly united.

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in one mind and in one judgment, meaning intention,

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for us to praise God. Now, to be here today,

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it may seem like we're doing all the work. We're

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setting up, we're trimming the wicks, we're bringing

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the candles out, we're putting out the candles,

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we're going back and forth, we get here early,

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we're cleaning up, we're singing, we're reading,

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we're doing all kinds of things, but really,

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it's not us that are doing the work. We are laboring

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so we can be with the Lord, each one of us, in

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our own way here. But it's Christ who is ministering

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to us today in every liturgy. It is Jesus Christ

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who is serving us. Maybe it will help us to understand

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if we just look at Christ. where he was in this

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gospel, doing what he always did. Feeding the

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people, teaching the people. St. Matthew relates

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to us in chapter 14 how Herod had killed John

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the Baptist. And we remember, please remember,

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we commemorate that beheading on August 29th,

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which is a strict fast day, which totally makes

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sense, doesn't it? John's disciples came and

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took his body. and buried it. Then John's disciples,

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says St. Matthew, went and told Jesus. When Jesus

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had heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat,

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privately, to a secret and solitary place. The

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gospel doesn't get into psychology and emotion.

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But you can imagine, this is the forerunner.

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This is Jesus' cousin. He goes to pray. He goes

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to be by himself. He goes because he is not only

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God, but God made man. He goes, no doubt, to

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also mourn his dear friend, but to also know

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what his friend was about to do in the depths

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of Hades, to even announce as the forerunner

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the coming of the Messiah and the end of death,

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the end of the destruction of sin. Jesus goes

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to a solitary place. But hearing this, says St.

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Matthew, the crowds followed him by foot. They

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see Jesus in his boat going across the lake.

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And many, many, many people. Well, we have the

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fresco right here on the north side showing the

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event of the gospel that we read about today,

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which is recorded in all four gospels. The crowds

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followed him on foot from the towns. When Jesus

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landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion

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on them and healed their sick. Our Lord is the

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compassionate one. He was with these people,

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teaching all day, blessing them, healing them,

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strengthening them. We're here at the liturgy.

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For two hours, maybe, hour and a half. It's not

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all day. It is the Lord's Day. And we keep that

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in mind on Sunday, that we dedicate this day

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to worship God, to pray to God, to do good works,

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to do what we need to do, but to keep it focused

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on Christ in whatever way we can. Many of us

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struggle through the hour and a half that we

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are here. To be united, as St. Paul says, with

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one mind and one intention? Let us remember again,

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we have been gathered together. Let's not do

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anything to betray that. Let's be with Christ

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while we're here at the liturgy. I'm not talking

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to parents with young children, by the way. They

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have their own path, and God has blessed them

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abundantly, which in whatever way, they have

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to work that out. But it's essential for us.

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To take that gathering seriously and to remain

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with Christ so we can be taught. We can be healed.

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We can be fed. As evening approached, the disciples

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came to Jesus and said, this is a deserted place.

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It's remote. It's late. Send the people away,

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Lord. Let them go to the villages. Find some

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food to eat. And Jesus replied, they do not need

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to go away. You give them something to eat. And

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no doubt, this was yet another occasion for the

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disciples to be confused. And our own relationship

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with Christ is like that a lot, isn't it? So

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we don't despair. The Lord finds the way through.

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And what happens next is that Jesus shows that

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he is what everyone is waiting for, the Messiah,

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the prophet Ezekiel, in their minds. They know

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the scriptures. The Lord says to Ezekiel, I will

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set over them one shepherd, my servant David.

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Christ is the child, the descendant of David.

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And he will feed them. He will feed them, and

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he will be their shepherd. And St. Matthew then

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says that Jesus took what these disciples found.

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A boy had five loaves, two fish. He gave thanks,

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he broke, and he distributed. Exactly what we

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are going to experience today. It's the Lord's

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hands that will bless. that will offer us up

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to the Lord, God, Father, Almighty. Send down

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thy Holy Spirit, we say, upon us and upon these

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gifts here present. And then we are changed also.

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And he gave it to the disciples, and the disciples

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gave them to the people. St. Hilary. He says

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this, the wonder of the miracle of Jesus feeding

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the 5 ,000 surpasses human understanding. Of

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course it does. What is most amazing, however,

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is what this miracle teaches us about compassion

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and the grace of God in Christ. Never forget,

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dear people, the Lord is compassionate. Never

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think that because you sinned, Or you disappointed

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yourself that God is angry with you and holding

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you over the fire, ready to drop you. That is

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not our God. That is not the God that Jesus Christ

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himself shows us what his Father is like. No,

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not at all. Jesus feeds us. He heals us. He teaches

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us. He has compassion and mercy upon us. Since

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Hillary goes on, he says, Just as the loaves

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and fish never seem to end, so our Lord's mercy

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more than covers our needs. More than covers

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our needs. More than comforts us in distress.

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And it is greater than our greatest tribulation.

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St. Hilary goes on, our heart's desire, the needs

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of our body and soul, our Lord, our Christ, meets

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that. and then exceeds. And he goes on to say

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that this miracle of the feeding of 5 ,000, not

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counting women and children, you can calculate,

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who knows, is the foreshadowing of the greatest

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gift to us, that is the Eucharist, in which we

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present to God five loaves too, and ourselves.

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Lo, I am with you always, even to the end, says

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Jesus. During the celebration of the liturgy,

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Christ is with us differently than there and

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with everyone celebrating the liturgy in every

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place. And he still makes the paralyzed to walk

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and the paralyzed to understand and the blind

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to see and the blind to understand. He makes...

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Why is the blind? We just sang it a few moments

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ago. He returns the dead to life. When he nourished

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the people there with his teaching, his food,

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he does the same for us. This is not a memory

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that we think about. It's Christ truly present

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here with us, the teacher, the prophet, the miracle

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worker, Christ who was crucified, Christ who

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was raised from the dead, who was sent into heaven

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and is now before us. And the goal of this...

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The goal of this, the goal of being gathered

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together, be united in one mind and one judgment,

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one intention, is to be joined to God. So he

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can make us to be each unique, each in our own

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way, as he is. We don't know what that will be.

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But when he comes, we shall be like him. says

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St. John the theologian. We shall be as he is.

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O Lord, grant us to partake more perfectly in

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the never -ending day of thy kingdom, which we

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share in this moment, where the sound is unceasing

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of them that keep festival. and unending is the

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delight of them that behold the ineffable beauty

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of thy countenance. Amen.