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Daily Readings
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Saturday, 28th December 2013 --- 19 Kiahk 1730
Readings for Third Sunday of Kiank - Abstinence
Vespers
Vespers Psalm
From the Psalms of our teacher David the prophet.
May his blessings be with us all.
Psalms 132 : 13 - 15
Chapter 132
| 13 | For the LORD has chosen Zion; He has desired it for His dwelling place:
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| 14 | "This is My resting place forever; Here I will dwell, for I have desired it.
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| 15 | I will abundantly bless her provision; I will satisfy her poor with bread.
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Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Our Lord God, Savior, and King of us all, Jesus Christ, the Living Son of God to whom be glory forever.
Amen.
Vespers Gospel
Stand in the fear of God and listen to the Holy Gospel.
A reading from the Gospel according to our teacher Saint Mark the Evangelist.
May His Blessings be with us all.
Mark 1 : 23 - 31
Chapter 1
| 23 | Now there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit. And he cried out,
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| 24 | saying, "Let us alone! What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth? Did You come to destroy us? I know who You are--the Holy One of God!"
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| 25 | But Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be quiet, and come out of him!"
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| 26 | And when the unclean spirit had convulsed him and cried out with a loud voice, he came out of him.
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| 27 | Then they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, "What is this? What new doctrine is this? For with authority He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him."
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| 28 | And immediately His fame spread throughout all the region around Galilee.
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| 29 | Now as soon as they had come out of the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John.
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| 30 | But Simon's wife's mother lay sick with a fever, and they told Him about her at once.
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| 31 | So He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and immediately the fever left her. And she served them.
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And Glory be to God forever.
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Matins
Matins Psalm
From the Psalms of our teacher David the prophet.
May his blessings be with us all.
Psalms 84 : 7 - 8
Chapter 84
| 7 | They go from strength to strength; Each one appears before God in Zion.
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| 8 | O LORD God of hosts, hear my prayer; Give ear, O God of Jacob!Selah
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Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Our Lord God, Savior, and King of us all, Jesus Christ, the Living Son of God to whom be glory forever.
Amen.
Matins Gospel
Stand in the fear of God and listen to the Holy Gospel.
A reading from the Gospel according to our teacher Saint Matthew the Evangelist.
May His Blessings be with us all.
Matthew 15 : 21 - 31
Chapter 15
| 21 | Then Jesus went out from there and departed to the region of Tyre and Sidon.
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| 22 | And behold, a woman of Canaan came from that region and cried out to Him, saying, "Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely demon-possessed."
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| 23 | But He answered her not a word. And His disciples came and urged Him, saying, "Send her away, for she cries out after us."
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| 24 | But He answered and said, "I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."
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| 25 | Then she came and worshiped Him, saying, "Lord, help me!"
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| 26 | But He answered and said, "It is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the little dogs."
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| 27 | And she said, "Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters' table."
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| 28 | Then Jesus answered and said to her, "O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire." And her daughter was healed from that very hour.
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| 29 | Jesus departed from there, skirted the Sea of Galilee, and went up on the mountain and sat down there.
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| 30 | Then great multitudes came to Him, having with them the lame, blind, mute, maimed, and many others; and they laid them down at Jesus' feet, and He healed them.
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| 31 | So the multitude marveled when they saw the mute speaking, the maimed made whole, the lame walking, and the blind seeing; and they glorified the God of Israel.
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And Glory be to God forever.
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Liturgy Gospel
Paulines Epistle
Paul, the servant of our Lord Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, appointed to the Gospel of God.
A reading from the Epistle of our teacher Paul to the Romans .
May his blessings be upon us.
Amen.
Romans 4 : 4 - 28
Chapter 4
| 4 | Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt.
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| 5 | But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness,
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| 6 | just as David also describes the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from works:
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| 7 | "Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, And whose sins are covered;
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| 8 | Blessed is the man to whom the LORD shall not impute sin."
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| 9 | Does this blessedness then come upon the circumcised only, or upon the uncircumcised also? For we say that faith was accounted to Abraham for righteousness.
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| 10 | How then was it accounted? While he was circumcised, or uncircumcised? Not while circumcised, but while uncircumcised.
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| 11 | And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while still uncircumcised, that he might be the father of all those who believe, though they are uncircumcised, that righteousness might be imputed to them also,
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| 12 | and the father of circumcision to those who not only are of the circumcision, but who also walk in the steps of the faith which our father Abraham had while still uncircumcised.
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| 13 | For the promise that he would be the heir of the world was not to Abraham or to his seed through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.
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| 14 | For if those who are of the law are heirs, faith is made void and the promise made of no effect,
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| 15 | because the law brings about wrath; for where there is no law there is no transgression.
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| 16 | Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all
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| 17 | (as it is written, "I have made you a father of many nations" ) in the presence of Him whom he believed--God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did;
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| 18 | who, contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he became the father of many nations, according to what was spoken, "So shall your descendants be."
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| 19 | And not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body, already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah's womb.
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| 20 | He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God,
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| 21 | and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform.
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| 22 | And therefore "it was accounted to him for righteousness."
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| 23 | Now it was not written for his sake alone that it was imputed to him,
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| 24 | but also for us. It shall be imputed to us who believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead,
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| 25 | who was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our justification.
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The grace of God the Father be with you all.
Amen.
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Catholic Epistle
A Reading from Epistle 1 of St. John .
May his blessing be upon us.
Amen.
1 John 2 : 7 - 17
Chapter 2
| 7 | Brethren, I write no new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which you heard from the beginning.
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| 8 | Again, a new commandment I write to you, which thing is true in Him and in you, because the darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining.
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| 9 | He who says he is in the light, and hates his brother, is in darkness until now.
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| 10 | He who loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him.
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| 11 | But he who hates his brother is in darkness and walks in darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.
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| 12 | I write to you, little children, Because your sins are forgiven you for His name's sake.
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| 13 | I write to you, fathers, Because you have known Him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, Because you have overcome the wicked one. I write to you, little children, Because you have known the Father.
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| 14 | I have written to you, fathers, Because you have known Him who is from the beginning. I have written to you, young men, Because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, And you have overcome the wicked one.
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| 15 | Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
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| 16 | For all that is in the world--the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life--is not of the Father but is of the world.
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| 17 | And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.
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Do not love the world or the things in the world.
The world passes away, and its desires; but he who does the will of God abides forever.
Amen.
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Acts of the Apostles
The Acts of our fathers the apostles, may their blessings be with us.
Acts 7 : 35 - 50
Chapter 7
| 35 | "This Moses whom they rejected, saying, "Who made you a ruler and a judge?' is the one God sent to be a ruler and a deliverer by the hand of the Angel who appeared to him in the bush.
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| 36 | He brought them out, after he had shown wonders and signs in the land of Egypt, and in the Red Sea, and in the wilderness forty years.
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| 37 | "This is that Moses who said to the children of Israel, "The LORD your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your brethren. Him you shall hear.'
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| 38 | "This is he who was in the congregation in the wilderness with the Angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and with our fathers, the one who received the living oracles to give to us,
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| 39 | whom our fathers would not obey, but rejected. And in their hearts they turned back to Egypt,
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| 40 | saying to Aaron, "Make us gods to go before us; as for this Moses who brought us out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.'
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| 41 | And they made a calf in those days, offered sacrifices to the idol, and rejoiced in the works of their own hands.
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| 42 | Then God turned and gave them up to worship the host of heaven, as it is written in the book of the Prophets: "Did you offer Me slaughtered animals and sacrifices during forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel?
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| 43 | You also took up the tabernacle of Moloch, And the star of your god Remphan, Images which you made to worship; And I will carry you away beyond Babylon.'
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| 44 | "Our fathers had the tabernacle of witness in the wilderness, as He appointed, instructing Moses to make it according to the pattern that he had seen,
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| 45 | which our fathers, having received it in turn, also brought with Joshua into the land possessed by the Gentiles, whom God drove out before the face of our fathers until the days of David,
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| 46 | who found favor before God and asked to find a dwelling for the God of Jacob.
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| 47 | But Solomon built Him a house.
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| 48 | "However, the Most High does not dwell in temples made with hands, as the prophet says:
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| 49 | "Heaven is My throne, And earth is My footstool. What house will you build for Me? says the LORD, Or what is the place of My rest?
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| 50 | Has My hand not made all these things?'
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The word of the Lord shall grow, multiply, be mighty, and be confirmed, in the holy Church of God.
Amen.
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Synaxarium
Day 19 of the Blessed Coptic Month of Kiahk, may God make it always received, year after year, with reassurance and tranquility, while our sins after forgiven by the tender mercies of our God my fathers and brothers.
Amen.
The Nineteenth Day of the Blessed Month of Kiahk
Departure of St.John, Bishop of El-Borollos
Who Gathered the Biographies of the Saints
On this day St. John, Bishop of El-Borollos,
departed. He came from a wealthy family and from priestly ancestors. His
parents were charitable and gave generously to the poor. When they died,
St. John took the money they left and built a hostel for strangers. He
gathered the sick, served them himself, and offered them what they needed.
Once a monk visited him and saw his good deeds, he praised him and praised
monasticism in his presence, showing him its honor. The saint was attracted
to the monastic life and he had a deep love in his heart for it. After
the monk departed, the saint distributed his wealth among the poor and
went into the wilderness of "Shiheet" (Scetis). He became a monk under
the guidance of St. Daniel the archpriest of the wilderness. St. John was
known for his zeal for worship and for his great asceticism. He lived alone
in a secluded building. Satan and his soldiers envied his good deeds, and
they gathered against him and painfully beat him. He was sick for so many
days, after which the Lord Christ healed him. He regained his strength
and overcame the devil. God then called him to become a bishop of Borollos.
At this time, there were some heresies and he made a great effort to eradicate
them, and converted the heretics to the Orthodox Faith. Also in his
time, a monk from upper Egypt claimed that he could reveal certain things
which were imparted to him by the Archangel Michael, and he misled many
by his deception. St. John saw that the monk's deeds were from the devil.
He commanded that the monk be beaten until he confessed his sins and he
drove him out of the country. Another claimed that Habakkuk, the prophet,
appeared and revealed hidden things to him and, as a result, he was followed
by many. St. John drove him out of the country, after he had exposed his
deception. He also put an end to the use of several bad books. Every time
this saint went up to the sanctuary (Hekal) to serve the divine liturgy,
his face and all his body were flushed red, as though he came out of a
fiery furnace, and his tears poured heavily on his cheeks, for he was beholding
the heavenly hosts on the altar. Three times when he placed his finger
in the chalice to make the sign of the Cross during the fraction prayer,
he found that the cup was as hot as fire. Furthermore, in his days, some
infidels were partaking of the Holy Mysteries without having fasted. The
saint rebuked them, but since they did not hearken to him, he excommunicated
them and forbade them from the fellowship of the church. When they disobeyed
his order, he entreated God, so fire came down from heaven, and the fire
burned their leader. Fear fell upon the rest and they repented. When the
Lord wanted to repose him from the toil of this world, He sent to him St.
Antony and St. Macarius to tell him of the day of his departure. He called
his people and commended them then departed in peace.
May His prayers be with us and Glory be to our God forever. Amen.
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Divine Psalm
Stand in the fear of God and listen to the Holy Gospel.
A reading from the Gospel according to our teacher Saint John the Evangelist.
May His Blessings be with us all. Amen.
From the Psalms of our teacher David the prophet, and the Good King.
May his blessings be with us all.
Psalms 85 : 10 - 11
Chapter 85
| 10 | Mercy and truth have met together; Righteousness and peace have kissed.
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| 11 | Truth shall spring out of the earth, And righteousness shall look down from heaven.
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Hallelujah.
Divine Gospel
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Our Lord God, Savior, and King of us all, Jesus Christ, the Living Son of God to whom be glory forever.
Amen.
Luke 1 : 39 - 56
Chapter 1
| 39 | Now Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste, to a city of Judah,
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| 40 | and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth.
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| 41 | And it happened, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.
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| 42 | Then she spoke out with a loud voice and said, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!
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| 43 | But why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
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| 44 | For indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.
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| 45 | Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord."
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| 46 | And Mary said: "My soul magnifies the Lord,
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| 47 | And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.
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| 48 | For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant; For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed.
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| 49 | For He who is mighty has done great things for me, And holy is His name.
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| 50 | And His mercy is on those who fear Him From generation to generation.
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| 51 | He has shown strength with His arm; He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
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| 52 | He has put down the mighty from their thrones, And exalted the lowly.
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| 53 | He has filled the hungry with good things, And the rich He has sent away empty.
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| 54 | He has helped His servant Israel, In remembrance of His mercy,
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| 55 | As He spoke to our fathers, To Abraham and to his seed forever."
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| 56 | And Mary remained with her about three months, and returned to her house.
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And Glory be to God forever.
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Acknowledgement
Opening page