1.                                                      33rd Sunday-Year C
    Mal 3:19-20a

    Christianity is not an escape from the world, but a vocation to make it better.

    Beloved in Christ, when you live in a cold weather as we experience in winter you look forward to and appreciate a day or even an hour of sunshine. When the temperature is below freezing in winter and you hear the weather forecast that there is going to be a day of sunshine, what happens to your heart? If you are like me, then your heart jumps! You become joyful and breathe a sigh of relief in anticipation of that sunshine.
    Our first reading from the prophet Malachi reminds us that no matter how cold life gets, there is going to be a day of sunshine, a day when good will overcome evil, when the troubles in life will cease and our joy will be complete.  The reference to the sun and its joyful rays in that reading is a prophecy about Jesus Christ.  The reading also tells us that we Christians are called to be witnesses of this good news, people who testify with both their words and actions that this message is true. In fact the Hebrew name “Malachi” means a “ my messenger, a witness”, a person who has experienced something and so can talk about it in a way that helps others to understand that experience. At the time of his prophecy, the people of Israel had fallen back into their usual temptation of “God will do it all, the temple will be safe, God bless their lives, and our actions did not really matter.” The prophet reminded them that this is false! The joy that God promises will come true not only when they believe; but also when their own words and actions show that they really want good to overcome evil. 
    In the second reading, St Paul reminds us that the restoration of the world depends not only on God but also on our cooperation with God. At the time St. Paul wrote this letter, some people in the Church at Thessalonica had given up on the world and were looking for an escape. They were thinking the world was going to end. They sold their houses and property and stopped working. St Paul tells them that God is not calling them to escape the world but to work towards its transformation through the grace of God.
    Our Lord Jesus in the gospel tells us that when evil and sin increase in the world our God is counting on us, Christians, to speak and live in a way that will let good overcome evil. He said the day of the Lord, the second coming of the Lord will be a celebration of the good work that we have allowed God to accomplish through us. We are the “Malachi” of our day. We are called to show by our words and actions that good can and will overcome evil.
    Beloved, we have just finished a rather difficult election season. You and I know that so much happened during the elections. Some are happy with the outcome and some are not! Our country is divided. You may be tempted like the Israelites in the first reading to say, “Oh God will fix it, what I do does not matter!” Or like the people of Thessalonica, you may just tune off as a way of escaping from the difficult task of uniting our country and revealing that love of God, that sunshine that we are all searching for. But beloved, the readings today remind us that God is counting on all of us to speak and act in a way that will teach others that unity, joy, peace, and love can overcome evil and division. May Christ give us the grace to be witnesses to this truth, that the way we speak and act about the outcome of the elections will make us models that others can follow so that we can all be a light that will lead our country and the world to that Sunshine, that joy we are looking for.  May it be so! 



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  2. 32nd Sunday-Year C 

    2 MC 7:1-2; 9-14
    Psalm 17
    2 Thes 2:16-3:5
    Luke 20:27-38

    Only Love, Patience, and Passion Can Reveal the Truth of the Christian Gospel

    Beloved in Christ, almost all human efforts, our science and technology, our quest for knowledge, and our relationships are directed by the desire for true joy and happiness in life. This is not wrong because our Christian faith teaches us that God created us to be happy. However, not every thing that promises happiness and joy actually delivers it. In most cases, our joy and happiness do not last because we miss a very important spiritual principle that leads to complete joy, one that satisfies both the human body and the soul. That principle is what our responsorial psalm today reminds us of: Lord when your glory is revealed, my joy will be complete.
    Beloved, the secret of life is that our joy is so tied to the glory of God that one cannot exist without the other. As St. Paul tells us in the second reading, not every human being knows, accepts, or lives by this principle. That is why despite all the beauty in the world we still have so much sin, evil, divisions, and darkness. That is why we need the light of Christ. Brothers and Sisters, our world is hurting and is longing for love, joy, and peace, and hope! God needs you and me to help the world understand that we cannot have true joy, happiness, and peace without first seeking the glory of God.
    The first reading and the gospel teach us how we can succeed in being that light for our world today. The four brothers gave their lives to teach the King and all of us that true happiness and joy come only from obedience to the God law. In order to be light for the world today, we need the passion and love that these four brothers had for the law of God. We need to show the world that God’s law makes sense to us, and that we live it with passion because when we seek the glory of God our joy becomes complete.   
    In the gospel, Jesus teaches us how we can succeed in helping people accept this truth of the gospel. He is dealing with the Sadducees, people who had formed their own opinions about life and, even though they were wrong, they still believed so much in their own theories about life that they came to Jesus not to listen to him, but to trap him and let people know that Jesus is wrong about what it means to be fully human and live life in its fullness. What touched my heart was how Jesus handled the situation. Even though Jesus knew they were wrong, he did not humiliate them, but rather helped them to become humble and accept the gospel. He engaged them with love, patience, and passion. He engaged them with passion that does not change God’s teaching; with love that put the human person first but not his mistakes or how wrong the person is; with patience that shows that I am here to help you not to condemn you.
    One of the most beautiful signs I saw recently read: “America, the donkey and the elephants are not enough! We need to turn back to the Lamb of God”. In two days, we as a nation will go to the polls to elect a new president. I cannot tell you who will be the next president of the United States, but whoever wins, we need to remember that the donkey and the elephants are not enough! We need to bring them both back to the Lamb of God and begin to love one another as the Lamb teaches us to. Let our prayer be: Christ be our light; shine in our heart, shine through the darkness! Christ be our light, shine in your church gathered today.


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  3. 31st Sunday-Year C 

    Ps 145:1-2, 8-9, 10-11, 13, 14

    Am I Taking God’s Love and Mercy for Granted?

    Beloved in Christ, what do you do when you offend somebody you really love and care deeply about? I am sure you will be sorry and apologize, right? And if that person forgives you and you keep doing that same thing, over and over again, what do you communicate to the person? I suppose the person will feel you don’t really love or care about him/her, right? It is logical that if you really care deeply about that person, you will stop doing what hurts him.
    Our first reading today tells us that God is loving and merciful; and he never wants to destroy his people. That is why he always forgives us. St Paul in our second reading reminds us that God forgives us so that Christ will be glorified in us. People would look at us and say wow, how did this one become this good! Look at what Christ can do! Beloved, when I look at my own life, I know how true these words of St. Paul are; and it brings me hope. If God can make a priest out of me, God can make a saint out of youJ.
    Beloved, that loving and merciful God, whom our first and second reading talk about is Christ Jesus, who stops for a sinner, searches for him, and stays in a sinner’s house just to bring him mercy and love. It is important to note that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem where he was going to die. Yet he did not allow the horror of the cross to come between him and his love for Zacchaeus. He stopped for him; and stayed with him. This should touch our hearts! Another thing that touched my heart in the gospel was Zacchaeus’ response to the love and mercy of God. He did not take God’s love and mercy for granted. He did not just say I am sorry for what I have done; but he actually took practical steps to change his life. He stopped hurting God; and by that he showed that he really cared about God.
    The story of Zacchaeus teaches us what our response to God’s mercy should be.
    True repentance is more than saying “I am sorry”. It calls for a change of life. It calls for putting an end to what hurts your lover. If you say I am sorry a million times and keep doing the same thing, you need to ask yourself: Do I really love this God, do I really care about him? Do I really care about how he feels? Am I grateful that he forgave me? This does not mean we become perfect overnight or never sin again after confession. No, it rather means that we love God so much that we seek to avoid the occasion of a sin we have confessed in such a way that we don’t commit the same sin in the same way.
    Beloved in Christ, today as a church, nation, families, friends, and individuals, we need to ask ourselves an important question: Am I taking God’s love and mercy for granted? Salvation begins by realizing that we cannot do it all by ourselves; that I need God. That is the realization that Zacchaeus came to. One of the most beautiful signs I saw recently read: “America, the donkey and the elephants are not enough! We need to turn back to the Lamb of God”. Yes, we need to bring the donkey and the elephant back to the Lamb of God! As we pray to God to elect a new president for us, let our very lives tell God: Lord I need you, oh I need you! Every hour I need you. You’re my one defense, my righteousness! Oh Lord, how I need you!


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  4. 29th Sunday-Year C

    Remembering what God has done for you in the past as a reason to persevere

    Beloved in Christ, no matter how good you are at prayer there comes a time when you just don’t want to pray. You may lose the motivation to pray due to prayers that are not answered or some difficulties in waiting on God. There are times that we might even be tempted to quit praying all together. However, no matter how difficult our prayer life gets, Jesus tells us in our gospel today that we cannot quit because prayer is a partnership with God. It is a spiritual union through which we learn to align our will with God’s will, and receive the grace to nurture our relationships with God and neighbor. Giving up prayer is giving up on this spiritual union.
    Our first and second readings today tell us how we can persevere in prayer at all times. St. Paul tells Timothy to remember what he had learned and experienced as a way of deriving new strength and joy to go on in his ministry. The first reading is a story about how Moses had to fight different battles to protect the people of God from their enemies and keep them moving towards the Promised Land. In today’s reading, the people are at war and their enemies seem stronger then them. However, instead of giving up hope, Moses makes the decision to persevere.
    He took the staff and raised his hands all day; and as long as he kept doing that the Israelites won the battle. There is some symbolism in this reading that speaks to us. Why did Moses go for the staff? That was his way of recalling what God had done for him and his people in the past. Moses remembered that when he raised the staff before Pharaoh, some snakes where swallowed (Do you recall that story?). He remembered that when he thought all hope was gone at the red sea, raising the staff divided the sea and brought salvation to the people. Moses also remembered that when the people were dying out of thirst in the desert, he raised this staff and God gave water that kept the people alive. Remembering what God had done for him in the past brought Moses new hope in a hopeless situation and gave him the strength to persevere.
    It is also important to note that Moses did not just remember these past blessings cognitively; but he also celebrated what he remembered as symbolized by the raising of his hands, which was both a sign of prayer and celebration.  That is what you and I need to do when we get stuck in our prayer life. When we don’t feel like praying again, or when we are tempted to loose faith in prayer we need to recall what God has done for us in the past. Each of us can tell some story of a time in our life when we thought it was over but God came through for us. When we remember God’s blessings and celebrate them we will receive new strength to persevere in prayer.

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  5. 28th Sunday-Year C
     
    2 Kgs 5:14-17
    Ps 98:1, 2-3, 3-4
    2 Tm 2:8-13
    Lk 17:11-19


    Obedience to the Word of God is the solution to our problems!

    Beloved in Christ, there are two themes in our scriptural readings today that I would like to bring up for our reflection.  The first one is thanksgiving, the nature of true gratitude. The second is the power of obedience to God’s Word even when, humanly speaking, it does not make sense to do so. I know we have heard so many wonderful homilies about how to be truly grateful so today I will just focus on obedience to God as the solution to our problems!
    In our second reading, St Paul advises us not to let anything in life make us put the Word of God in chains. He encourages us to obey the Word of God even when we are in the worse situations in our lives and even when listening to God, humanly speaking, might not make sense to us.  Our first reading and the gospel present the truth in what St. Paul is telling us.
    In our first reading, Naaman, who was an army commander of the king of Syria, was healed and restored to life because he decided to put his faith in the Word of God spoken first through a little girl and then through the prophet Elisha. Naaman obeyed the instruction to wash seven times in the Jordan even when he had previously said that it did not make sense to him.  His obedience to the Word of God brought him life.
    This is the same lesson that we find in our gospel today. The Story of the ten people cured from leprosy in the gospel also shows what happens when we obey God’s Word even when it seems not to make sense to our human minds. According to human logic, the cure must happen first before Jesus would ask hem to go and show themselves to the priest for the certificate of being cured. So if the cure had not taken place why did the ten men begin to work to the priest for that certificate? Beloved, these men teach us that we should not wait until our problems are solved before we obey God. Rather, the solutions to our problems come from obeying God even in the midst of the storms in life. Waking in faith as a response to the word of God brings the solutions we are seeking in life.
    Beloved, when you look at the natural disasters, the wars in Syria and the many parts of the world, terrorist attacks all over the world, the issues of hunger and poverty, all the corruption and crimes that go on in our country and all over the world, as well as the many struggles we have in our families and individual lives, you will see that like Naaman and the ten men in our gospel, our world is sick and we are looking for solutions. However, unlike Naaman and the ten men, many politicians, world leaders and indeed all of us, at times, leave God out as we search for solutions. We throw God’s word away; we put the Word of God in chains as we try to solve our problems. But our readings today remind us that the first step towards true solutions to the problems in our world is to obey God even when it seems not to make sense to our human way of thinking. So let’s bring God back into our politics, our schools, our communities, and our families, and all our relationships. Obedience to the Word of God is the solution to our problems!




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  6. 27th Sunday-Year C

    God still has a vision: If it delays, wait for it (Hab. 2: 3)

    Beloved in Christ, in our first reading today, the Prophet Habakkuk is angry and frustrated with God because his prayers have not been answered. He said he had been crying out to God for help but God has not listened and has refused to intervene. As the prophet expresses his frustration, God responds; but if you pay attention to the reading, you will see that God’s response was not an immediate solution to the problems. Rather, God tells him: “I still have a vision….if it delays, wait for it, it will surely come”. God’s vision is to make all things new; so when life gets difficult we need to remember that our God sees our tears, he feels our pain, and no matter how long it takes God will make things new.
    That is why in our second reading, St. Paul tells us not to turn our back on God when life gets difficult. We should not throw God’s teachings away when life gets tough because true faith is love that stand in good and bad times. When troubles come we should fan our faith into flames. We should not let difficulties call our faith into question. Rather, troubles should call our faith into action.
    In the Gospel, Jesus invites us to develop the right perspective to life so that we can hold on to our Christian faith and grow in it. He tells us not to see the good things we do (prayers, fasting, holy life, charitable deeds etc) as buying God’s grace or fulfilling some conditions that God needs before he can bless our lives. Such an attitude will just bring frustrations, despair, anger, and even lost of faith. Rather, we should see all we do as giving thanks to God for what he has done for us (Our very lives are gifts from God, the air we breath, the gift of family and friends are all free blessings from our God). Above all, our good deeds should be done to say “thank you” to God for the salvation he has won for us in Christ. When we live like that we can always be grateful no matter what life brings and we can even thank God for what he is yet to do.
    My brother and sister in Christ, there are times in our lives when we can all feel like the prophet. Maybe you have been struggling with some habitual sin and you have been going to confession, crying out to God, but you don’t see any result; and you feel God is not listening to you. Maybe you have some sickness that you have been struggling with, been praying for healing, and God seems not to listen. Maybe you have been praying about a job, or some situation in your family or with your friends, or even in your church and the more you pray the worse the situation seems to get. In times like that, your faith will be tested; you can become frustrated and even angry. But when you feel that way I want you to remember God’s response to the prophet “ I still have a vision....if it delays, wait for it, it will surely come”.  When I hear those words from God, I remember one of my favorite songs: God will make a way where there seems to be no way!


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  7. 26th Sunday-Year C
    Amos 6: 1, 4-7
    Psalm 146
    1 Tm 6: 11-16
    Luke 16:19-31

     Charity Includes Calling People Out of Sin!

    Beloved in Christ, as the Year of Mercy gradually comes to an end, God invites us, in our readings today, to reflect on the impacts our worship at Mass has on our lives and those of our families, friends, and community. In our first reading, God is not happy with the people of Israel not because they failed to offer sacrifices to God in the temple, but because their worship did not translate into practical works of mercy. The Prophet of social justice, Amos, reminds us that to seek the glory of God and be truly grateful to God is to seek the good of his people.
    In our gospel, Jesus tells a story of a rich man who ignores his poor neighbor and lives in perpetual sorrow and regret after his death. It is important to note that Jesus is not condemning working hard to become rich. He is condemning being rich and ignoring others. Perhaps, you and I might claim that we are not like this rich man because we are not rich, but just poor college students; and even as poor college students we still share the little we have with family and friends. We also volunteer to help people on mission trips etc so we share our time and resource. However, there is ONE thing that we all are very rich in but don’t share often because it is not comfortable to share that. Can you imagine what I am talking about? Our knowledge of what is sinful. God has blessed all of us with the rich knowledge of the good and evil yet there are times that circumstances may push somebody to make what we describe “poor choices, or poor decisions”. When that happens, God expects us to reach out to the all who are making those poor choices and help them to be rich in goodness again. However, we are often afraid to share our wisdom with others because we don’t want to lose their friendship or we are afraid to be described as weird. However, Beloved, anytime we fail to reach out to somebody making poor choices in life, we behave exactly like this rich man in the gospel.
    St Paul, in our second reading tells us not to be afraid to reach out to people if only we do it with devotion, faith, love, patience, and gentleness. Beloved, unlike the rich man in the gospel, you and I have a second chance. As we listen to the gospel, we can make the decision not only to share our money and time with people, but also the Wisdom of God that will help them walk out of sin. We are called not only to help save the world from hunger, thirst, and all kinds of material poverty; but also to save the world from sin. How do you behave when you see people making wrong choices? How do you behave when somebody points out your mistakes?





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  8. 25th Sunday_Year C
    Amos 8: 4-7
    Psalm 113
    I Tm 2:1-8
    Luke 16:1-13

    To be a Christian is to Carry God’s People and His Glory in Your Heart!

    Beloved in Christ, as the Year of Mercy gradually comes to an end, God invites us, in our readings today, to reflect on the impacts our worship at Mass has on our lives and those of our families, friends, and community. In our first reading, God is not happy with the people of Israel not because they failed to offer sacrifices to God in the temple, but because their worship did not translate in practical works of mercy. The Prophet of social justice, Amos, reminds us that to seek the glory of God, to be truly grateful to God, is to seek the good of his people.
    In our second reading, St. Paul reminds us that the God we have gathered here today to serve, is the God who gives himself as ransom for all people; and our Christian calling is to continue this mission in the world. As St. Paul tells us, we are called to pray and live in a way that will help all people appreciate and embrace the truth that peace, justice, and joy in life come only from giving our lives as a ransom for others. Can you imagine how the world would be if all our political and religious leaders, and indeed all of us, truly lived our lives as a ransom for others?
    In our gospel today, Jesus condemns the greed and corruption of the steward; but praises him for his concern and sensitivity towards the pain, struggles, burdens, and the sufferings of others. Jesus praises this steward for his intention to be a friend to others and calls on his disciples to use all we have to turn the world into a community of friends. In order to appreciate what Jesus means, we need to understand how he defines friendship. For Jesus, a true friend is one who lays down his/her life for others the way God lays down his life for us. He carries our burdens and lays down his life for us on the Cross because we are his friends. All he ever wants from his disciples is for us to invite others into this friendship (John 15:12-17).
    Beloved, what do you do when your friend is hungry, homeless, naked, sick, poor, imprisoned, or dead?  You feed, shelter, clothe, give alms, visit, and you bury your friend. What do you do when destroying the environment will harm your friend? You stop! This is what we call the Corporal Works of Mercy in Catholic theology. What do you do when your friend makes wrong choices in life or, when your friend is sad? You correct, advise, and help him/her come back to the right path; you console, comfort, forgive, and bear whatever wrongs your friend does against you patiently! (In Catholic theology, we call this the Spiritual Works of Mercy).
        As I reflect on these readings today, I make one prayer: “Lord, help me to be the shoulder that somebody can lean on. Help me to hold your people and your glory in my heart”! Beloved, many are thirsting for God. Our world is thirsting for love! Our world is thirsting for peace! Our world is thirsting for forgiveness! Our world is thirsting for unity. God has heard the cry of his people; He has felt their pain; He wants to save them! He is asking you and me: Whom shall I send?  What is your response?

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  9. 24th Sunday- Year C
    Ex.32: 7-11, 11-14
    Psalm 51
    1 Tm 1:12-17
    Luke 15: 1-32

    Every human being can get lost; but every human being can also be found:
    Will you Search for your lost coin, will you search for your lost sheep?

    My Dear People of God, our readings today are full of covenants that are broken. But what is striking in all the readings is that these covenant do not remain broken, they are renewed. In the first reading, the people hurt God and break the covenant, but God renews it. In the gospel, a coin is lost but is found; a sheep is lost, but is found, a son is lost, but is found. In the gospel, Jesus uses the metaphor of a coin and a sheep to represent a lost relationship and calls on us not to give up on those relationships.  We look for a lost coin because regardless of the fact that it is lost, the coin is not useless. There is still something good in the coin. It still has value. We look for a lost sheep because regardless of the fact that it is lost, the sheep is not useless. It still has value. Can you imagine what Christianity would have missed if God did not search for St. Paul, who tells us in the second reading that he is the first among all sinner? God searched for St. Paul because he knew that regardless of the fact that Paul was a lost coin, a lost sheep, Paul still had something beautiful in him that was yet to come out.
    The parable of the prodigal son, in addition to revealing the unconditional love that God has for all his sons and daughters, teaches us that no human being is totally sinful and no human being is totally righteous. I think, in some sense, each one of us has some characteristics of both the elder child and the prodigal son. There are times we are like the prodigal son, but there other times that we are also like the elder son, we listen and do as God wants us to do. God’s love for us does not depend on what we do or fail to do. When you are at your best, God loves you, when you are at your worst, God loves you. We are the lost sheep that is found. This means every human being can be lost but every human being can also be found. If that is the case why do we give up on people? The question I ask myself today is “do I love people only when they are at their best? Does my love fail when people hurt me?
    Beloved in Christ, it's those who are closest to us that will offend us. It is your husband who will offend you. It is your wife who will offend you, it is your children who will offend you, it's your parents who will offend you, it's your family and friends, your teachers, your students, co-workers, parishioners etc, who will offend you. But it is also these people that we find most difficult to forgive because we have given all our lives to them. When they offend us, it hurts so badly. Maybe you have tried to forgive and the person does not change so you have given up. Forgiveness is like searching for something. It calls for persistent.  My brother, my Sister, true Love is not possible without forgiveness. Has anyone hurt you? Have you given up on anybody? Are you about to? Then you have a lost sheep; you have a lost coin. God is asking you to search for them. Will you do it?
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  10. 23rd Sunday-Year C

    Wisdom 9:13-18
    Psalm 90
    Philemon 9-10, 12-17
    Luke 14: 25-33

    The Cross is the Wisdom of God
    Beloved in Christ, our first reading tells us that we might not know the mind and the plans of God; but if we follow the wisdom and the spirit of God, we will fulfill our mission in life and help make life better for our families, friends, and society. The wisdom and spirit of God that the writer of the book of Wisdom talks about, find it’s deepest meaning in the Cross. That explains why Jesus embraced it and invites all of us to embrace it too. In our gospel today, Jesus invites us to take up our crosses and follow him. 
    What does Jesus mean? Usually when we hear “take up your cross and follow me”, our minds go to some sinful habit or personal suffering we might be going through. That is all true; but the invitation to take up our cross means more than that. Beloved, the Cross Jesus carried was not only the wood of the Cross; that was the ultimate symbol of all the problems of the people he had made his own as he interacted with them daily to share in their hunger, thirst, and pain. He even took our sin upon himself so he could help us walk out of it. So, take up your cross and follow me means do not be afraid to enter into people’s life and walk through their pain and suffering with them; do not be afraid to sacrifice your life to make life better for others.
    That Wisdom and Spirit God is what Mother Teresa of Kolkata, who will be canonized this weekend, embraced in her life. She did not always understand God’s plan; but she always responded to the call of Jesus to enter into people’s life and help walk through their suffering in other to help them experience the peace and love of God. In her diary, she wrote a very simple but profound prayer: “Lord, give me the strength to be the light of their lives so that I may lead them to you”. She was not afraid to suffer with others!
    Beloved, many people are thirsting for God. Our world is thirsting for love! Our world is thirsting for peace! Our world is thirsting for forgiveness! Our world is thirsting for unity. St. Paul, in the second reading, tells us when we look at life from a Christian perspective, we will begin to see people as Jesus sees them. We will begin to see that what affects one affects us all; and respond to their suffering the way Jesus would do!
    Beloved, the Lord has heard his people’s cry; He has felt their pain; He wants to save them! Just he asked Mother Teresa and all the saints, he is asking you and me: Whom shall I send?  What is your response?     
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