Anchored In The Lord
Weekly homilies of Father David Neuschwander
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Feast of the Dedication of St. John Lateran | Nov 11, 2025
11/17/2025
Feast of the Dedication of St. John Lateran | Nov 11, 2025
Feast of the Dedication of St. John Lateran — The Last Rites (Summary) This weekend in our series Arise: On Death and Dying, we reflect on one of the most consoling and misunderstood gifts of the Church at the end of life: the Last Rites. And right away—what I say at the end I’ll say at the beginning: Call early, and when the priest comes, ask for everything. Priests love offering the Last Rites. This is what we’re ordained to do—don’t worry about “bothering” us! Today’s feast gives a fitting backdrop: the readings show us God’s life flowing like living water, Jesus as the true Temple, and St. Paul reminding us that we are God’s temple. Yet parts of our “temple” can fall into disrepair—sin, fear, neglect, or suffering. As life draws toward its end, those places can feel heavier. This is why Christ gave us the Last Rites. First is Confession, the cleansing of the temple—restoring friendship with God, clearing away anything unresolved, and filling the soul with peace. Second is the Anointing of the Sick, which brings Christ’s strength, healing, and courage into physical or spiritual weakness. It’s not only for the final moments—it’s for anyone seriously ill or preparing for major surgery. Third is Holy Communion, Viaticum—food for the final journey, Christ Himself accompanying the soul home. And if death is near, ask for the Apostolic Pardon, a beautiful prayer granting full remission of temporal punishment. So again: Call early. Call when your loved one can still confess, receive Communion, and take in every grace Christ offers. And when the priest arrives, ask for everything: Confession, Anointing, Holy Communion, and the Apostolic Pardon. The Church does not fear death—Christ has conquered it. The Last Rites prepare the temple of our body and soul for rising with Him. They are Christ’s final embrace, His last strengthening for the journey home. Call early—and ask for everything.
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Daily Consistent Prayer. | 29th Sunday in OT | Oct 19, 2025
11/17/2025
Daily Consistent Prayer. | 29th Sunday in OT | Oct 19, 2025
Father David's Homily this week focuses on daily consistent prayer without getting weird! Our readings for October 19, 2025 (the 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time) focus on perseverance in prayer and faith. Key themes include: God will grant justice to his chosen ones who call out to him day and night, so believers should not grow weary in prayer, as exemplified by the persistent widow in the Gospel of Luke. The readings emphasize remaining steadfast in faith, with the Old Testament passage from Exodus illustrating how Moses' prayer, supported by Aaron and Hur, secured victory, and the second reading from 2 Timothy calling for a diligent and patient proclamation of the word of God.
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Put On Your Nikes – 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time
10/14/2025
Put On Your Nikes – 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Put On Your Nikes – 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Oct. 12, 2025) This week’s homily invites us to look at two powerful moments of healing — Naaman the leper in the Old Testament and the ten lepers who call out to Jesus in the Gospel. Both stories reveal the same truth: God’s power often moves through simple obedience, not spectacle. Naaman expected a dramatic miracle — a show of divine power — but instead was told to do something small and ordinary: wash seven times in the Jordan River. Insulted at first, he finally “just did it” — and was healed. The ten lepers who met Jesus were told only to “go show yourselves to the priests,” and it was as they went that healing came. Fr. David reminds us that this is how grace works in our lives, too. The Holy Spirit stirs our hearts with small, gentle nudges — to reach out, encourage, forgive, invite, or serve — and when we act in faith, God works wonders through those ordinary moments. In our parishes, we’re already seeing this unfold: people returning to church, families entering RCIA together, hearts being stirred to serve and grow. God is moving because people are saying yes. So the next time you feel that quiet prompting from God — to say something kind, to take a step, to act in love — don’t overthink it. Lace up your spiritual sneakers, take a cue from Naaman, and just do it.
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What Do I Spend My Time Thinking About?
09/22/2025
What Do I Spend My Time Thinking About?
25th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Sept. 21, 2025) — What Do I Spend My Time Thinking About? This weekend, we’re asked to pause and pay attention to our own thoughts: What do I actually spend the most time focusing on each day? Is it worries about the world, struggles at home or work, or concerns for our children and families? Or is it God’s kingdom, my role as His disciple, and how I live that out? St. Paul reminds us in today’s readings that our thoughts and concerns don’t have to spiral into worry or discouragement. Instead, they can be transformed into prayer, into trust in God, and into the energy of discipleship. “First of all, I ask that supplications, prayers, petitions, and thanksgivings be offered for everyone… lifting up holy hands, without anger or argument” (1 Tim 2). Jesus also says in the Gospel, “No servant can serve two masters.” One practical way to discern who we’re serving is to notice what we think and talk about most. Is it our anxieties—or the Lord? This week, simply pay attention: Do my concerns lead me deeper into worry, or do they become fuel for prayer and for living as Christ’s disciple?
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Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross: How Should Christians Respond?
09/22/2025
Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross: How Should Christians Respond?
Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross — How Should Christians Respond? 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Sept. 14, 2025) This weekend, we celebrate the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. The Cross, once a sign of suffering and death, has become for us the ultimate sign of hope: the place where God’s love conquered sin and death. In light of recent tragedies, including the heartbreaking shooting at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis, how are we as Christians called to respond? With prayer — not as a last resort, but as a powerful act that lifts the suffering to God. Through the sacraments — especially the Eucharist and confession, where Christ’s grace enters our broken world. By intentional relationships — reaching out, befriending, and witnessing God’s love to those who may feel unseen. With courage as disciples — stepping out of our comfort zones to share the Gospel, even if it feels uncomfortable or seems to make only a small difference. The Cross reminds us that love is stronger than death, and Christ is stronger than violence. Even if it feels like there’s just a 1% chance that our words or actions could help someone turn back to God, that 1% is worth it — because eternity is at stake. So we lift high the Cross: proclaiming the love of Christ, living as disciples with conviction, and trusting that God can transform even tragedy into hope.
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Catholic Services Appeal | 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time | 08/17/25
08/18/2025
Catholic Services Appeal | 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time | 08/17/25
Catholic Services Appeal Weekend This weekend we begin our Catholic Services Appeal (CSA) — the annual appeal that sustains our Diocese in Northern Wisconsin. St. Joseph Parish Goal: $65,127 St. Ann Parish Goal: $15,973 (We met our goals last year, and with your help, we can do it again!) But this isn’t just about meeting a financial goal. The true call is to grow in Prayerful Generosity: Prayerful — Jesus prayed for us and intercedes for us. Generous — Jesus gave his life for us. Why Support the CSA? Funds the education and formation of seminarians (7 this year, most in 16 years, at $50,000 per seminarian annually). Brings international priests to serve our parishes (currently 26 of our 42 active priests are international). Supports youth faith experiences (Extreme Faith Camp, Totus Tuus, March for Life, retreats). Offers adult retreats and formation. Provides essential administrative and legal guidance for parishes. Strengthens Catholic schools, including St. Francis Solanus in our cluster. How to Give Use CSA envelopes mailed to you or found at church entrances/bulletins. Return in the collection, bring to the parish office, or mail directly. Give online at haywardcatholic.org under the Give tab, designating the 2025–2026 CSA for St. Joseph or St. Ann. Any amount above our goal comes back to our parishes! Challenge: Grow in Prayerful Generosity. Give more this year than last — and pray for the causes you support. In doing so, we become more like Jesus.
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Retirement: for Me or For God?
08/08/2025
Retirement: for Me or For God?
18th Sunday in Ordinary Time - 08/03/25 Retirement: For Me or For God? In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells of a wealthy man who stored up riches for himself, only to be called a fool by God—not for working hard, but for forgetting eternity. He lived as though his future belonged to him, not to God. This challenges us in a culture that views retirement as finally doing what we want. The Christian question is different: Is retirement about me, or is it about God and others? Ecclesiastes reminds us that work without God is vanity. St. Paul urges us to “seek what is above” and put on Christ. Retirement, then, isn’t the reward for decades of labor. It’s a new vocation—a fresh opportunity to serve, love, and live for God more freely. The Christian mission never retires. Key Questions: Am I investing my time, resources, and energy in what matters to God? Am I growing as His disciple and helping others come to Him? True retirement is not self-indulgence, but self-gift. Not vanity, but eternal value. Every day, even in small hidden moments, we are called to glorify God and bring souls to Him.
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Wanting to Want "All"
07/18/2025
Wanting to Want "All"
15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (07/13/25) Wanting to Want “All” In this episode, we reflect on Jesus’ call to love God with all our heart, soul, strength, and mind—a total, undivided love. We ask the honest question: Do I really love God with all, or just a lot, a majority, or maybe only some? This homily challenges us to move from partial devotion to wholehearted surrender, inviting us to desire a deeper, fuller love for God that shapes every part of our lives.
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True Freedom | 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time | 07/06/25
07/12/2025
True Freedom | 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time | 07/06/25
This week, we reflect on the meaning of freedom—not just as Americans celebrating Independence Day, but as Christians sent into the world. True freedom isn’t about doing whatever we want; it’s the gift of choosing love, sacrifice, and God’s will. In the Gospel, Jesus sends out seventy-two disciples two by two—not alone, but united in mission and reliant on God’s grace. Their joy comes not from their own accomplishments but from seeing what God did through them. As we cherish our country’s liberty, we’re reminded that freedom without virtue can lead us astray. Christian freedom is always “freedom for”—for holiness, justice, and love of neighbor. This episode challenges us to step out of comfort zones and use our freedom to transform the world for Christ.
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Pray for Us
07/03/2025
Pray for Us
Solemnity of Saints Peters and Paul We are not on this journey of faith alone. We turn to each other so naturally when we need help, especially to our friends and family. The saints are our friends in heaven, our family in heaven; they are alive in Christ! So ask for their help, their prayers, their support as fellow members of the Body of Christ. St. Peter...pray for us. St. Paul...pray for us. All you holy men and women...pray for us.
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Great Things!
06/12/2025
Great Things!
Pentecost Sunday God is doing great things here in our family of parishes! More people are coming to Church; more young couples are attending Mass; more kids are being baptized; more families are joining the Church; more people are becoming Catholic — great things are happening here because of you and your witness! God's Spirit is being poured out in other places as well. God is doing great things in vocations in our diocese. God is doing great things at St. Francis de Sales Seminary in Milwaukee (where we send our graduate seminarians in final preparation for priesthood).
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Ascending
06/02/2025
Ascending
Ascension Sunday We are called to follow where Christ our Savior went first. We, like Jesus, are called to be light enough to ascend to the Father: some things weigh us down, and some things raise us up. Do you ever feel heavy? Do you ever feel weighed down? Jesus wants to lighten your load. Ask Jesus for the grace today, ask the Holy Spirit for the power today: “Lord, give me the grace and the power to let go of one more thing I’m holding onto that’s weighing me down. And Lord, help me with your grace and power to take one more step in an area that will raise me up!”
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"Thank You, God"
05/29/2025
"Thank You, God"
6th Sunday of Easter On this Memorial Day Weekend, we give thanks to God for the lives we are able to live in our country as we remember those who have died while serving in our Armed Forces, protecting us and upholding the rights and liberties which we enjoy here and now; we remember them and we pray for eternal rest and peace for their souls. If I'm being totally honest, though, in my day-to-day life, I usually take these freedoms for granted. I also take many of the blessings of life for granted...and the people God has placed in my life for granted...and the incredible gift of forgiveness of sins in Jesus and eternal life for granted...and our incredible Catholic faith for granted... So if you’re anything like me, let’s pause this week, and intentionally give thanks to God this day for all of His many gifts!
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Habemus Papam-We Have a Pope!
05/12/2025
Habemus Papam-We Have a Pope!
4th Sunday of Easter Just a few days ago, on Thursday, May 8th, something happened that I never thought I would see in my lifetime: Habemus Papam! We have a Pope! …And he’s American! Robert Francis Prevost is a native of Chicago; an Augustinian priest (a religious order priest) who spent much of his priestly life as a missionary in South America, and eventually serving as a Bishop in Peru. More recently, he was called to Rome, where he worked in the Dicastery for Bishops. On this Good Shepherd Sunday let’s pray for our new shepherd, Pope Leo XIV. I also ask for your prayers for me, your local shepherd. And finally, prayers for those that you have been called by God to shepherd. Jesus doesn’t say “follow me” to only popes or priests; he says it to every disciple. Every one of us who has heard Jesus’ invitation and chosen to follow Him has also been tasked with the responsibility to shepherd specific people the Lord has placed in our care. May we all model our shepherding after that of Christ, the Good Shepherd!
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Roll Away the Stone
04/22/2025
Roll Away the Stone
Easter Sunday "Roll away the stone. See the glory of God. Roll away the stone." What stones are still blocking the tomb of your heart? This Easter, God wants to roll those stones away. Christ doesn’t roll it away to shame us—He rolls it away so that He can enter in. Just as He stepped out of the tomb into the garden of new life, bringing into our world something entirely new — so Jesus wants to step into the tombs we’ve been trapped in and say, “Peace be with you, ” bringing His light and His healing, to clear out the old, musty, life-draining, stale air, and bring in a breath of new, fresh, moving, life-giving air! Happy Easter!
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Looking Ahead
04/10/2025
Looking Ahead
5th Sunday of Lent “Then Jesus said, 'Neither do I condemn you. Go, and from now on do not sin any more.'” “Remember not the events of the past, the things of long ago consider not; see, I am doing something new!” “forgetting what lies behind but straining forward to what lies ahead,”
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How Awake Are We?
03/16/2025
How Awake Are We?
2nd Sunday of Lent In our Gospel today, Jesus takes Peter, James and John up a mountain, and He is transfigured before them, they get a glimpse of the dazzling bright white glory of Jesus’ divinity, a foretaste of heaven and of who we are called to be! But our Gospel today says, “Peter and his companions had been overcome by sleep, but becoming fully awake, they saw his glory!” Jesus was already in conversation with Moses and Elijah and showing forth his tremendous glory…before Peter, James and John woke up and realized what had already been happening even as they were sleeping, “missing out on it,” as it were. What if Peter, James and John had slept through all of it? Would we even know about this event? What will it take for us to become “fully awake”? Fully awake to the presence of God already alive, active and at work around us, within us, and through us?!
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How Do I Consume Media?
03/11/2025
How Do I Consume Media?
1st Sunday of Lent On this Safe Haven Sunday, we are asked to to, first and foremost, make the home a safe haven for our kids by taking practical steps to help our kids engage technology in holy and virtuous ways and, inasmuch as possible, protect them from exposure to explicit content. This is also an opportunity for individuals of all ages, young and old, to not only ask whether our media use is healthy in regards to explicit content, but also in regards to where it encourages our focus, energy and attention. Satan doesn't care how good our motivations are so long as we are concerned about things we can't change (politics, national happenings, world happenings) and don't see the real, down-to-earth, practical things that we can!
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Missionary Disciple
02/24/2025
Missionary Disciple
7th Sunday in Ordinary Time Jesus calls us to be transformed, to be renewed in mind and action, to look and act differently than others normally do: this theme runs through all of our readings. Yes, we are called to be disciples of Jesus, but our mission is more than just following Jesus as a disciple. Jesus’ last words on this earth before He ascended into heaven give us our mission: “Go and make disciples”. So we are called to not only be disciples, but missionary disciples, reaching out genuinely and in faith to others that the Lord puts in our path so that we can fulfill the mission Jesus entrusted to us: to make disciples! The movement from a disciple to a missionary disciple is slight, but it's also powerful...and it makes all the difference!
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The Willing Ones
02/15/2025
The Willing Ones
5th Sunday in Ordinary Time What does our world need? Whom does God seek? Not the "perfect" or the "sinless", but the willing. No matter how unworthy we are, He calls us, and when we willingly say "yes," He cleanses us, and He strengthens us to go on whatever mission He has planned for us. This week, let's be the ones whom God seeks and whom our world needs: the willing ones. "Here I am, Lord. Send me."
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Baptized: Children of the Father
01/12/2025
Baptized: Children of the Father
Baptism of the Lord When we are baptized in the waters, we are adopted into God's family and actually become, in Jesus, children of the Father. Baptism happens once and is the doorway to the other sacraments. Receiving the Eucharist (which we do again and again and again) is becoming who we are: the Body of Christ. So ask yourselves a few questions: "How do I come to Mass? What do I see as my role at Mass? How am I engaged at Mass?" “Priest of God, Celebrate this Mass as if it is your first Mass, Your last Mass and your only Mass.” “People of God, Celebrate this Mass as if it is your first Mass, Your last Mass and your only Mass.”
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Eucharistic Prayer
01/06/2025
Eucharistic Prayer
Epiphany How do I come to Mass?
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The Little Drummer Boy
12/25/2024
The Little Drummer Boy
Merry Christmas! Come, they told me — pa rum pum pum pum A newborn King to see — pa rum pum pum pum Our finest gifts we bring — pa rum pum pum pum To lay before the King — pa rum pum pum pum Rum pum pum pum, rum pum pum pum. So to honor Him — pa rum pum pum pum When we come.
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Part 3/4: Rescued with Joy
12/16/2024
Part 3/4: Rescued with Joy
3rd Sunday of Advent We were created by God for the kingdom of eternal life with him; by our own free choices to turn away from God and ‘go at it on our own’ we’ve been captured by the kingdom of sin, death, darkness and Satan. Jesus becoming a baby at Christmas is the invasion of one kingdom (the kingdom of darkness, hell, death, sin and Satan) by a stronger kingdom (the kingdom of God). Jesus came as a warrior, a predator. He became one of us, waited 33 years, lived and taught the kingdom of God by example, both showing us the way and luring in his quarry — Satan, the devil — and then finally on the cross Satan fell prey to the trap set for him in a manger decades earlier! Jesus on the cross is not poor or helpless. He’s not the hunted. Jesus on the cross is the aggressor and the hunter. And so when death unknowingly took in its jaws, chewed up and swallowed the Author of Life, something extraordinary happened: death itself was slain from within! That's the good news that we have to share, that's why we can be full of joy this Advent -- Christ has conquered, and we can now live in His kingdom, if we so choose.
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A Peace This World Cannot Give
12/11/2024
A Peace This World Cannot Give
Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception 3 Levels of the Heart God wants to give us peace at the deepest level, a peace which endures all things.
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Part 1/4: Created in Hope
12/02/2024
Part 1/4: Created in Hope
1st Sunday of Advent During this Advent season we will be doing a 4-part homily series as we Journey to the Manger together to welcome the Christ-child at Christmas. Our story starts with God’s incredible creation - of the universe, and of each of us - and the hope that it promises. As Fr. Riccardo says: “God created and runs this immense universe, and nothing is more important to him than you and me…He thinks you’re worth the trouble.” That’s what it means to be created! So on this Journey, when you are feeling “drowsy” from “the anxieties of daily life”, I encourage you to take a moment and look at the world with fresh eyes. Allow God to reinvigorate you with hope. Pause and be filled with wonder each day. “O Lord, my God, when I in awesome wonder, Consider all, the worlds thy hands have made.”
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Advent: Journey to the Manger
11/25/2024
Advent: Journey to the Manger
Solemnity of Christ the King Together, during this Advent season, all 5 of our parishes (along with Christians throughout the world) prepare to welcome Jesus into our hearts and homes in new and deeper ways, and as we are practicing hospitality in opening our hearts and homes to God, let us also practice hospitality by inviting others in our lives to join us. On this Feast of Christ the King, Christ is a King Who doesn’t force His way into hearts, He doesn’t strong-arm His way into our lives, Christ is a King who came first as a baby, silently, quietly, yet in the full power of God to destroy the darkness of sin and to bring the joy and peace that only God can. The Journey to the Manger is both the triumph of Christ the King and the Triumph of Christ the Babe, Who wants a warm place of welcome in the manger of your heart, and who wants us to invite others to join us as we Journey to the Manger, so that He can have a warm welcome in their hearts as well!
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Hudson: Post-Election
11/11/2024
Hudson: Post-Election
32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time I want to talk about 2 things today: How do we as Catholics respond to an election? What will actually change our country for the better? This weekend I preached in my hometown of Hudson, Wisconsin, at the parish of St. Patrick where I grew up. It was a blessing to be home! (One disclaimer is that the answer to the homiletic answer to first question above I begged, borrowed, and stole from an excellent homily of my own Deacon Dave DiSera of Hayward which he gave the weekend before the election. I thought that his words were so pertinent they bore repeating. So thank you, Deacon Dave!)
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"God, what do You want me to do for You?"
10/28/2024
"God, what do You want me to do for You?"
30th Sunday in Ordinary Time Jesus asks Bartimaeus today, "What do you want me to do for you?" Bartimaeus's request is granted, he receives his sight, and he follows Jesus on the way. Being a disciple of Jesus is being in a relationship with Jesus, and a relationship is a two-way street. When Jesus asks us that question, we are called to respond from the depths of our heart with what we really, really want Jesus to do for us. But as now-country artist Jelly Roll sings: do we only talk to God when we need a favor? Are we sometimes one sided or overly self-focused in our interactions with God? As disciples of Jesus, in a relationship with Him that is a two-way street, do we also ask the question often and frequently, "God, what do You want me to do for You?"
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The Typewriter
10/23/2024
The Typewriter
29th Sunday in Ordinary Time Life in a fallen world brings us all plenty of suffering, and our readings today take up that theme of suffering. Our sufferings - wether mental, physical, emotional, spiritual, or some combination thereof - have varying levels, but the key to all of it is that I have a choice in the midst of my suffering, I can choose to respond in one of two ways: one way is the common response to suffering, the other way was modeled by Jesus in His suffering. Which one will we choose to confront our sufferings today?
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