PDF version of this parish newsletter here:
Also, you can access an online copy of the newsletter *here*
"'What do you want me to do for you?' Jesus asked him."
(Mark 10: 51)
(Shutterstock licensed stock vector ID: 1344225065-Biblical vector illustration series. Jesus heals the blind man- By rudall30 )
PASTOR'S POST:
What Language Does Violence Speak?
I know that it is a frightening thought, but I wonder if we are getting too used to terrorist attacks and therefore somewhat immune to the insidious way that they are changing the way of life of every person on the planet. The murder of the British MP Sir David Amess and the death of six people in Norway and the bombing in Afghanistan resulting in over 45 deaths in just one week, reminded me yet again that the pandemic is not the only enemy we live with every day. Perhaps I have forgotten, but I certainly don't remember hearing of such atrocities when I was a youngster, or if they did happen, it was something so rare that we experienced it as an aberration, not a regular occurrence.
The usual tendency, when we can't make sense of something, is to put it in the "too hard basket" or claim that it has nothing to do with us, and just hope that we can stay unconnected. The end product of this approach is that we eventually isolate ourselves from everyone; we get suspicious of people and their differing lifestyles and we will disengage from society and barricade ourselves from human interaction. I can't help wondering if this is the way human life will finally disintegrate, with people hiding from each other. Cowering in fear from some unknown and unseen force or attack.
While this may seem extreme and maudlin, it must certainly be a consideration for the people of London and Norway over the past week, grappling with "Why us?" and "What for?" If terrorists are trying to deliver a message to the world I, like most people, do not understand the language they are using to send the message. I do not understand or accept that there is any cause so dire or passionate that their depth of concern can only be expressed in the language of death.
Perhaps these heinous acts are more offensive in a world that seems to be trying so hard to deliver a message that peace and the promotion of life and its rich potential is finally becoming a message understood by the world's richer nations in relation to the poorer countries of the world. How ironic that the very time that the world's leaders will meet in Glasgow to debate about how we might slow down global warming and prepare to reduce our use of fossil fuels, that we are yet to discover how to eradicate hostilities and acts of terror being carried out in nearly every country in the world by people who believe their cause is more important than human life.
Of course it is a very complex issue that will take generations to understand and hopefully solve, but in the meantime it has a pandemic effect sending its tendrils throughout the world, creating disharmony and mistrust. Never has faith in a loving God been more relevant in an uncomfortable world.
If we learn nothing else from these incomprehensible tragedies it should be that revenge is only understood by the perpetrator, never the victim, that violence is not a language that civilised people speak, and that evil will always win when people who value peace and life fail to act.
Fr Peter Dillon. PP
WORLD MISSION SUNDAY – October 24, 2021
MASS TIMES: SURFERS PARADISE MASS TIMES
HAPPY 80th BIRTHDAY
Congratulations Peter O'Donnell on reaching the great milestone of 80 years and your next score will be 100; a century. Photo of Peter and his lovely wife Petra on his 80th birthday on October 20.
WORLD MISSION SUNDAY – October 24, 2021
World Mission Sunday, our annual worldwide Eucharistic celebration for the Missions and missionaries of the world, will be celebrated this weekend, October 24 this year. This collection on the next-to-last Sunday in October is a unique, global effort for the entire Church to provide for the building up of more than one thousand local churches in Asia and Africa, the Pacific Islands, and parts of Latin America and Europe. Through the work of these churches, and their witness to Christ, the poor receive practical help and experience God's love and mercy, His hope and peace.
This year's theme for World Mission Sunday is "We cannot but speak about what we have seen and heard" (Acts 4:20). Every parish in the world can participate, united in this special Eucharistic celebration. Every parishioner is a missionary, sharing our love for Christ's Gospel with one another, supporting the Church most in need.
Envelopes will be placed on the pews this weekend
A WORD FROM A MISSIONARY IN THE FIELD
(with thanks to parishioner, Gerard Denaro for this article)
Peace and Blessings. Please find, linked here, a separate document which is the "story" about my call.
DOCUMENT OF GERARD CONLAN OMI VOCATION
I was also a school chaplain at Iona College, Wynnum, 2006 –2008.
A good summary here of my Oblate life
Challenges are now in helping young people suffering unemployment, school fees and losing hope. We also work in women's prisons – always lots of need, especially when they leave and try to start again.
I just saw this when I googled my name… ha, ha:
White-Collar Heros: The Journey Never Ends (Blog)
Facebook: Fr Gerry Conlan and the Nairobi Youth Group
Anyone wanting to donate to the Missionary Association of Mary Immaculate can visit here: https://omi.com.au/mami
(this is additional to the official Catholic mission appeal)
Blessings, Gerard Conlan OMI
Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, Box 1542-00502, Karen, Nairobi, KENYA, www.oblates.com.au
"And Jesus said to him, 'Go your way; your faith has made you well.' And immediately he received his sight and followed him on the way." (Mark 10:52)
Faith is believing in something even though you may not be able to physically see it. Many people think that miracles don't happen anymore. This is hard, but try to focus on the positive and not the negative things in your life. When you focus on your blessings instead of your hardships, miracles will seem common. You will see God's active presence in your daily life. You will begin to develop an attitude of gratitude.
The vision of Stewardship speaks in every aspect of life, inviting everyone to be thankful, generous and accountable for what each has been given.
"Come and See" Night
Wednesday the 27th October, 6 pm
Sacred Heart Church
You are invited – see what we have planned for our Parish this year. We already have a number of people who are enquiring into the Catholic Church – seeking Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist.
So, everyone is welcome to COME & SEE:
Those who are enquiring into the Catholic Church and have not been Baptised
Those who are enquiring into the Catholic Church and have been Baptised into another tradition but are now seeking to be "Received" into the Catholic Church
Those Catholics who have been away from the Church as a result of a hurt, in whatever form, that you have been carrying for some time and are looking to make those first tentative steps back
Those who have already been through the RCIA process themselves and now would like to share with us the gift of your experience and your journey
Those Catholics who are wanting to know more about their faith and to renew or refresh their relationship with Jesus
Those who know everything but want to be a part of your Parish faith community supporting others who have not been as fortunate as you
Those who have been a Catholic from birth and need a refresher, even if you don't know it
RCIA is about nurturing our candidates in a Parish Community, inspiring them to seek a deeper relationship and understanding of having Jesus Christ in their lives. So, it is important that as a Parish we WELCOME them, WALK with them and BE AN EXAMPLE of what it is like to be a CHRIST-centred PARISH/CHURCH. They cannot find out about our Church unless we become a part of their journey – not just a few of us but in great numbers, please. We need you and others to come, to share your faith journey, to share your thoughts and in the meantime have a great time together – meet new people and people you already know.
We are offering film series for the whole parish – this will involve our candidates for the RCIA Process. We will commence with our "Come and See" Night where all have the opportunity to come along and be informed about what will be happening.
Over the course of our Journey to Easter we are offering:
PRAYER & MEDITATION
THE MASS SERIES by Archbishop Mark Coleridge
THE CATHOLICISM SERIES, by Bishop Robert Barron
HOLY SPIRIT RETREAT
FRIENDSHIP & SUPPORT
Please pray for all those enquiring and for ourselves in these difficult times
FOR THOSE WHO ARE SICK: Kurt Hillesheim, Kent Vince, Carmelita Dulu, Judy Alexander, Mathew Duran, Sr Mary Teresa (NZ- sister of Caroline Moulden), John Davis, Peter Cotton, Bobby Courtney, Lisa Mangan, Doreen Slater, Christina Hendriksen, Diane Land, Robyn Skein, Sharyn Lucas, Kye Oh, Irene Carney, Michael James, Bill Gilmore, Olga Hamshari, Roy Ferraro, Margaret Haerse, Rosalind Lee, Milka Barac, Mary Ashton, Bill Goodrem, Rodney & Norma McLennan, Lois & Doug Wood, Duncan Dawson, Sam Maxwell, William Franklin, Maria Mihalic, Annie Scicluna, Anne Logan, Dymphna Hogg, Margaret & Louise Thompson, Patricia Moor, Helen Bohringer, Peter O'Brien, Angela Duvnjak, Rachel Raines, Savannah Ayoub, Gus Reeves, Baby Maeve Lombard, Kathy Kiely, Rosslyn Wallis, Arthur Haddad, Jean Di Benedetto, Michael & Denise Tracey, Joanne Mooney, Joanne Parkes, Michelle MacDonald, John & Molly Robinson, Mary Kerr. And all suffering from Covid-19 and its effects.
Please keep in your prayers the repose of the soul of Andrew Kennedy, 57 years of age, who died last Tuesday in a tragic boating accident in Rockhampton. Andrew is the brother of Chris Kennedy who is a parishioner here. May Andrew rest in peace and may his family and friends receive peace and consolation.
RECENTLY DECEASED: Andrew Kennedy, Mona Cooke, Keiran John Ryan, Marta Goran, Betty Leighton (Sydney), Antonio Cruz, Clara Yepes, Donna Farkas, Yvonne McMahon, Robyn Colhoun, Thomas Ward, Brian Cole.
ANNIVERSARY OF DEATH: Eammon Sherrard, Mary Frances (Billie) Mullahy, Shirley O'Brien, Vincent Netting, Gaetana Cutayar, John Aloysius Kelly, Ryan Andrew Hogan, Betty Neilsen, Jesuraya Yema Nadar, Robert James Duncan, Alicja Paciej, Urbana Villagomez, Mary Wylie, Andrew Keith French, Wong Oh Goun, Ng Ah Chin, Shirley McEvoy, Kevin James Hilliard, Dr Raymond Arthur Miles, Myrene Rose Bartlett, Mary Margaret Holden, Mello Scharenguivel, Helen Wood, Varkey Padayallil, Shane Desira.
The dark night of the soul, a term coined by Spanish mystic Saint John of the Cross describes a period on the spiritual journey when one feels distant from God and suffers physical and emotional pain. Saint Teresa of Ávila, a close friend of John's, actually felt like she was going mad as she pursued the contemplative life. But then, in 1567, while gazing at a statue of Jesus, she felt an ecstasy beyond description as she reached "union with God." Teresa wrote much about her interior life, and she encouraged others to experience the "great gifts that come through abandoning everything to God and dying to oneself." Pray for the patience and humility to stay the spiritual course.
"Therefore, whatever you have said in the darkness will be heard in the light." - Luke 12:1-7
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SACRAMENTAL PROGRAM
BAPTISM in Surfers Paradise
Baptism is the first of three Sacraments of Initiation: Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist. Surfers Paradise Parish follows the policies of the Archdiocese of Brisbane as it welcomes each person into the family of the Church through the waters of Baptism.
Infants and children are baptised at the request of parents. Within the Baptism ritual, parents promise to accept the responsibility of training their children in the practice of the faith and to raise their children to understand and live God's commandments. Parents can request baptism for their child by filling out an enrolment form, available on our parish website www.surfersparadiseparish.com.au Once the online baptism form has been received, the Parish Office will provide details for preparation for the Sacrament of Baptism and confirm the online booking.
Children's Sacramental Dates for Surfers Paradise Parish 2022
Sacrament of PENANCE - Reconciliation 2022
In the Archdiocese of Brisbane, Reconciliation follows the Sacraments of Initiation. That is, Reconciliation, also known as Penance, follows Baptism, Confirmation and First Communion. The Surfers Paradise Sacramental Team is preparing a program similar in style to the Confirmation and First Communion At Home Preparation Programs. There will be one compulsory meeting for Preparation for Reconciliation. It will be held on either February 21, 2022, or February 22, 2022 (Parents can choose to attend one of these meetings but do not need to attend both.) The First Rite of Reconciliation will be celebrated on March 31, 2022.
Sacrament of EUCHARIST - First Communion 2022
Children who have been baptised and confirmed and are in Year 4 or greater in 2022 are invited to prepare to receive their First Communion. If parents have previously completed an online application for enrolment in the Surfers Paradise Sacramental Program, they do not need to complete a new online form to continue.
The Parent Meeting for First Communion Preparation will be held on April 26 or April 27, 2022
(Parents can choose to attend one of these meetings but do not need to attend both.) First Communion will be celebrated on June 12 at 11:00 am and June 19 at 11:00 am at Sacred Heart Church (Children will be included in one of these celebrations, not both.)
Sacrament of CONFIRMATION 2022
We are hoping to celebrate the Sacrament of Confirmation in Term 3 of the 2022 school year. We will include dates for Parent meetings and the celebration of the sacrament once we have dates approved by the Archbishop's Office.
For your child to be included in next year's preparation for the Confirmation group, please go to the parish website www.surfersparadiseparish.com.au and complete an online enrolment application. Please use the drop-down menu under Sacraments and click on Confirmation (under Sacraments). Then scroll down to and click on CHILDREN'S SACRAMENTAL PROGRAM APPLICATION FORM (in the blue box). Once you click on SUBMIT, you will receive an automated response so that you know that your completed application has been received. Next year, you will receive a personal email a couple of months prior to the next preparation group starting. Keep checking the weekly newsletter for updates.
We are in need of volunteers to man the library before and after mass during the weekends. If you are called to help in the library, we shall appreciate it if you can contact Esta Mostert by texting / WhatsApp her on
+61 410542427 or email her: esta@mostertfamily.com
Please text your name, WhatsApp or phone number and/or your email address to her as well as the times that you will be available. Alternatively, write your name on the Library Volunteer list at the back of the church. Ezekiel 2:9 Then I looked, and behold, a hand was extended to me; and lo, a scroll was in it. Source: https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/topics/Books
Here is a blind beggar by the name of Bartimaeus. He simply will NOT be silenced. He calls out for help even when well-meaning (but wrong-footed) people tell him to be silent. He persistently cries to Jesus for help, because he KNOWS that Jesus is the Messiah. He also KNOWS that Jesus can help him.
I can't help wondering if Bartimaeus is not the inspiration for Jesus' parable of the persistent neighbour. He keeps knocking and keeps calling out until he gets what he needs. As Jesus said in that parable, other people would have given the persistent neighbour what they needed just because they wanted him to stop irritating them and to give them peace. So, how much more can we expect God to turn a real listening ear, a sympathetic ear to people who cry out in their need! Naturally, God is very much concerned with our welfare and with what we need.
God doesn't answer us merely to shut us up but out of the deepest care and compassion.
The Gospel passage also says that Bartimaeus does something very powerful: He 'throws off his cloak' (the cloak of a beggar was like a "badge" of a beggar), and goes to Jesus. He is already showing that he KNOWS he is not going back to his old life and doesn't want to. Jesus asks him "what do you want me to do for you?"
Jesus asks all of us, "What do you want from me? Think about what you are really asking of me. What do you really want? What do you really NEED?"
Naturally, Bartimaeus is asking for his sight back. But Jesus is asking him a deeper question: "Do you realize the consequences of what you are asking? Do you understand what this request is going to lead you to receive?" For Bartimaeus, it will mean a completely new life. When he receives his sight, he will no longer be a beggar, and he will have to face a new life, a new vocation, and a new everything. This is both exciting and scary.
A true encounter with Jesus is always a joy and a challenge. Our encounter with Jesus, is a two-way dialogue; We speak to God of our needs and hopes and fears and God replies with a (silent) question: "what is it that you are really asking?"…. and "Are you prepared for the whole change of circumstances that goes with the encounter?"
Apparently, Bartimaeus is one of the few people Jesus cured who we are explicitly told in the text that he also went on to become one of his disciples. So, it is clear that as well as regaining his physical sight, Bartimaeus (equally importantly) has shown enormous clarity of spiritual insight, into who Jesus is and what following him means.
When Bartimaeus regained his sight and Jesus tells him "go your way" and beautifully, Bartimaeus ' "way" is now to FOLLOW Jesus, because it says he follows him along "the way." He became a follower, a disciple. As he walks along following Jesus he will continue to gain NEW (spiritual) sight and knowledge. In another sense, we all gain new sight as we cast off the "cloak" of old ways and old excuses and faithfully walk along with the new ways of Jesus.
We are like Bartimaeus, asking Jesus to show us and teach us deeper ways to combine mercy and justice, faithfulness to his teaching and loving compassion for those who have stumbled and are searching for answers.
As we walk along the road of God's mercy, let us explore and celebrate the richness of God's mercy and love. Like Bartimaeus let us continue to see with the eyes of faith and love, and follow the Lord along with the exciting ways of the newness of sight.
We need to be very careful about spiritual blindness. It can be a very subtle thing. We must all be on our guard against spiritual blindness and we would do best to suspect that we have aspects of Spiritual blindness in our lives and search for it and put any aspects of it before our Lord for the purpose of healing.
You and I may very well have glaring blindness to some aspects of Jesus' explicit teachings and message.
How is it that we can hear the gospel and not always realise that this very gospel is 'convicting' us of precisely the qualities it lists? How is it that when we listen to gospels we do not realize that this message is directed at us and that we might also be the Pharisees and the critics or the hypocrites? Christ asks us to be open to this possibility. To ask ourselves constantly, do I do that? How do I do this? And not too quick to say, "ah that is not me, that is other people!" Are we sure??
Christ invites us to be transformed…. If we ask the Lord to free us from spiritual blindness, the Lord will do it, and show us the contradictions. if we know what it is we are asking for…. And what it means for us….it is worth sitting in some discomfort as the Lord searches and reveals the flaws.
TO what extent are we capable of being blind to the challenging message and vision of Jesus? In what ways do we "listen and listen and yet 'not hear'"? In what ways do we look and look and not see……??
Lord, show us the light…. Help us to see… and to trust in your challenging, but healing word.
To listen to the whole Sunday Mass each week (including homily) from Surfers Paradise Catholic Parish, please visit this link: Liturgy for you at Home (by SPCP) - https:- soundcloud.com/user-633212303/tracks. (Source: Fr Paul Kelly;)
(Image Credit: Shutterstock ID: 742622632 -LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ - October 25, 2017: Stained glass window depicting Jesus Christ curing a blind man. By Nancy Bauer)
ADULT FAITH ENRICHMENT: REFLECTION & BIBLE STUDY
NEXT SESSION - SUNDAY MORNING 24th October 2021
10 AM TO 11:30 AM IN THE PARISH HOSPITALITY CENTRE OR ON ZOOM
If you want to connect from your home, we can assist you in joining (ring 0409 486 326)
If you are already familiar with Zoom, access to the ZOOM Meeting is ID 743 836 7833
This exciting 20-part (20 hours) DVD series takes you through the major people, places and events that make up the history of the Catholic Church.
You will see the glory of the Church founded by Christ and understand where you fit into this Epic story.
You will study:
The major people, places, and events of the past two thousand years in Church history.
Learn twelve time periods of Church history
Grasp the true story of the Crusades
Recognise the rationale for the medieval inquisitors and the Spanish inquisition
See the revolutionary character of the Protestant Reformation
Understand the real story of the confrontation between Galileo and the Church
Discover the massive persecution of Christians in the twentieth century
Discern the workings of the Holy Spirit throughout Church history
FOR YOUNG AND NOT SO YOUNG AND IN-BETWEEN
POPE FRANCIS: Pope Francis' Secret To Happiness
In an interview published in the Argentine weekly "Viva" July 27, the pope listed his
Top 10 tips for bringing greater joy to one's life:
1. "Live and let live." Everyone should be guided by this principle, he said, which has a similar expression in Rome with the saying, "Move forward and let others do the same."
2. "Be giving of yourself to others." People need to be open and generous toward others, he said, because "if you withdraw into yourself, you run the risk of becoming egocentric. And stagnant water becomes putrid."
3. "Proceed calmly" in life. The pope, who used to teach high school literature, used an image from an Argentine novel by Ricardo Guiraldes, in which the protagonist -- gaucho Don Segundo Sombra -- looks back on how he lived his life.
"He says that in his youth he was a stream full of rocks that he carried with him; as an adult, a rushing river; and in old age, he was still moving, but slowly, like a pool" of water, the pope said. He said he likes this latter image of a pool of water -- to have "the ability to move with kindness and humility, a calmness in life."
4. "A healthy sense of leisure." The pleasures of art, literature and playing together with children have been lost, he said. "Consumerism has brought us anxiety" and stress, causing people to lose a "healthy culture of leisure." Their time is "swallowed up" so people can't share it with anyone.
Even though many parents work long hours, they must set aside time to play with their children; work schedules make it "complicated, but you must do it," he said.
Families must also turn off the TV when they sit down to eat because, even though television is useful for keeping up with the news, having it on during mealtime "doesn't let you communicate" with each other, the pope said.
5. Sundays should be holidays. Workers should have Sundays off because "Sunday is for family," he said.
6. Find innovative ways to create dignified jobs for young people. "We need to be creative with young people. If they have no opportunities they will get into drugs" and be more vulnerable to suicide, he said.
"It's not enough to give them food," he said. "Dignity is given to you when you can bring food home" from one's own labour.
7. Respect and take care of nature. Environmental degradation "is one of the biggest challenges we have," he said. "I think a question that we're not asking ourselves is: 'Isn't humanity committing suicide with this indiscriminate and tyrannical use of nature?'"
8. Stop being negative. "Needing to talk badly about others indicates low self-esteem. That means, 'I feel so low that instead of picking myself up I have to cut others down,'" the pope said. "Letting go of negative things quickly is healthy."
9. Don't proselytize; respect others' beliefs. "We can inspire others through witness so that one grows together in communicating. But the worst thing of all is religious proselytism, which paralyzes: 'I am talking with you in order to persuade you,' No. Each person dialogues, starting with his and her own identity. The church grows by attraction, not proselytizing," the pope said.
10. Work for peace. "We are living in a time of many wars," he said, and "the call for peace must be shouted. Peace sometimes gives the impression of being quiet, but it is never quiet, peace is always proactive" and dynamic.
(source: https://www.saintjoanofarc.org/news/pope-francis-secret-happiness) (Image -Cns source above )
INSPIRING QUOTES:
Wisdom from St John of Capistrano (1386-1456)
"Those who are called to the table of the Lord must glow with the brightness that comes from a good example of a praiseworthy and blameless life. They must learn from the eminent teacher, Jesus Christ. . "You are the light of the world" (see Matthew 5:14). Now light does not illumine itself but instead, it diffuses its rays and shines all around upon everything that comes into its view.."
Wisdom of St Jude
"Jude, a slave of Jesus Christ and brother of James, to those who are called, beloved in God the Father and kept safe for Jesus Christ: May mercy, peace and love be yours in abundance. (Jude 1:1-2)
"But you, beloved, build yourselves up in your most holy faith, pray in the Holy Spirit. Keep yourselves in the love of God and wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. (Jude 1:20-21).
Wisdom of St James
"If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives to all men generously and without reproach, and it will be given him. (James, son of Zebedee).
"Of what benefit is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but he does not have works? That faith cannot save him, can it? If a brother or a sister is lacking clothing and enough food for the day, yet one of you says to them, "Go in peace; keep warm and well fed," but you do not give them what they need for their body, of what benefit is it? So, too, faith by itself, without works, is dead." — James, son of Zebedee.
"But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace." — James, son of Zebedee James 3:17-18
"Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell." — James, son of Zebedee
Acknowledgement of Country - This is Kombumerri Country - The Traditional Custodians of this region.
We respectfully acknowledge the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as the First People of this country. We pay our respects to the Kombumerri people, who are the traditional custodians of the land, waterways and seas upon which we live, work and socialise throughout this Catholic Parish of Surfers Paradise. We acknowledge Elders, past and present and emerging, as they hold the memories, traditions, culture and hopes of our Indigenous people. We pay tribute to those who have contributed in many ways to the life of the community. We affirm our commitment to justice, healing, and reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples.
Commitment To Child And Vulnerable Adult Safety
"The Archdiocese of Brisbane holds that children and vulnerable adults are a gift from God with an intrinsic right to dignity of life, respect and security from physical and emotional harm. They are to be treasured, nurtured and protected from any harm." As a Parish Community, we pray for a change of heart, that we respond to our grief by reaching out to one another in truth and love. For more information and resources on Safeguarding our community, please see: https://brisbanecatholic.org.au/safeguarding/
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