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[Music]
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people often ask the age-old question
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father if God is really so merciful how
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can there be such suffering in the world
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well one day I was in Chicago during
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doing a parish mission with a brother of
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mine named brother Allen and we finished
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for the evening and we had to drive all
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the way across the city of Chicago to
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get back to our parish it's a long drive
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and we were hungry and we hadn't eaten
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since noon that day should we get into
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line we're looking at the menu and all
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the sudden in walks this man through the
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door with a just angry look on his face
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now we're at the end of the line and
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were in our collars and this man walks
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through the door and when he does he
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looks up and sees us sure enough this
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look on his face turns to extreme anger
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and he comes right at us and he comes at
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me with his two fingers and he gm's them
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into my collar and he sits there and
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pokes into my khatma this time
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everybody's watching as he's jamming his
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fingers into my collar he is yelling at
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me you tell me how your God could let my
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five year old niece die of leukemia
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now we have everybody in the restaurant
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watching so being freshly-minted out of
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seminary I start giving some long-winded
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answer about original sin and it's a
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consequence of original sin and Thomas
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Aquinas says so he says she was five she
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didn't have any sin and I said well it
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was my sin not necessarily hearse and
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she didn't sin you're right but all of
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our sins caused this he was so angry at
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this well luckily my brother Alan was
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there and he pushed me to the side and
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he said sir what's your name something I
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had forgotten to do and he said Harold
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he said Harold do you believe in God and
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Harold said I don't know I just don't
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know and then Alan said to him well
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Harold I believe and I don't know you
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well but I believe that in fact I can
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tell you there is a little girl sitting
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on the lap of Jesus up in heaven that is
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praying for you now Harold I don't know
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it may not be today may not be tomorrow
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may not be to the end of your life but
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if I was a bad man I would say that you
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are gonna come back to God through her
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little prayers God wants to bring a
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greater good out of even the worst evil
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I know you're wondering what good could
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possibly come out of this and yes it's
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true God didn't want this God didn't
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want the death of your little niece and
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in fact in his ordained will he was
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something that he absolutely does not
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want or desire but in this permissive
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will he allows it and that must be so
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difficult to understand but remember
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Harold he will bring a greater good out
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of anything and the greater good are
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those prayers that could come in to help
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you and determine to be saved for all
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eternity
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and that is a much more important thing
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than this world it's hard to understand
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but I believe it is true and Harold so
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can you I do believe that day that
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brother Allen opened his heart a little
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bit now I pray for him I don't know what
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happened to him but it's a difficult
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understanding about how God could allow
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us to suffer like this but again he
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wants to bring a greater good you see
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when God gave us free will
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he took the ultimate risk what risk is
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that it's a risk that we would turn away
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from him it's a risk that we would maybe
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even deny him
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God gave us a great gift and free will
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he doesn't want our love to be robotic
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he doesn't want us to just be slaves or
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robots saying yes to him he wants our
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free will yes he wants our love to be
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unconditionally yes and the problem is
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that when he took that risk there was a
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chance that we would hurt each other and
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that we would hurt him so the
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consequence of our free will is that
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there is sin and the consequence of sin
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is suffering unfortunately this is a
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reality but God loves us too much to
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take away our free will and when he
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gives us that free will these are the
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consequences that come with it if we
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choose not to love our neighbor or
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especially not to love him why would a
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merciful God allow such suffering well
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there's another reason and
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are many but one of the biggest things
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that keeps us separated from God is our
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pride we feel we are God and that is all
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that matters
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God is God and we are not but sometimes
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we don't realize that we think we are
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God look at Adam and Eve in the garden
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so pride is that great sin now suffering
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crucifies pride
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it actually takes our pride to the cross
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and it is through that suffering that
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our pride is hid and many times we are
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humbled unfortunately it takes something
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like a tragedy in life before many
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people turn back to God but you know
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what he'll allow it though he does not
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want it because it's more important for
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him not to have you lost for all
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eternity it's more important for him to
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remove any obstacle that is between you
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and him and pride is the biggest of all
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so if suffering in any way can crucify
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that pride our Lord is having mercy on
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us you know if we don't have love the
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Cross is just simply an instrument of
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torture but what we can realize is that
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when we do love we realize that love is
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a sacrifice love comes with sacrifice
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I'm willing to love you so much that I
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will lay my life down for you and that's
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just what Jesus did for us the thing is
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is with sacrifice comes suffering we saw
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it with Christ on the cross and when we
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suffer we too are sharing in that cross
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remember Paul said I must complete what
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is lacking in the sufferings of Christ
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for the sake of his body the church well
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what could possibly be lacking in the
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sufferings of Christ our sufferings so
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we need to unite our sufferings with the
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cross of Christ you can do it at the
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mass in your daily prayer it's a
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beautiful gift back to God because
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suffering goes so against our human
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nature that when we accepted and offer
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it back up to the Creator it is
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redemptive john paul ii said that
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suffering Christ sanctified and he gives
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us that opportunity to share in his
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cross
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so please John Paul said suffering is
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salvific don't waste it
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it is a very special gift that along
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with love is inseparable and we saw with
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Christ on the cross how much love he had
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for us through his ultimate sacrifice so
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you know I'd like to finish by saying I
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often visit nursing homes and in those
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nursing homes I see many people who are
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suffering and they tell me all the time
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father I'm such a burden I'm a burden to
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my family I'm a burden to my friends I'm
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a burden of this staff here at this home
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father what is the teaching unassisted
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suicide I think I should end it this is
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is needless I'm just suffering I want to
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not suffer anymore and I say to these
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people please don't misunderstand the
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role of suffering you see in your
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suffering you have more power than an
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atomic bomb you have the power to
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release Souls from purgatory you have
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the power to offer it up for the
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salvation of souls of your loved ones
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your family your friends and to atone
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for your own sins for your own salvation
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you are going with Christ to the cross
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but you will soon be resurrected you
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will soon be with him in glory if you
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accept that cross because Jesus says the
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cross is the weight of glory so we
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shouldn't necessarily ask God to take
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our crosses away from us we should ask
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him to give us the grace to remain
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steadfastly on the cross and when we do
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our suffering offered with him becomes
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redemptive you know people often ask me
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father
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what particular blessing could there
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ever be found in suffering and you know
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what the answer is
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hope hope because in Christ's suffering
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he resurrected in our suffering United
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to his cross we can be resurrected to
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eternal life and we don't have to pray
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Lord give me more suffering what did
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Jesus say in the garden he said Lord if
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possible let this cup pass me by we
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should do the same Lord if I'm suffering
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please let this cup pass me by but if it
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be your will done not mine
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give me the grace to accept it this will
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give us some meaning and some purpose
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and most of all
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hope in the mercy of God
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[Music]
