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Chủ Nhật, 23 tháng 11, 2025

NOVEMBER 24, 2025: MEMORIAL OF SAINT ANDREW DUNG-LAC, PRIEST, AND COMPANIONS, MARTYRS

 November 24, 2025

Memorial of Saint Andrew Dŭng-Lc, Priest, and Companions, Martyrs

Lectionary: 503

 


Reading 1

Daniel 1:1-6, 8-20

In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim, king of Judah,
King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came
and laid siege to Jerusalem.
The Lord handed over to him Jehoiakim, king of Judah,
and some of the vessels of the temple of God;
he carried them off to the land of Shinar,
and placed the vessels in the temple treasury of his god.

The king told Ashpenaz, his chief chamberlain,
to bring in some of the children of Israel of royal blood
and of the nobility, young men without any defect,
handsome, intelligent and wise,
quick to learn, and prudent in judgment,
such as could take their place in the king's palace;
they were to be taught the language and literature of the Chaldeans;
after three years' training they were to enter the king's service.
The king allotted them a daily portion of food and wine
from the royal table.
Among these were men of Judah: Daniel, Hananiah,
Mishael, and Azariah.

But Daniel was resolved not to defile himself
with the king's food or wine;
so he begged the chief chamberlain to spare him this defilement.
Though God had given Daniel the favor and sympathy
of the chief chamberlain, he nevertheless said to Daniel,
"I am afraid of my lord the king;
it is he who allotted your food and drink.
If he sees that you look wretched
by comparison with the other young men of your age,
you will endanger my life with the king."
Then Daniel said to the steward whom the chief chamberlain
had put in charge of Daniel, Hananiah,
Mishael, and Azariah,
"Please test your servants for ten days.
Give us vegetables to eat and water to drink.
Then see how we look in comparison with the other young men
who eat from the royal table,
and treat your servants according to what you see."
He acceded to this request, and tested them for ten days;
after ten days they looked healthier and better fed
than any of the young men who ate from the royal table.
So the steward continued to take away
the food and wine they were to receive, and gave them vegetables.
To these four young men God gave knowledge and proficiency
in all literature and science,
and to Daniel the understanding of all visions and dreams.
At the end of the time the king had specified for their preparation,
the chief chamberlain brought them before Nebuchadnezzar.
When the king had spoken with all of them,
none was found equal to Daniel, Hananiah,
Mishael, and Azariah;
and so they entered the king's service.
In any question of wisdom or prudence which the king put to them,
he found them ten times better
than all the magicians and enchanters in his kingdom.

 

Responsorial Psalm

Daniel 3:52, 53, 54, 55, 56

R. (52b) Glory and praise for ever!
"Blessed are you, O Lord, the God of our fathers,
praiseworthy and exalted above all forever;
And blessed is your holy and glorious name,
praiseworthy and exalted above all for all ages."
R. Glory and praise for ever!
"Blessed are you in the temple of your holy glory,
praiseworthy and glorious above all forever."
R. Glory and praise for ever!
"Blessed are you on the throne of your Kingdom,
praiseworthy and exalted above all forever."
R. Glory and praise for ever!
"Blessed are you who look into the depths
from your throne upon the cherubim,
praiseworthy and exalted above all forever."
R. Glory and praise for ever!
"Blessed are you in the firmament of heaven,
praiseworthy and glorious forever."
R. Glory and praise for ever!

 

Alleluia

Matthew 24:42a, 44

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Stay awake!
For you do not know when the Son of Man will come.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

 

Gospel

Luke 21:1-4

When Jesus looked up he saw some wealthy people
putting their offerings into the treasury
and he noticed a poor widow putting in two small coins.
He said, "I tell you truly,
this poor widow put in more than all the rest;
for those others have all made offerings from their surplus wealth,
but she, from her poverty, has offered her whole livelihood."

 

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/112425.cfm

 

 


Commentary on Daniel 1:1-6,8-20

For this, the last week of the Church Year, we will be reading the Book of Daniel. At first sight it seems to be a historical book, but in fact it is placed among the prophetic books of the Old Testament. It consists of two principal parts: one of apparently historical accounts and the other with a number of visions.

The book was written during the period of persecution we were reading about last week in the Books of Maccabees with the intention of bolstering the morale of the Jews by reading about the heroic exploits of Daniel and his friends in a similar period of persecution about five hundred years earlier.

The book belongs to the prophetic genre because it is essentially conveying a message of hope and confidence in the ultimate victory of God and his followers. But it is also an apocalyptic book because its message is revealed in highly symbolical language, much of which would only make sense to initiates, and not to outsiders. In this, it very much resembles the Book of Revelation in the New Testament.

As we will see from the passages chosen for this week, it is a highly readable and even entertaining book, but this should not distract us from its serious underlying message. Especially because of the vision of the final coming of the “Son of Man” (to be read on Friday), this Book has been chosen for the final week of the year (as the Book of Revelation will be read in the same week of the Cycle II readings).

Today’s reading is from the introduction to the book and presents four young Hebrews who are brought to serve in the court of King Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon. The story begins by recalling the time when King Nebuchadnezzar besieged Jerusalem during the third year of the reign of King Jehoiakim of Judah (the Southern Hebrew Kingdom), in which Jerusalem was situated. This would have been in 605 BC. We can read about this in the Second Book of Kings.

Nebuchadnezzar took Jehoiakim and the sacred vessels of the Temple back to Babylon (here called the “land of Shinar”). He put his trophies into the treasure of his own gods. Those reading the story and living under the tyranny of Antiochus IV Epiphanes would immediately have seen the parallel with the plunder of Jerusalem and the desecration of the Temple which they themselves experienced under the Assyrians.

Daniel and his companions were in this first deportation to Babylon. The prophet Ezekiel was taken away in a second deportation in 597 BC. In a third deportation in 586 BC, Jerusalem and the Temple were destroyed.

From the Israelites in this first deportation, the king ordered Ashpenaz, his chief eunuch, to pick out a number of young men who were of noble descent. They had to be both physically perfect and intellectually outstanding to be suitable for service at the royal court. They were not then being chosen merely as pages. In eastern courts, those destined for the career of ‘letters’ (such as scribes, translators, archivists, scholars, astrologers) were trained from childhood. The emphasis on physical appearance may indicate that other more ‘personal’ services for the king were also expected of them. This would be quite normal.

They would also be taught to speak and write the Chaldaean language. This would include learning the classical literature in Sumerian and Akkadian cuneiform, a complicated syllabic writing system. The language of normal communication in multiracial Babylon, however, was Aramaic, written in an easily learned alphabetic script and certainly known to the four young men.

They were to be given only the best of food, straight from the king’s own table. This, he felt, would help maintain their good looks. Three years of training were set aside before they entered royal service.

We are now for the first time told their names. They are all from the kingdom of Judah (the Southern Kingdom). They were Daniel (whose name means ‘God is my judge’), Hananiah (‘The Lord shows grace’), Mishael (‘Who is what God is?’), and Azariah (‘The Lord helps’). Our reading omits their also being given Babylonian names by the chief eunuch: Daniel—Belteshazzar, Hananiah—Shadrach, Mishael—Meshach and Azariah—Abednego. These names will be used later in the book. It is clear that Daniel stands taller than his three companions, and there are some clear resemblances between Daniel and Joseph, the son of Jacob who became a high official in the Pharaoh’s court.

There was one problem for the young men in this idyllic life: they were expected to eat food which was in violation of Jewish dietary laws. Daniel, who was anxious to observe the Law, asked the chief eunuch to be excused from eating food which his religion regarded as ‘unclean’. This was not only because the food was, by Jewish laws, unclean, but before eating, the Babylonians offered food and drinks to their gods. So, even otherwise clean foods could be unclean because they had been offered to idols or had been cooked on wood taken from a sacred grove. Some of the wine could have been poured over a pagan altar.

Unclean animals, like pigs, could have been used as meat, and even other animals might not have been killed and prepared in ways acceptable to Jewish law. For a devout Jew, to disobey the laws about food was equivalent to apostasy, and we saw in the readings from Maccabees how Antiochus was forcing the Jews to eat pork as a sign of apostasy.

The eunuch who, by God’s favour, looked kindly on Daniel’s request was at the same time anxious about the king’s reaction. The young men were being fed special food from the royal table and, if by not eating this food, the Jewish boys began to look thinner than the other young men, the king would not be pleased and the eunuch’s own head could be in danger for allowing this.

Daniel then asked the guardian appointed to look after them by the eunuch to allow them a 10 days’ trial just eating raw vegetables and water and, at the end of that time, see how they compared with the other boys. Raw vegetables and fresh water would be safe from any ritual uncleanness. The request was granted. The number ’10’ often had the symbolic significance of completeness.

At the end of the 10 days, the four Jewish boys “appeared better and fatter” than those who had been eating from the king’s table and they were allowed to continue with this diet. Of course, from our better knowledge of food properties, we now understand it is possible that their vegetarian diet was actually much healthier than the rich diet that came from the king’s table.

In addition to their physical perfection, God gave the four young men knowledge and skill in every aspect of literature and learning. This would mean that they mastered Babylonian literature on astrology and divination by dreams. In addition, Daniel had a special gift of interpreting every kind of vision and dream (in this he again resembles Joseph). But in the crucial tests of interpretation and prediction, which Daniel was called on to give later on, only God’s special revelation enabled Daniel to interpret correctly.

When the time of their formation was complete, the chief eunuch presented all the young men to King Nebuchadnezzar. He spoke with all of them, but was most impressed by the four young Jews. And so they became members of the royal court. Whenever the king consulted them, he “he found them ten times better” (perfection again) more reliable than all the magicians and soothsayers in his kingdom.

There are lessons flowing from this story, which does not have to be taken as literally true, although much of the background has a historical basis. It is an edifying story to encourage people living in difficult conditions in a much later age. The loyalty of Daniel and his companions to the requirements of their faith under difficult circumstances is presented as a model and an inspiration to their descendants. And, with God on their side, they were bound to succeed. The gods of Babylon were no match for the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Moses.

We, too, can be inspired by the integrity and courage of these young men. But in our own Christian tradition, there are many other stories—strictly historical—of people who have not hesitated to give their lives, not just to keep external religious observances, but for much greater issues of Truth and Justice and the Kingdom of God.

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Commentary on Luke 21:1-4

Today we begin the last chapter of Luke’s Gospel, preceding his account of the Passion. Jesus is still in Jerusalem and spending time preaching in the Temple.

One day, as he stood near the treasury where there were 13 trumpet-shaped boxes to receive the offerings, he saw among all the well-off people dropping in their (surplus) money, a poor widow who put in two copper coins of very small value.

Jesus immediately comments on her generosity and faith. The others were putting in offerings which they could easily afford; it would have involved no diminution of their lifestyle, no hardship of any kind. But this woman was a poor widow and therefore belonging to the least advantaged of all people in that society. In fact, poverty and widowhood were, for many, almost synonymous.

And this woman put in everything she had. It has been observed that she had two coins and she put in both. Under the circumstances and by the Law, she need only have put in one and kept the other for her own needs. Jesus sets her up as an example of someone who put her total trust in God’s providence. She gave everything to him.

No one is saying that one should literally follow her example—it could be seen as irresponsible. We are told to love our neighbours—but also ourselves. At the same time, how often when we do dip into our pockets do we really give to others money that we were thinking of spending on something we do not really need? Or are we like the people in today’s story who casually give money they will not miss in the slightest? There is a difference between ‘giving alms’ and sharing our goods and good fortune with those who have less—a lot less than us.

St Paul, writing to the Christians of Corinth (and quoting from Exodus 16:18) and appealing for help for poorer Christian communities, says in part:

For if the eagerness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what one does not have. For I do not mean that there should be relief for others and hardship for you, but it is a question of equality between your present abundance and their need, so that their abundance may also supply your need, in order that there may be equality. As it is written, “The one who had much did not have too much, and the one who had little did not have too little.” (2 Cor 8:12-15)

This is a nice description of what justice in our society means.

There have been Christians who closely followed the widow’s example. St Teresa of Calcutta (Mother Teresa) absolutely refused to have any stable income for her work, and she was not alone in this. And it has often been remarked that it is people at the lower end of our society who are most generous in supporting needy causes.

The fact that this story comes just before the Passion has led many to see in this woman a symbol of Jesus himself, who will, in the words of the Letter to the Philippians, “empty himself” completely and surrender his whole life totally into the hands of his Father, holding nothing back.

But even during Jesus’ life, he seems to have had no private means of any kind. At the same time, he was not a beggar. He simply lived a life where he gave totally of himself, and others gave him in return just what he needed at any particular time.

Clearly, most people cannot literally follow the example of Jesus, but there are many examples of people who did. If only we too could have that kind of trust, that kind of generosity, that ability to share and that kind of freedom—freedom from material ‘wants’ and freedom for others.

The richest person is not the one who has accumulated much, but the one who has the least needs. In this sense, this poor widow was rich indeed.

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Monday, November 24, 2025

Ordinary Time

Opening prayer

Lord,

increase our eagerness to do Your will

and help us to know the saving power of Your love. You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Gospel reading - Luke 21:1-4

Looking up, Jesus saw rich people putting their offerings into the treasury and He noticed a poverty-stricken widow putting in two small coins, and He said, 'I tell you truly, this poor widow has put in more than any of them; for these have all put in money they could spare, but she in her poverty has put in all she had to live on.'

Reflection

      In today’s Gospel, Jesus weaves the praise of a poor widow who knows how to share more than the rich. Many poor people today do the same. People say: “The poor do not let the poor starve to death”. But sometimes even this is not possible. A woman who went to live out in the country in the periphery of a city in Brazil, in Paraiba, said, “In the country the people are poor, but they always have something to share with the poor who knock at their door. Now that I am here in the city, when I see a poor person who knocks on the door, I hide because I feel ashamed, because I have nothing in the house to share with him!” On one side, there are rich people who have everything but do not know how to share and on the other side, there are poor people who have hardly anything but who want to share the little they have.

      At the beginning, in the Church, the great majority of the first Christian communities were formed by poor people. (1 Cor 1:26). After a short time, well- to-do people also joined these communities and this caused several problems. The social tensions which were present in the Roman Empire began to appear in the life of the communities. For example, it manifested itself when they met together to celebrate the supper (1Cor 11: 20-22), or when they held a meeting (Jn 2:1-4). This is why the teaching of the act of the widow was very meaningful, both for them as well as for us today.

      Luke 21:1-2: The widow’s mite. Jesus was near the treasury in the temple and observed people who put in their offering. The poor put in a few pennies. The rich put in offerings of great value. The treasury of the temple received much money. All gave something for the maintenance of the worship, to support the clergy and for the

      preservation of the building. Part of this money was used to help the poor, because at that time there was no social security. The poor lived at the mercy of public charity. The persons who had the greatest needs were the orphans and the widows. They depended on the charity of others for everything, but even in this way, they tried to share with others the little that they had. Thus, a very poor widow put her offering into the treasury of the temple of just two pennies!

      Luke 21:3-4: Jesus’ comment. Which is worth more: the few pennies of the widow or the great amount of the rich? According to the majority, the money of the rich was more useful for charity, than the few pennies of the widow. For example, the disciples thought that the problems of the people could be resolved only with much money. On the occasion of the multiplication of the loaves, they had suggested buying bread to feed the people (Lk 9:13; Mk 6:37). Philip succeeded in saying, “Two-hundred denarii of bread are not even enough for everyone to have a piece of bread” (Jn 6:7). In fact, for anyone who thinks like that, the two pennies of the widow do not serve for anything. But Jesus says, “I tell you truly, this poor widow has put in more than any of them.” Jesus has a different criterion. Calling the attention of the disciples to the act of the widow, He teaches them and us where we have to look for the manifestation of God’s will: in the poor and in sharing. This is a very important criterion: “In fact all these have put in money they could spare, but she in her poverty has put in all she had to live on”.

      Alms, sharing, riches. The practice of giving alms was very important for the

Jews. It was considered to be a “good work”, because the law of the Old Testament said, “Of course, there will never cease to be poor people in the country, and that is why I am giving you this command: Always be open handed with your brother, and with anyone in your country who is in need and poor” (Deut 15:11). The alms put into the treasury of the temple, whether for worship or for the needy, orphans, or widows, were considered a pleasing act to God (Eccl 35:2; cf. Eccl 17:17; 29:12; 40:24). To give alms was a way to recognize that all goods of the earth belong to God and that we are only the administrators of these gifts. But the tendency to accumulate continues to exist and is very strong. It always arises anew in the human heart. Conversion is always necessary. This is why Jesus said to the rich young man, “Go, sell all you possess, and give it to the poor!” (Mk 10:21). In the other Gospels the same requirement is repeated: “Sell your possessions and give to those in need. Get yourselves purses that do not wear out, treasure that will not fail you, in heaven where no thief can reach it and no moth destroy it” (Lk 12:33-34; Mt 6:9-20). The practice of sharing and of solidarity is one of the characteristics which the Spirit of Jesus wants to realize in the community. The result of the effusion of the Spirit on the day of Pentecost was this: “None of the members was ever in want, as all those who owned land or houses would sell them, and bring the money from the sale of them, to present it to the apostles” (Acts 4:34-35ª; 2:4445). This money, deposited at the feet of the Apostles, was not accumulated but “it was then distributed to any who might be in need” (Acts 4:35 b; 2:45). The entry of the rich into the Christian communities on the one side rendered possible the expansion of Christianity, providing better conditions for the missionary voyages. But on the other side, the tendency to accumulate blocked the movement of solidarity and of sharing. James helped people to become aware that they were following a mistaken path: “Well now you rich! Lament, weep for the miseries that are coming to you. Your wealth is rotting; your clothes are all moth-eaten.” (Jas 5:1-3). To undertake the way to the Kingdom, all need to become pupils of that poor widow, who shared with others what was necessary for her living (Lk 21: 4).

Personal questions

      What difficulties and joys do you find in practicing solidarity and sharing with others?

      How is it that the two pennies of the widow can be worth more than the large amounts of the rich? What is the message of this text for us today?

Concluding prayer

Be sure that Yahweh is God, He made us, we belong to Him, His people,

the flock of His sheepfold. (Ps 100:3)

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Saint Andrew Dũng-Lạc and his Companions, Martyrs

 

Christian missionaries first brought the Catholic faith to Vietnam during the 16th century. The first two apostolic vicariates were established in 1659.

The traditional Vietnamese religion is Buddhism, mixed with elements of Taoism, Confucianism and the cult of ancestors. When Christianity came with missionaries early in the 16th century, it was seen as a foreign element and during the following three centuries (1625-1886) became the object of persecution.

During the first 20 years of the 19th century, Christianity made steady progress, but this was dramatically interrupted by the persecutions under the Annamite emperors Minh-Mang (1820-40) and Tu Dúc (1847-83). From 1832, Minh-Mang banned all foreign missionaries and ordered Vietnamese Christians to renounce Christianity by trampling on a crucifix. Churches were to be destroyed and teaching Christianity forbidden. Many suffered death, and many others endured extreme hardship.

Altogether, during the first 200 years of Christianity in Vietnam, it is estimated that some 100,000 Christians were martyred, but there is little historical record of most of them. They came from the three Vietnamese kingdoms of Tonkin, Annam and Cochin China.

Imprisoned bishops, hardly 30 years old, were given a piece of bamboo as crozier and a paper mitre, while older priests were put on display in cages to be publicly mocked, although often with the opposite effect. Poor peasants were murdered for refusing to trample on a crucifix. Some of the tortures were barbaric, and the persecutions have been compared with those of ancient Rome.

Among the Vietnamese priests who suffered martyrdom was Andrew Dũng-Lạc, who was chosen to represent a first group of 117 who were martyred. His original name was Dũng An Tran. He was born about 1795 into a poor family in Bac-Ninh in north Vietnam. At the age of 12, the family was forced to move to Hanoi where his parents could find work. While there, Andrew met a Christian catechist who gave him food and shelter. He was also instructed in the Christian faith for three years before being baptised in Vinh-Tri and given the Christian name of Andrew.

After learning Chinese and Latin he became a catechist. He was then picked out to study theology and on 15 March, 1823 was ordained priest. As parish priest in Ke-Dâm he was an indefatigable preacher. He frequently fasted and lived a very simple life. His good example led many to become Christians.

In 1835, he was arrested and imprisoned under emperor Minh-Mang’s persecutions (this emperor has been called ‘Vietnam’s Nero’). However, Andrew was freed thanks to money given by members of his congregation. To avoid persecutions, he changed his name from Andrew Dũng to Andrew Lạc and moved to another prefecture. However, on 10 November, 1839, he was again arrested, this time with Peter Thi, another Vietnamese priest whom he was visiting to make his confession. Again, together with Peter Thi, he was liberated for a sum of money. But the period of freedom was brief. Once again, they were re-arrested and taken to Hanoi where they were subjected to dreadful tortures. On 21 December, 1839, they were beheaded. Andrew was beatified in the first group of Vietnamese martyrs on 27 May, 1900.

During this time, Christians were marked on their faces with the words ta dao (= false religion), husbands were separated from their wives, and children from their parents. Christian villages were destroyed and their possessions distributed.

Among the most significant of the martyrs was Théophane Venard of the Paris Mission. A schoolmaster’s son, he was born at Saint-Loup-sur-Thouet, Deux-Sèvres, in 1829. He joined the Society of Foreign Missions of Paris from the Poitiers diocese seminary and was ordained priest in 1852. In 1854, he was sent to Tonkin in a time of persecutions. Expelled from Nam-Dinh in 1856, he went to Hanoi, where renewed persecutions obliged him to hide in caves and small boats. Finally, he was arrested, placed in a bamboo cage, and ultimately in 1861, beheaded for the Christian faith. His letters and his example inspired the young Theresa of Lisieux to volunteer for the Carmelite convent at Hanoi. But because of her tuberculosis, she was not able to go. In 1865, Vénard’s decapitated body was brought back to his society’s church in Paris. With 19 other martyrs from this area, he was beatified in 1909.

In June 1862, a treaty between France and Annam guaranteed religious freedom. This marked the beginning of the end of the persecutions. The 117 martyrs were beatified in four groups, the first of them on 27 May, 1900 (Pope Leo XIII), the second (all Dominicans) on 20 May, 1906, a third group on 2 May, 1909 (both by Pope Pius X) and the last (including the two Spanish bishops) on 29 April, 1951 (Pope Pius XII). They were all canonised in Rome on 19 June, 1988 by Pope John Paul II.

Of the 117 martyrs celebrated today 96 were Vietnamese, and 21 foreign missionaries. Of the Vietnamese, 37 were priests and 59 lay people, among whom were catechists and members of third orders. One of them was a woman, a mother of six.

Of the missionaries, 11 were Spaniards—6 bishops and 5 priests, all Dominicans (OP), and 10 were French—2 bishops and 8 priests from the Société des Missions Etrangères de Paris (MEP, Paris Foreign Missions).

Of those who died, 76 were beheaded, 21 suffocated, 6 burnt alive, 5 mutilated and 9 died in prison as a result of torture. A detailed description of their sufferings is found in a moving letter written by seminarian Paul Le-Bao Tinh to the seminary of Ke Vinh in 1843:

I, Paul, chained for the name of Christ, wish to tell you the tribulations in which I am immersed every day, so that you, inflamed with love for God, may also lift up your praise to God, “for his mercy endures forever”. This prison is truly the image of the eternal Hell: to the cruelest tortures of all types, such as fetters, iron chains and bonds, are added hate, vindictiveness, calumny, indecent words, interrogations, bad acts, unjust oaths, curses and finally difficulties and sorrow. But God, who once freed the three boys from the path of the flames, is always with me and has freed me from these tribulations and converted them into sweetness, “for his mercy endures forever”…Assist me with your prayers so that I may struggle according to the law and indeed “fight the good fight” and that I may be worthy to fight until the end, finishing my course happily; if we do not see each other again in this life, in the future age, nonetheless, this will be our joy, when standing before the throne of the spotless Lamb, with one voice we sing his praises, exulting in the joy of eternal victory. Amen

On 24 November, 1960, Pope John XXIII established the Catholic hierarchy in Vietnam. There are about 5-7 million Catholics, about 6-7 percent of the population—all the fruits of martyrs’ blood.

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