Integral Faith Formation: Towards Maturity in Christ (A Pastoral Exhortation of the Catholic...

7/29/2019 Integral Faith Formation: Towards Maturity in Christ (A Pastoral Exhortation of the Catholic Bishops Conference of

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INTEGRAL FAITH FORM ATION : TOW ARDS M ATURITY IN CHRIST

(A Pastora l Exhorta t ion of th e Cath ol ic Bishops Confe ren ce o f th e Phi l ippines)

Beloved Peop le of God:

Introduction

The Year of Fai th w hich our Ho ly Father, Pope Benedict XVI opened in Rome on October 11, 2012 wi l l

end t h is year on the Feast o f Chr ist t he King, Novem ber 24, 2013. The Holy Father said th at t he Year of

Fa i th w ou ld be a good oppo r tun i ty to usher the w ho le Church in to a t im e o f par t icu la r re f lect ion and

red iscovery o f the fa i th . (1 ) It i s a sum m ons to an au t hent ic and renewed conversion to the Lord , the

one Savio r o f the w or ld . (2 )

For us in t he Phi l ippines, the Year of Fai th is foundatio nal for a n ine-year Era of N ew Evangel izat ion. Inour Pastoral Exhort at ion to open the Year of Fai th, Live Chr ist, Share Chr ist, w e, your Pastor s, said that

the n ine-year per iod o f in tense evange l iza t ion in our country w i l l cu lmina te in 2021 wi th the 500th

anniversary of the Chr ist ian fa i th in the Phi lippines.

Therefore, th is year 2013 we begin th e Era of New Evangel izat ion w ith t he f i rst of t he nine-m ajor

pastor al pr ior i t ies of t he Church in the Phi l ippines Integral Fai th Form ation.(3)

A. Com m encing the Era of New Evangelizat ion

1. The PCP-II Vision and M ission of a Ren ew ed Church

In 1991 t he Second Plenar y Coun cil of th e Phil ip pines (PCP-II) envisione d a renew ed Church, a

part ic ipator y com m unit y of aut hent ic d iscip les of Chr ist, a Church o f t he Poor, a Church- in-m ission. In

2001 at t he N ational Pastor al Consul tat ion on Church Renewal (NPCCR) w e declared th at t o achieve th e

vision w e w ould em bark on a renew ed integral evangel izat ion, a mission t hat PCP-II had descr ibed in

term s of t he New Evangel izat ion of Pope John Paul, new in i ts ardor, met hods and expressions.(4) I t is

to fu l f i l l th is m ission of renew ed integral evangel izat ion or New Evangel izat ion th at w e drew u p the nin e

m ajor pastor al pr ior i t ies of th e Church in t he Phi l ippines.

Given a fresh and pow erfu l im pulse by the Year of Faith, w e focus th is year on th e f i rst of th e past oralpr ior i t ies Integral Fai th Format ion.

2. The M eaning and N ecessi ty of Fa ith .

W hat is fa i th? Fai th is f i rst of a l l a personal adherence of m an to God. At t he same t im e, and

inseparably, i t is a free assent to t he w hole t rut h t hat God h as revealed.(5) As personal adherence to

God, fa i th is one s to ta l sur render to t he love and wisdom o f God. I t i s the en t rustment o f on ese l f to God


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in to t a l dependence on h im . I t i s the f ree o f f e r ing o f one s m ind and hear t t o God. Fai th is our

adherence to the Tr iune God, revealed throu gh Jesus Chr ist our Lord. I t is our f r iendship w i th Chr ist and

thr ough Chr ist wi t h the Father , in their Holy Spir i t . (6) By fa i th w e freely com m it ourselves enti r e ly to

God.(7) This is w hat w e real ly mean w hen w e say, I bel ieve in God.

On the o ther h and, as a free assent, fai th is the vir t ue of saying yes to t he t rut h th at God teaches inthe Sacred Scr iptures and in t he l iv ing tradi t ion of the Church. This is what w e express w hen pr ay the Act

of Fai th:

O m y God, I f i rm ly bel ieve that you are one God in th ree divine persons, Father, Son and Ho ly Spir i t . I

bel ieve that your d ivine Son became m an, and died fo r our sins and th at he w i l l com e again to judge the

l iv ing and the dead. I bel ieve these and al l the t rut hs w hich the Ho ly Cathol ic Church t eaches because

you have revealed them , who can nei ther deceive nor b e deceived. Amen.

The Act of Fai th expresses a re l igious and int e l lectual assent to a l l the tru ths t hat God has revealed.

Fa i th then invo lves the t o ta l person, h is hear t and m ind. I t touches every par t o f us: our m inds(bel ieving),our w i l ls (doing), and o ur h earts ( trust ing). (8)

W ithou t such f a i th, w e cannot be saved. Once again th e CCC teaches us: Bel ieving in Jesus Chr ist and in

the One w ho sent h im for ou r salvat ion is necessary for salvat ion. (9) W itho ut fa i t h i t is im possib le to

please God. W itho ut fa i th n o one w i l l ever atta in eter nal l i fe .(10)

3. Posit ive and Ne gative Qua lit ies of ou r Faith Toda y

But not every one w ho says I bel ieve w i l l be saved. The question t hen is: Is i t real fa i th? Hence we

need to look in t o t he k ind o f fa i th tha t w e have. Is our f a i th one tha t possesses the m ind and hear t? A

fai th th at f low s into d ai ly li fe such that ou r pr ivate and publ ic l i fe demo nstrates our being tru e discip leso f t he Lord?

In trut h our Fi l ip ino fa i th is deep and simple. W e are not em barrassed to per form rel ig ious r i tes, l ike

m aking the sign of th e cross, or t o d isplay re l ig ious art ic les in vehicles. M any even dare t o fo l low

rel ig ious pract ices in p laces w here t he fa i th is banned. And yet our fa i t h is largely uninfor m ed, prone to

r i tua l ism and p ie t ism , tend ing tow ards the externa ls o f p rayer and sacraments w i thout understand ing

the i r m ean ing . And m ost o f a l l our fa i th is separated f r om l i fe ; we do no t p ract ice our fa i th , pu t t ing i t

aside w hen i t com es to cru cial decisions regarding, for instance, m oney or p ow er or p opular i t y. This is

w hy in our pr edom inantly Chr ist ian count ry povert y, socia l in just ice and lack of integr i t y are glar ing

w hi le d ishonesty and cor rup t ion cont inue w i th im pun i ty .

4. The Im pact of Secularism on Fil ipino Faith

Yet anot her p ow erfu l socia l force, a secular ist and m ater ia l ist spir i t , is impacting our fa i th. Beginning in

Europ e wit h th e Age of Reason and Enl ighten m ent in t he 17th and 18t h centur ies, the secular ist and

m ater ia l ist spir i t has gradual ly but decisively taken over t he developed w or ld, resul t ing in the ignor in g of

God, the loss of fa i th , the w eakening of d ivine author i ty and th e autho r i ty of the Church. Secular ism and


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m ater ia l ism have created t heir ow n values, cont radict ing and re ject ing the universal values of th e

Gospel as taught by th e l iv ing tradi t ion of t he Church.

The tools of social com m unication dissem inate t he secular ideology of d eveloped count r ies. This has

resul ted in a type of fa i th that adh eres select ively to som e doctr ines of the Church but r e jects ot hers as

incom patib le w i th changing m odern t imes, w i th dem ocracy and re l igious pluralism . We see examples ofthe inr oads of secular ism and m ater ia l ism in th e sett ing aside of m oral values and re ject ion of re l ig ious

autho r i ty in t he debates that led to t he unfo rtu nate passage of th e Reprod uctive Health Bi l l. We also see

the in f luence o f the secu lar sp i r i t in legal a t tem pts to r edef ine the l im i ts o f hum an f reedom, the

beg inn ing o f hum an l i fe , and t he na ture o f m ar r iage and fami ly .

In these d i f f i cu l t t im es w e hear and heed the w ords o f the Lord tha t w e are in th is wor ld bu t w e are no t

oft h is wor ld .(11) Our fa i th im pels us to cher ish and def end bel iefs and values that are countersigns to

those o f th is wor ld .

5. The Ne ed for Integra l Fa i th form at ion

The weaknesses of our fa i th and the chal lenges facing i t summ on us to r enew ed integral evangelizat ion,

to new evangel izat ion w ith new fervor , new m etho ds and new expressions. This is the rat io nale for

integral fa i th for m ation. I t is a process that seeks and leads to m atur i t y in fa i th, a fa i th that is inform ed

and l ived, a fa i th com m itt ed to the m ission of ann ouncing th e Gospel of Jesus, including part ic ipat ion in

the w ork o f jus t ice and socia l t ransform at ion .

B. Lord , increase our f aith !

1. Know ing and Deep ening our Faith Conversion

The process tow ards a m ature fa i t h begins wit h real izing that on es fa ith is w eak, is not a lways

concerned w ith essentia ls but w i th exter nals of re l ig ious pract ice and ob l igat ion, does not lead to t ota l

persona l com m i tm ent t o the Lord , and is no t a lways ready to say yes to God s wi l l in b r ie f , tha t fa i th

is not l ived. W e need conversion and renew al. The Synod of Bishops on the New Evangel izat ion

confesses:

W e f i rm ly be l ieve tha t w e m ust conver t ou rse lves f i rst t o the pow er o f Chr ist w ho a lone can m ake al l

th in gs new . Wit h hum il i ty w e m ust recognize that th e povert y and w eaknesses of Jesus d iscip les,

especia l ly of h is ministers, w eigh on th e credib i l i ty of t he m ission. We know that w e mu st hum bly

recogn ize our vu lnerab i l ity t o t he w ounds o f h is to ry and w e do no t h esi ta te t o recogn ize our p ersona l

sins.(12)

The realizat ion of w eakness and sinfu lness leads the b el iever to a great desire to know the f a i th, to be

in fo rm ed about i t and to deepen i t . The cry o f t he d isc ip les fo r he lp tha t they m ay more c lose ly fo l low

Christ and be p atter ned t o h is w ay of t h inking, act ing and b ehaving, re lat ing and valu ing is also our p lea:

Lord increase our fa i th! (13)


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At t he basic leve l we need to know w hat w e be l ieve in . If you are asked w hat you be l ieve in as a

Cathol ic, sim ply reci te the A postles Creed, a tru e sum m ary of t he fund amen tal ar t ic les of Catho l ic bel ief.

The Apostles Creed is fur th er e laborated in th e Nicene-Constantino pol i t an Creed, or simp ly the N icene

Creed a resul t of the f i rst tw o univer sal counci ls of t he Church in th e years 325 and 381.(14)

Today we have a com prehensive systemat ic and organic synth esis of t he content of our fa i th in t heCatechism of the Cathol ic Church, 1991. This universal Catechism is contextual ized into our Fi l ip ino

situat ion by t he Catechism f or Fi l ip ino Cathol ics, 1997. M oreover, th e socia l doctr ine of the Church

w hich elaborates on th e com m andm ents of God in the CCC is now system atical ly organized in the

Com pendium of the Socia l Doctr ine of the Church (CSDC), 2004.

W ith t he Sacred Scr iptures in one hand and th e Catechism of t he Cathol ic Church in t he ot her hand ,

supplem ented by t he CSDC and CFC, a Fi l ip ino Catho l ic has the fund amen tal t ools of kno w ing and

deepening th e fa i th. Adm itt edly one is not expected t o study al l th ese books. Guidance by catechists and

rel ig ious teachers wou ld b e necessary.

2. Persona lly Kno w ing Christ

But i t i s no t enough to have an in te l lec tua l knowledge o f the f a i th . What is abso lu te ly imp era t ive is a

personal , loving know ledge of the Lord Jesus. He is the center of our f a i th. A personal know ledge of

Jesus is the adherence of the heart, a per sonal entrustm ent to Jesus, fr iendship w i th Jesus. An

uncom prom ising re l ig ious assent t o th e teachings of God as autho r i tat ively interpr eted by t he l iv ing

teaching author i ty of the Church can only f low from a passion f or Jesus, Teacher and Shepherd .

3. Celebrat ing our Faith t he Liturgy

Faith is Gods precious gi f t t o us. W e have to celebrate th is d ivine grace by t hanking, praising, and

ador ing the Lord . Now here can t h is be most p ro per ly done t han in t he Li tu rgy, the prayer o f t he Church .

For i t is in the Litur gy, especia l ly in the celebrat ion of t he Holy Euchar ist, the m em oria l of t he Passion,

Death, and Resurrect ion of Chr ist, that thanksgiving, praise, w orship and t he off er ing of o nes sel f t o

God is done in t he very act ion of Chr ist t he High Pr iest. I t is Chr ist w ho of fers h is own sacr i f ice in t he

Euchar ist t hro ugh the h ands of th e Pr iest. I t is Chr ist w ho is present and act ive in t he ot her sacram ents

of t he Church. Hence we celebrate our fa i th pr incipal ly thr ough t he Litur gy. The catechism teaches us:

W hen t he Church celebrates the sacrament s, she conf esses the fa i th received from the apostles w hence the ancient saying: lex orandi , lex credendi. The law of p rayer is the law of f a i th: The Church

bel ieves as she prays.(15) We celebrate our fa i th as wel l w hen w e read the Scr iptures and w hen w e

pray. In a l l t hese, the Spir i t of Chr ist help s us and Chr ist h im self is present.


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C. Living our Fait h Char ity as Faith in Action

W hen w e know our fa i th and understand i ts mean ing especia lly fo r ou r salva t ion , it b ecom es im pera t ive

for us to l i ve i t th rough a t ru ly m ora l l i fe , a l i fe o f f ide l i ty to God s comm ands. I t i s most t ragic tha t a

grace so pr iceless such as fa i th w ould no t be l ived fr om day to d ay. Fai th has to be a nor m and guide of

l i fe, i ts energy, inspirat ion and l ight.

To l i ve a t ru ly m ora l l i fe is to be f a i th fu l to the 10 com m andment s o f God. The f i rst t h ree

com m andm ents express our love of God and t he last seven express our love o f neighbor. This is w hy th e

Lord summ ar ized the 10 com m andment s in to jus t t w o: You sha ll love the Lord your God w i th a l l your

heart, and w ith a l l your soul , wi t h a l l your m ind and w ith a l l your strength. You shal l love your

neighbor as yoursel f . (16)

A genuine m oral l i fe is, therefor e, a l i fe of genuine char i ty. Char i ty is fa i th in act ion. W hen w e received

fa i th f rom the Lord a t our Bapt ism and became m embers o f the fam i ly o f fa ith , w e prom ised to be l ieve

in God and to re ject a l l form s of evi l . This prom ise w as a prom ise to l ive a tru ly m oral l i fe , to b e

Christ ians not only in nam e but a lso in deed. Pope Benedict XVI urges us to p ray th at our w i tness of l i fe

m ay grow in credib i l i ty. To rediscover th e content of th e fa i th th at is pro fessed, celebrated, l ived and

prayed, and to re f lect on the act o f fa i th is a task tha t every be l iever must m ake h is ow n. (17)

D. Spiritua lity Discipleship of Believe rs

To str ive t o l ive a tru ly m oral l i fe is to jo urney on the w ay of d iscip leship. A l i fe of fa i t h and char i ty is a

l i fe of d iscip leship, a l i fe of being uni t ed in m ind and heart w i th Jesus, the Teacher and Lord. This is

spir i tual i ty in i ts depth . (18)

By i ts very nam e spir i t ual i ty refers to l i fe in the Spir i t . I t refers to t he patt ern of Jesus own l i f e of being

Spir i t- led and Spir i t-dr iven as w e see in the f i rst chapte rs of St. Luke.(19) Hence to be h oly or t o b e

spir i tual is to l ive in th e Spir i t ,(20) to abide in t he Spir i t , to w alk in the Spir i t , to be f i l led w ith t he Spir i t

(21) as St. Paul is w ont to say. Only w hen w e are imb ued w ith t he Spir i t and f o l low the Lord Jesus in

discip leship can we l ive an authen tic m oral l i fe , a l i fe of fa i th and char i ty.

The resul t is a l i festyle d ir ected by t he values and att i tu des of the Gospel, the values of t he Beati tu des, a

l i festyle that consists of a m ind-set and behavior th at are fo cused on char i ty and ju st ice, inspired by

fa i th .

The spir i tu al i ty of a l iv ing fa i th is m ainta ined and nou r ished by prayer, personal or l i tur g ical , individual or

com m unal, devotional and pop ular or off ic ial . Prayer l inks fa i th and act ion . Even as prayer f low s from

fai th, pr ayer a lso sustains a l ived f a i th.


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E. Sharing our Faith The W itness of Life

Faith is not a g i f t t hat w e keep sel f ishly to ourselves. I t is a g i f t to b e procla im ed, com m unicated, and

shared. This is why Jesus bequeathed to t he Apostles, the fath ers of fa i th , a f inal mand ate:

Go, ther efore, and m ake discip les of a l l nat ions, bapti z ing them in the nam e of the Father and of t he

Son and o f the Ho ly Sp i r i t , and teach ing them to obey everyth ing tha t I h ave com m anded you. And

remem ber , I am w i th you a lways, to the end o f the age. (22)

W hi le every be l iever has the du t y to p roc laim the fa i th , m ost everyone is no t ca lled to do so in the w ay

of catechists, re l ig ious educators, re l ig ious men and w om en, and the clergy. But everyon e is cal led to

share th e fa i th by t he w itness of a good Chr ist ian l i fe.

A few are cal led by God to w i tness to Jesus by th e offe r ing of t heir very l i fe as m artyrs of t he fa i th. This is

w hy w e are incalculably b lessed wit h t he canonizat ion of ou r second m artyr , San Pedro Calungsod, last

October 21, 2012. Being a young lay catechist, he procla im ed t he Lord Jesus by t eaching ot hers to know

and accept the f a i th. By becom ing a m artyr l ike San Lorenzo Ruiz he gave the ul t im ate w itness of h is l ife .

I t is f i rst of a l l by the si lent w i tness of a tru ly m oral Chr ist ian l i fe, a l i fe of fa i th and char i ty th at w e share

our f a i th w i th o ther s. This requires a l i fe of f idel i ty t o Gods wi l l in th e m idst of dai ly chal lenges and dai ly

w ork a t h om e and a t w ork. I t requ i res f ide li ty to our God g iven responsib i l it ies in the fami ly , in the

ne ighborhood, in the Church and in the w ider socie ty .

Our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI confi rm s th is tru th of Chr ist ian w itness:

The renewal of t he Church is also achieved thro ugh th e w itness offer ed by th e l ives of bel ievers by their

very existence in th e w or ld. Chr ist ians are cal led to radiate t he w ord o f t rut h t hat t he Lord Jesus has left

us.(23)

Applying the sam e trut h of w i tness t o the w hole Church, the recent Synod on the New Evangel izat ion

stated:

I t i s there fore pr im ar ily by her conduct and by her l i fe tha t t he Church w i l l evangel ize the w or ld , in o ther

w ords, by her l iv ing w itness of f idel i ty t o th e Lord Jesus, by her w i tness of po verty and det achmen t, and

by her w i tness o f f reedom in the face o f the pow ers o f t h is w or ld , in shor t , the w i tness o f sanct i ty . (24)

W e rei terate t h is tru th w hich is a lso a challenge for a l l of us i t is by the w itness of a tru ly m oral l i fe ,

the w itness of a l i fe of fa i th and char i ty, th at w e can eloquent ly and credib ly pro claim and share our

fait h in t he Lord Jesus.

F. Call

1. In the l ight of th is year s focus on int egral fa i th form ation, w e cal l upon dio ceses, their catechists,

re l ig ious educators, lay leaders, m en and w om en Rel ig ious, and clergy to design and im plem ent a long

term program of fa i t h form ation fo r fam i l ies, youth and chi ldren, using and adapting the CCC, CFC, and

CSDC for t his pur pose.


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2. W e cal l upon schools, catechetical inst i t utes, Basic Ecclesia l Com m unit ies and oth er f a i th

com m unit ies, re l ig ious organizat ions and m ovem ents to do t he sam e.

3. We assign the CBCP Com m issions with f a i th for m ation com ponen ts to t ake the lead in th is im port ant

project and provid e assistance to the dioceses when necessary.

Conclusion The Prayers and Inspirat ion of M ary, M ot her of Fai th

As w e end th is pastor al exhort at ion, the Blessed Virg in M ary, W om an of Fai th and M oth er of Fai th, is

our gu ide and insp ira t ion . She l i stened t o t he w ord o f God, re f lected on i t , st rove t o un derstand t he

m ystery tha t t he w ord announced, and f rom the dept hs o f her fa i th she sa id yes to God s wi l l . Her Le t

i t be done to m e accord ing to your w ord becam e the da i ly norm o f her l i fe o f fa i th and char i ty . M ay our

M oth er assist us to increase our fa i t h.

W e conclude w i th some w ords f rom the hym n Live Chr ist , Share Chr ist , the o f f ic ia l hymn f o r th e 500th

anniversary of our Chr ist ian fa i th in o ur shores:

The gospel is our b lessing but a lso o ur m ission.

To the poor and the chi ldren w e br ing his salvat ion

To the rest of the w or ld h is m essage of comp assion

To al l of hum anity h is chal lenge of conversion!

W e are blessed, we are loved

W e are cal led, w e are sent,

W e w i l l teach, w e w i l l serve

W e are Chr ist s, we are Church!

For and o n beh al f of t he Catho l ic Bishops Conference of t he Phi l ippines:

+JOSE S. PALM A, D .D.

Archbishop of Cebu and

Preside nt , CBCP

27 January 2013


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___ __ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ _

End Not es

1. Porta Fidei, no. 4.

2. Ibid., no. 6.

3. In or der t o achieve t he vision of Church t hat the Second Plenary Counci l (PCP-II) envisioned in 1991, t he Counci l cal led fo r

renewed integral evang el izat ion. For t his purpose the Nat ional Pasto ral Consultat ion on Church Renewal (NPCCR), 2001,

ident i f ied n ine pastora l pr ior i t ies, nam ely: in tegra l fa i th f ormat ion, renewal o f t he la i ty , act ive par t ic ipat ion of the poo r , the

fam ily as the focal point of evangel izat ion, the par ish as a com munio n of com mun it ies, renewa l of clergy and rel igious, act ive

part icipat ion of the yout h, ecum enism an d inter-rel igious dialogu e, and m ission ad gentes.

4. See Vision-M ission Sta tem ent o f th e Chur ch in th e Philipp ines, 1992; Pope John Pau l II, Discour se to XIX Assem bly of CELAM ,

Port au Pr ince, 1983.

5. The Cat echism of th e Cath olic Faith (CCC), no. 150 .

6. Catechism for Filipino Catho lics (CFC), 1997 , no. 1 24; see also PCP-II, no. 6 4, 66.

7. See Dei Verbum, no. 5; ci ted by Pope Benedict XVI, Verbum Dom ini, no. 25.

8. CFC, no .12 8.

9. CCC, no. 16 1; see Mk . 16:16; Jn 3:3 6; 6:40f f.

10. See M t. 10:22; 24:13; Heb. 11:6.

11. See Jn. 1 7:11-1 7.

12. M essage of th e Synod of Bishop s on the New Evangel izat ion.

13. Lk. 17:5.

14. See CCC, no . 19 5.

15. CCC, no. 1 124 .

16. M k. 12:30-31; see also Dt. 6:5.



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18. For a spir i tual i t y of d iscipleship, see Final Statem ent of IV FABC Plenary, The Vocat ion and M ission of the Laity in the Church

and in the W orld of Asia, Tokyo, 1986 , no. 4.8 Lay Spir i tu al i ty ; see also Final Stat ement of V FABC Plenary Assembly,

Journeying Together to wa rd th e Third M il lennium , Bandun g, 1990, no. 9.0, Spir i tual i t y for Our Times.

19. See Lk. 1:12; 3 :4, 14.

20. See Rom . 8:9-11.

21. Eph. 5:18.

22. M t . 28:19-20.


24. Instrum entum Laboris for Synod on New Evangel izat ion #158

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