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Sts. Joachim and Anne, Parents of Mary, Friends Who Love You

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I was thinking today how wonderful it would have been to live next door to Saints Joachim and Anne, listening to each other’s stories, crying and laughing with them. It would have been a great blessing. But wait! We kind of had that with our next door neighbors of 21 years. When they moved in next to us, the wife was having their second son and eventually had a daughter. Along the same path, we had five boys and three girls. It was life changing for my wife. And for me. My wife and our neighbor became soul mates and loved each other dearly. If you have friends that love you for who you are, you have a great treasure.

We now live hundreds of miles apart but still keep in contact. We missed those days. But they all prepared us for being better Christians later in life. We have done things that we never thought we would do. God is good! So, what am I trying to say?? The people we hang out with have a major impact on our own spiritual life. Some of you have a great support system. It could be members of your family or extended family, or friends from church or neighbors. 

If you say that those are not the kind of friends you have, but would like to; I would think that being involved in your Church would be a great start. Currently all our friends are from the three parishes that I am a Deacon in. All these parishes have different personalities, but we all have common goals.

Anne and Joachim remind me of the Holy Family. They had to be pretty holy to birth a daughter like our Blessed Mother. Ann Catherine Emerick said that when our Blessed Mother was brought to the temple, Joachim wept copious tears. Perhaps tonight you can meditate on that event, bringing Mary to the temple to be raised and educated there. If it sounds like a radical quest by the Lord, it’s probably true.

Serving with joy.

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Deacon Dan Schneider is a retired general manager of industrial distributors. He and his wife Vicki recently celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. They are the parents of eight children and twenty-nine grandchildren. He has a degree in Family Life Education from Spring Arbor University. He was ordained a Permanent Deacon in 2002.  He has a passion for working with engaged and married couples and his main ministry has been preparing couples for marriage.

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Hearing Anew

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Spend any amount of time in the Scriptures or attending Mass, and you may be tempted to let your mind drift during the readings with the misleading rationale, “I’ve heard this all before.” While that is likely (and hopefully) true, do you take into account that each time hearing the Word of God, you are not the same person who heard it the last time? With every passing of each day, especially if we take to heart the call for daily conversion, we are a new creation in Christ. Between the first time you heard this passage in John’s Gospel until today, many things happened, skewing how you perceive the message. You are older, perhaps wiser, and experienced many simple and profound moments that continue to shape you and your relationship with Jesus.

Look with renewed eyes at John’s Gospel. Ask for wisdom and grace to hear and discern what wisdom or blessing God has for you today. Here are a few passages from John 6:1-15 to contemplate:

  • “Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples.” When a Rabbi sat down, his students knew to gather near because he was about to teach, as a Rabbi always taught from a seated position.
  • Jesus said, “Have the people recline.” Jesus’ instructions for the people to recline placed them in a posture that prepared them to receive God’s blessings. Here the blessing would soon be bread and fish to satisfy the hunger of all present and a powerful prefiguration of the True Food; He will come to satiate far more than our physical hunger.
  • “Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed them to those who were reclining.” During the Miracle of the Multiplication of the Loaves and the Fishes, we hear what should be familiar words to the faithful. The taking, blessing, and breaking of bread all with a heart of thanksgiving to God—a formula we see again when Jesus institutes the Eucharist.
  • When they had had their fill, he said to his disciples, “Gather the fragments left over, so that nothing will be wasted.” The disciples filled twelve wicker baskets with the remnants. All those present, reclined, and trusting were satisfied with still an abundance left over. Truly, God’s generosity cannot be matched or depleted.
  • “Since Jesus knew that they were going to come and carry him off to make him king, he withdrew again to the mountain alone.” Jesus, though indeed King, withdrew to avoid the people’s actions because His Kingdom is not of this world. The people wanted Him to attend to their physical needs; however, He desired a far more critical calling to care for their spiritual well-being. Again and again, we see Jesus withdraw to make time for prayer, quiet contemplation, and time along with the Father, an example we can also learn from and emulate.

What new things did you notice in reading today’s Gospel? What words or actions touched your heart or intrigued you? Where do you see God speaking to you, teaching you, maybe even challenging you? Are you willing to come closer, recline, listen, and be fed by Jesus? 

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Allison Gingras works for WINE: Women In the New Evangelization as National WINE Steward of the Virtual Vineyard. She is a Social Media Consultant for the Diocese of Fall River and CatholicMom.com. She is a writer, speaker, and podcaster, who founded ReconciledToYou.com and developed the Stay Connected Journals for Catholic Women (OSV).   

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The views and opinions expressed in the Inspiration Daily blog are solely those of the original authors and contributors. These views and opinions do not necessarily represent those of Diocesan, the Diocesan staff, or other contributors to this blog.

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That’s His Job

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“To some God and Jesus may appeal in a way other than to us: some may come to faith in God and to love, without a conscious attachment to Jesus. Both nature and good men besides Jesus may lead us to God. They who seek God with all their hearts must, however, some day on their way meet Jesus.” 

-Heinrich Weinel and Alban G. Widgery, Jesus in the Nineteenth Century and After

Last Sunday, in the Old Testament reading, we heard God’s promise to a suffering people that he would take care of them. God’s fulfillment of that promise is Jesus, his very Son. 

Today, we hear the parable of the Sower of the Good Seed. It was a smack-my-head moment, one of those, why didn’t I ever see this before moments of clarity. I spend way too much time focusing on the wrong part of the job. We love to see the fruits of our labors. Our society values those who complete a process, those who “bring home the bacon”, who reap what they sow.  But the reaping, bringing in the crops, just plain isn’t my job. I don’t get to decide what (or who) is good and truly beautiful. I don’t make the call as to what (or who) is worthy of the Kingdom of God. I am not called to harvest the crop and everytime I become more concerned with how it all turns out, I am off task. I am not called to harvest the crop, I am called to sow the crop. Jesus will handle the harvesting, that’s His job, that is the fulfillment of the Old Testament promise. 

It isn’t my job to worry about what people do after they meet Jesus. My job is to live my life in such a way, that each and every action I take is a sowing of good seed. The more good seed I sow, the more likely the people I encounter will have the opportunity of encountering Jesus through me. Jesus doesn’t deal with people the way we do. When Jesus encounters someone, he leaves them changed forever. But before that can happen, the seeds have to be planted. They have to blossom and be like the sunflower gardens that invite you to get lost in the beauty and eventually to look up beyond the flowers and see the sun itself.

So for today, I am going to let go of my vision of what things should be like, and I am going to put my effort into the part of the Kingdom God has placed in my care. I am going to sow seeds of love and acceptance. I am going to stand for those who have no one else to stand for them. I am going to go outside of what makes me comfortable to give comfort to others. Then, just maybe, they will get lost in the beauty and look beyond this world and see the Son himself.

He’ll bring them home, that’s His job. I just need to sow the seeds. 

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Sheryl O’Connor delights in being the number 1 cheerleader and supporter for her husband, Tom who is a candidate for the Permanent Diaconate in the Diocese of Kalamazoo. They are so grateful for the opportunity to grow together in this process whether it is studying for classes, deepening their prayer life or discovering new ways to serve together. Sheryl’s day job is serving her community as the principal for St. Therese Catholic School in Wayland, Michigan. Since every time she thinks she gets life all figured out, she realizes just how far she has to go, St. Rita of Cascia is her go-to Saint for intercession and help. Home includes Brea, a Bernese Mountain dog and Carlyn, a very, very goofy Golden Retriever.

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Good Soil

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In today’s Gospel we hear Christ’s explanation of a parable that I’m sure we’re all familiar with: the Parable of the Sower. 

He explains that the four different types of soil are representative of four different types of people. The seed that falls on that path but is stolen away is the person who does not understand the Gospel so the Evil One steals what was taking root in the person’s heart. The seed that falls on rocky soil but is scorched by the sun because it has no roots is the person who hears the Gospel and is blessed with great joy but soon falls away because of persecution. The seed that falls among the thorns is the person who hears the Gospel but is preoccupied by worldly things and does not live or share the Word. The seed that falls on good soil is the person who hears the Gospel, understands, lives it, and shares it with others. 

We will all encounter each type of soil, each type of person in our lives. Perhaps we will even act as the sowers and talk to each type of person about the faith. But we will also encounter each type of person within ourselves. 

How many times have we heard something in Scripture, in a homily, or in a talk and not understood it? Do we ask someone more knowledgeable than us to help us understand or do we forget it and not give it a second thought? That’s the seed falling on the path.

How many times have we gone on a retreat and been so on fire with the Holy Spirit and for our faith while we’re there, but then as soon as we return to our ordinary, daily lives and to our routines and the fire dies out a little bit? That’s the seed falling on rocky soil.

How many times have we been afraid to share our faith at work or in our communities? Or how many times have we not paid attention in Mass because something else was on our minds? That’s the seed falling among the thorns. 

But how much joy do we find in sharing the Gospel with others? How often do we find great joy and peace in participating in the Sacraments? What does it feel like when we recognize Christ in others? That’s the seed falling on good soil. 

We are all capable of throwing seed on the path and of being the rocky, thorny, or good soil. If we acknowledge that we don’t understand everything, recognize what our thorns are, and when we have a tendency to shy away from the faith because of persecution, then we are able to overcome those obstacles and replace the thorns and rocks with good soil. 

Today is the feast of St. Bridget of Sweden and I encourage you to read about her life! May we, following the example of St. Bridget, pray for Christ to do His will through us and pray that we may sow seeds of faith in good soil in which the faith is planted.

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Dakota currently lives in Denver, CO and teaches English Language Development and Spanish to high schoolers. She is married to the love of her life, Ralph. In her spare time, she reads, goes to breweries, and watches baseball. Dakota’s favorite saints are St. John Paul II (how could it not be?) and St. José Luis Sánchez del Río. She is passionate about her faith and considers herself blessed at any opportunity to share that faith with others. Check out more of her writing at https://dakotaleonard16.blogspot.com.

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Stay with Me

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Mary stayed. There are some lines in Scripture that speak so much louder than their few words. When we read today’s Gospel slowly, we see it was a busy morning for Mary Magdalene. 

First, she rises, before dawn, and goes to the tomb. Upon seeing the stone rolled away, she returns (can’t you see her flying down the path, disregarding decorum as she sprints to the apostles?) to the disciples to tell them. She then turns around and runs back with some of them who wish to see for themselves. 

After seeing the empty tomb, the disciples must have returned, confused and feeling lost. What could have happened? Why? Mary, exhausted at this point, stays. She weeps for the one she has lost, twice now it would seem. 

In her sorrow, Mary doesn’t turn inward, as many of us are tempted to do when we are hurting. The disciples were hurting and in their sorrow, they walked away. Even if it was only to the outside of the garden, they still left the place of pain. Mary chose a different path. Though she was full of grief and was openly weeping, the Gospel also shows us that she wasn’t completely consumed with sorrow. She still had hope that something was not yet finished. 

How do we know Mary maintained her hope in the midst of this terrible moment? The next verse tells us that she “bent over into the tomb.” She looked again! This small action is what sets in motion John’s Resurrection story. Mary sees the angels, who engage her in conversation and turn her attention to the resurrected Jesus, standing before her. 

Even in the midst of her sorrow, Mary found the hope God placed in her, the hope He places in all of us. From that hope, she drew enough courage to look into the tomb. 

All of us will encounter suffering. Many of us are suffering at this present moment. Life is a challenge and things do not often go as planned. We go through times of pain, of sorrow, of grief, of anger, of disappointment. The disciples of Jesus felt these same things. They wished things were different, that it wasn’t so hard. 

The lesson Mary Magdalene taught them, and what she can teach all of us, is to not lose the hope we have been gifted by God. There is always a way forward, we have to trust that God’s plan is more marvelous than we could plan. We also have to trust that God’s timing may not be our timing. This is why we wait, as Mary did, in patient hope, for God to reveal Himself to us.

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Kate Taliaferro is an Air Force wife and mother. She is blessed to be able to homeschool, bake bread and fold endless piles of laundry. When not planning a school day, writing a blog post or cooking pasta, Kate can be found curled up with a book or working with some kind of fiber craft. Kate blogs at DailyGraces.net.

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The Gift of Life

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The mystery of human life is truly amazing. I can’t believe how my kids love to lay on my belly, rub it and give it kisses. They can’t wait for their little sister to come out! Just the other day, my six-year-old said to me, “Mommy, ‘little coconut’ will be out soon, so can we take a picture so I can remember when she was still in your tummy?” So we took turns with all the boys taking pictures of them hugging, kissing or rubbing my (very large) belly.

All during his illness, my son took such comfort in his unborn little sister. Whenever he wasn’t feeling well, he asked me to come over to his bed so he could be near her and give her kisses. He always talks about how she is such a little cutie and tells me 5-20 times a day how he wants her to come out. I keep reminding him that if she comes out too early she will have to stay at the hospital for a long time and he won’t be able to see her anyway, but he continues saying it over and over and over. Now my husband and my other sons are saying it too, but I’m pretty sure, no one wants her out more than mommy!

In the First Reading, the children of Israel were given a whole new life, one free from slavery and oppression, but instead of praising God for His wondrous love, they come to Moses with one grumble after another. Just like my son wants his sister out so bad, they wanted to get out of Egypt something fierce! They prayed and prayed for deliverance, and God heard their prayer.

What confounds me is that even though the Israelites don’t ask nicely, God still listens to them and provides for their needs.

“Here in the desert the whole assembly of the children of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron. The children of Israel said to them, ‘Would that we had died at the LORD’s hand in the land of Egypt, as we sat by our fleshpots and ate our fill of bread! But you had to lead us into this desert to make the whole community die of famine!’ [ ] The LORD spoke to Moses and said, ‘I have heard the grumbling of the children of Israel. Tell them: In the evening twilight you shall eat flesh, and in the morning you shall have your fill of bread, so that you may know that I, the LORD, am your God.’”

He doesn’t say to them “You bunch of whiny babies, get a grip! I delivered you so I could watch you starve in agony! Mwaaa haaa haaa!” No. He grants them meat and bread to eat. He wants them to live.

In the same way, He wants us to live. And whether we know how to ask or not, He grants our needs. He gives us Bread from heaven (ref. Psalm Response) to nourish us on our journey. He gives us new life to grant comfort and joy. Let us thank God today for the gift of life. 

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Tami Urcia grew up in Western Michigan, a middle child in a large Catholic family. She spent early young adulthood as a missionary in Mexico, studying theology and philosophy, then worked and traveled extensively before finishing her Bachelor’s Degree in Western Kentucky. She loves tackling home improvement projects, finding fun ways to keep her four boys occupied, quiet conversation with the hubby and finding unique ways to love. She works at her parish, is a guest blogger on CatholicMom.com and BlessedIsShe.net, runs her own blog at https://togetherandalways.wordpress.com and has been doing Spanish translations on the side for almost 20 years.

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Stretch Out Your Hand

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When I prepare to write my blog posts, I usually listen to an uplifting Christian song when or before I read the readings. I put my music on shuffle play and the song Confidence by Sanctus Real came on. I wasn’t really paying attention to the song as I read, but, ironically, when I got to the lines “Stretch out your hand over the sea, that the water may flow back upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots and their charioteers,” the first refrain came on:

“Give me faith like Daniel in the lion’s den, Give me hope like Moses in the wilderness, Give me a heart like David, Lord be my defense, So I can face my giants with confidence.”

Something made me stop and relisten to it. “Give me hope like Moses in the Wilderness.”

I switched tabs and turned back to the reading: Stretch out your hand to the sea. Something struck me with that.

I have found that, in the Bible, stretching out one’s hands is associated with healing and deliverance. In Matthew 12:13 Jesus tells the man with the withered hand: “Stretch out your hand,” and it is healed. In Joshua verse 8:18 the Lord tells Joshua: “Stretch out the javelin in your hand toward Ai, for I will deliver it into your power.” Joshua does so; and they end up winning both the city and the battle. 

Stretching out one’s hand is a sign of freedom, whether from illness or oppression. Today’s First Reading from Ex 14:21—15:1 is no exception. God tells Moses: “Stretch out your hand”; he obeys, and not only do they escape the Egyptians, but every single one of the Pharaoh’s charioteers were destroyed. 

I think we underestimate what Moses had to do here. Just put yourself in his shoes. To stop and stretch out your hand, that took guts. Imagine what was running through his head. What if nothing happened, and he just stood there, looking ridiculous as everyone else fled? What if the Egyptians got through the mud and resumed pursuit? What would happen, if he lifted his hand?

It was reckless, it was radical, and it took trust.

It took faith.

It took hope. 

Moses put his trust in God, and they escaped slavery. He had the heart to hope in Jesus, to not give up, even when they were so close to capture.  He had confidence that everything would turn out more than alright because God was in control, and that was what gave him the strength to stretch out his hand. 

So whether by the prompting of your own music or not, look between the lines of the Bible. Get the whole story. Look for the faith, hope, and trust all of these people had. And I pray that you may have the same confidence as Moses, so that when the Lord asks you to, you will stretch out your hand.

Perpetua Phelps is a high school student residing in West Michigan and is the second of four children. Apart from homeschooling, Perpetua enjoys volunteering at her church, attending retreats, studying Latin and French, and reading classics such as Beowulf, The Lord of the Rings, C.S. Lewis’ Space Trilogy, and Mark Twain’s Joan of Arc. She also spends much time writing novels, essays, and poetry for fun and competition. A passionate Tolkien fan, Perpetua is a founding member of a Tolkien podcast.

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Harden Not Your Heart

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The Gospel Acclamation today is what links the readings for me. ‘If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.’ Ps 95:8

In the First Reading, Pharaoh, the Egyptians and the freed people of Israel had asked for repeated signs from the Lord. Were not the plagues, the exodus from slavery and the parting of the sea enough proof that God exists? No, their ways of looking at situations was too hard to change and their hearts were hardened against the Lord.

The Gospel has the Hebrew scribes and Pharisees part of unfaithful generations seeking signs from God. Jesus is quite direct with them saying, “…no sign will be given…except the sign of Jonah the prophet…in the belly of the whale three days and three nights, so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights.” The scribes and Pharisees were blind to the miracles of Jesus. Their hearts were hardened to the teachings and word of God spoken by Jesus.

How often do I tune out what my child, coworker, neighbor, parent, priest or spouse is trying to explain or share with me? Am I aware of what is really the root cause of a situation that is pushing my buttons? Where do I hear His voice? Where do I see His face?

I pray that my eyes are able to see God’s face in my surroundings. I pray for listening ears to hear the Lord’s voice in the sounds of this world. I pray that I recognize where my heart has hardened.  Soften those places so that my heart may be as yours, Lord, Jesus Christ. Grant me the grace to be closer to you. Amen

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Beth Price is part of the customer care team at Diocesan. She is a Secular Franciscan (OFS) and a practicing spiritual director. Beth shares smiles, prayers, laughter, a listening ear and her heart with all of creation. Reach her here bprice@diocesan.com.

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The Comfort of Letting God Lead Us

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Today’s readings provide such comfort to our hurting world! Each of them provides a beautiful description of God’s loving, generous care.

No matter what anyone has done to you to lead you astray, God will care for you and bring you back to your rightful place and dignity.

Through His providence He will lead you where you need to be, regardless of what is going on around you in the valley of the shadow of death.

No matter how far off you have gone, God can guide you back to Him and give you His peace, a peace the world cannot give.

When we seek Him, God will have pity on us and give us what we need.

Because, my brothers and sisters, when we seek God and trust in His care, He may not choose to take away our sufferings or fears, but He will guide us safely through them. He may not change our outside circumstances, but He will change our hearts, if we let Him.

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J.M. Pallas has had a lifelong love of Scriptures. When she is not busy with her vocation as a wife and mother to her “1 Samuel 1” son, or her vocation as a public health educator, you may find her at her parish women’s bible study, affectionately known as “The Bible Chicks.”

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Alive

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“Are you alive in Christ?” There was a decently loud response from the crowd, a rumbling of “Yes.” 

Fr. Agustino Torres wasn’t satisfied with that response, though, and so he asked again, even louder this time, “Are you alive in Christ?” A louder “Yes” resounded through the crowd. Still not good enough, though. 

“ARE YOU ALIVE IN CHRIST?” Finally, a thunderous “Yes” rolled through the field house along with loud screaming and applause. 

This sequence of questions and responses took place last weekend at a Steubenville Youth Conference during the Sunday morning homily. There were about 1,000 people in that field house who, yes, were certainly alive in Christ at that moment. It’s hard not to be after all that had happened over the weekend. 

Fr. Agustino cautioned us, though, as we still needed to be alive in Christ after we left the conference and every day after. 

So what does it mean to be alive in Christ? Each person’s journey, their following of Christ, is going to look a little different so every person’s answer is going to be different and that’s okay. 

Generally, I would say that being alive in Christ has a few main pieces, such as: prayer, Scripture and the sacraments. All of these graces will give us the strength to be in relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ and to truly be alive in Him. 

How does all of this relate to today’s Scripture readings? I look toward the Gospel and I am reminded of some simple truths of our faith. The person of Jesus Christ, the person that we are alive in, so many people in his day sought to put Him to death because what He was teaching was so counter-cultural. Does this fact remind you of anything? As Catholic Christians, most of what we believe and teach is counter-cultural and our culture tries to cancel us – to put our beliefs to death, in a way – for doing so. 

Even as the Pharisees were seeking to put Jesus to death, many people still chose to follow Him. Many people were alive in Christ as they followed Him! 

This is a reality that we must face if we are truly to be alive in Jesus, that people will seek to pull us down. But our strength lies in the graces that we receive and in the person who is greater than all things. Our strength, our life, lies in Jesus Christ. 

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Erin Madden is a Cleveland native and graduate of Franciscan University of Steubenville. She is passionate about the Lord Jesus, all things college sports and telling stories and she is blessed enough to get paid for all three of her passions. You can catch her on old episodes of the Clarence & Peter Podcast on YouTube as well as follow her on Twitter@erinmadden2016.

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