"I may as well sin or do something less perfect, as I can't be a saint, anyway." Have you heard this before from a fellow Catholic? A person who was tempted to do something less than perfect in her life said this thought came into her mind when contemplating the deed. It was not actually a sin she was going to commit, but she was going to enact something less than perfect. She was thinking of compromising herself in a situation which would have caused her to do something imperfect.
She decided against the action. It would not have been "wrong", as she noted, but she took the higher moral ground and did not follow this thought.
Temptations to imperfections happen daily. The evil one wants us to believe that we cannot be saints and leads us to ideas, then actions, which are, indeed, less than perfect.
Examples?
Not going to local Adoration just because it takes time...
Buying something unnecessary for the house when one has all one needs...
Buying an expensive car, when one could get a less expensive one...
Saying no to a date, when you know that you would not marry that person...in other words, not using someone for a temporary relationship....
Choosing the best of anything, best shoes, best clothes-brands just because one can...
Having expensive parties for someone else instead of something modest...I know a woman who wasted thousands of dollars on a birthday party for her husband who was upset at the cost....
And so on..
Sometimes imperfections can reveal a sin, and one's predominant fault. Looking at patterns in one's life help one to see those predominant faults. Temptations to imperfections can be avoided by choosing a simplicity of lifestyle.
Just some thoughts from a comment....today.
Saturday, 28 February 2015
Meditation from A Reader-Synchronicity
I love synchronicity...a reader sent me this a few minutes ago, and it is from Joshua's experience in the desert.
Deuteronomy 26:16 This day the LORD, your God, is commanding you to observe these statutes and ordinances. Be careful, then, to observe them with your whole heart and with your whole being.
Deuteronomy 26:19 and he will set you high in praise and renown and glory above all nations he has made, and you will be a people holy to the LORD, your God, as he promised.
2 Corinthians 6:2b
Behold, now is a very acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.
Matthew 5:44-46 But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly Father, for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have?
Father,
You command us to follow Your laws,
What greater law is there then to love?
Love completely without reserve.
In our weakness we do not know the true meaning of love without You.
What is the Love taught by Your perfect Son?
Love, a burning desire from the depth of ones soul to submit completely to You, the triune God.
We can not truly love one another, including our enemies, until our soul, like the saints, is perfected like bright white diamond reflecting Your holy will. Perfected through the burning fire of Your infinite love for us.
Circumcision of The Heart
Those who grew up in slavery, except for Caleb and Joshua, did not enter the Promised Land.
To go from slavery of sin to purity of heart takes a long time, and a will to persevere. Most of the Hebrews on the way through Sinai kept falling back into sin, and the greatest sin, not trusting in Divine Providence. Even Moses sinned this sin by striking the rock three times instead of one.
When Moses renewed the covenant with the Hebrews in Sinai, he asked them to dedicate the first-born of their animals, as well as the first-born son, to God. The sign of this covenant was, and still is for the Jews, circumcision.
Circumcision supplanted first-child killing in the sacrifices to Moloch, to which I have referred on this blog before. Circumcision, the sign of the covenant, took the place of the common pagan custom of throwing one's first-born son into the fires of the demons of Canaan.
The pain of circumcision leaves after a relatively short time. But, the sign remains for the entire life of the male. God, through Moses, demanded a little suffering in dedication, and the people understood the difference. They were not to do human sacrifice.
Purity of heart begins with obedience and the will to follow God through the desert. This is from Lauds.
Isaiah 1:16-18
16 Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean;
remove the evil of your doings
from before my eyes;
cease to do evil,
17 learn to do good;
seek justice,
rescue the oppressed,
defend the orphan,
plead for the widow.
remove the evil of your doings
from before my eyes;
cease to do evil,
17 learn to do good;
seek justice,
rescue the oppressed,
defend the orphan,
plead for the widow.
18 Come now, let us argue it out,
says the Lord:
though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be like snow;
though they are red like crimson,
they shall become like wool.
says the Lord:
though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be like snow;
though they are red like crimson,
they shall become like wool.
May our Lenten walk be both a cry for purity and the willingness to go into the dry land searching for God alone. Here is today's Gospel.
Matthew 5:43-48
43 ‘You have heard that it was said, “You shall love your neighbour and hate your enemy.” 44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax-collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet only your brothers and sisters,[a] what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? 48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Some people do not want to embrace suffering. They do not want to face any suffering, either their own or another's. It is too hard to step out of one's comfort zone and be involved with other people. But, the People of God crossing Sinai were not alone, and carried each other along the way, from slavery to freedom.
To accept suffering is to allow one's self to enter into the Sinai experience.of another person. This experience does not bring poetry into one's life, but hard work. Cooperating with grace may be more difficult for some of us than others.
I belong, as my readers know, to the Society of the Most Sorrowful Mother, a third-order dedicated to praying for those who are in the worst type of slavery-demonic oppression, obsession and possession.
For those in these straits, life may seem like a desert experience, with rocks, heat, sand, long endless journeys which seem to lead to nowhere. They suffer daily and need prayers daily. One must be willing to enter into the desert with them and pray. This is what Our Lady did at the foot of the Cross. She entered into the suffering of her Son, and into our suffering. But, we all have freedom because of the suffering of Christ and Mary, our Co-Redemptorix. She took on herself suffering for the sake of her people, the Jews, and for the sake of all of us. Her walk to Calvary mirrors the walk to the Promised Land.
Remember it took the Israelites forty years to get to Mount Sinai, which normally would have taken forty days max for that many people to get to Sinai, and another 116 days to get to Gaza or so. One can see how the Wandering for forty years was God's Will and not the terrain. The total walking time could have been as short, without God's intervention of punishment and purification, of 156 days or so. Given the lack of modern roads, one could add another 20 days or so, and state that within 176 days of leaving Egypt, going to Sinai, and then to Gaza, the People of God could have been in the Promised Land in half a year. This suffering of these people was a really, long time. All died except for the chosen few who were pure of heart. God punished their sins with death, and with not being allowed to go into the new land prepared for them. Such is purgatory for us unless we circumcise our hearts.
From Joshua, Chapter One:
1 After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord spoke to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ assistant, saying, 2 ‘My servant Moses is dead. Now proceed to cross the Jordan, you and all this people, into the land that I am giving to them, to the Israelites. 3 Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you, as I promised to Moses. 4 From the wilderness and the Lebanon as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, to the Great Sea in the west shall be your territory. 5 No one shall be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will not fail you or forsake you. 6 Be strong and courageous; for you shall put this people in possession of the land that I swore to their ancestors to give them. 7 Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to act in accordance with all the law that my servant Moses commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, so that you may be successful wherever you go. 8 This book of the law shall not depart out of your mouth; you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to act in accordance with all that is written in it. For then you shall make your way prosperous, and then you shall be successful. 9 I hereby command you: Be strong and courageous; do not be frightened or dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.’
10 Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people, 11 ‘Pass through the camp, and command the people: “Prepare your provisions; for in three days you are to cross over the Jordan, to go in to take possession of the land that the Lord your God gives you to possess.”’
12 To the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh Joshua said,13 ‘Remember the word that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, saying, “The Lord your God is providing you a place of rest, and will give you this land.” 14 Your wives, your little ones, and your livestock shall remain in the land that Moses gave you beyond the Jordan. But all the warriors among you shall cross over armed before your kindred and shall help them, 15 until theLord gives rest to your kindred as well as to you, and they too take possession of the land that the Lord your God is giving them. Then you shall return to your own land and take possession of it, the land that Moses the servant of the Lord gave you beyond the Jordan to the east.’
16 They answered Joshua: ‘All that you have commanded us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go. 17 Just as we obeyed Moses in all things, so we will obey you. Only may the Lord your God be with you, as he was with Moses! 18 Whoever rebels against your orders and disobeys your words, whatever you command, shall be put to death. Only be strong and courageous.’
Deuteronomy 30:6
6 Moreover, the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, so that you will love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, in order that you may live.
Pope Emeritus on Perfection
Purity of heart is what enables us to see.
― Pope Emeritus: Jesus of Nazareth: From the Baptism in the Jordan to the Transfiguration
and a few years ago, I did a review of Sacramentum Caritatis.
Take a look at the document for your Lenten reading.
From the pastoral constitution on the Church in the modern world of the Second Vatican Council
Second Reading from today's Office of Readings |
|---|
| Man's deeper questionings |
|---|
The world of today reveals itself as at once powerful and weak, capable of achieving the best or the worst. There lies open before it the way to freedom or slavery, progress or regression, brotherhood or hatred. In addition, man is becoming aware that it is for himself to give the right direction to forces that he himself has awakened, forces that can be his master or his servant. He therefore puts questions to himself.
The tensions disturbing the world of today are in fact related to a more fundamental tension rooted in the human heart. In man himself many elements are in conflict with each other. On one side, he has experience of his many limitations as a creature. On the other, he knows that there is no limit to his aspirations, and that he is called to a higher kind of life.
Many things compete for his attention, but he is always compelled to make a choice among them. and to renounce some. What is more, in his weakness and sinfulness he often does what he does not want to do, and fails to do what he would like to do. In consequence, he suffers from a conflict within himself, and this in turn gives rise to so many great tensions in society.
Very many people, infected as they are with a materialistic way of life, cannot see this dramatic state of affairs in all its clarity, or at least are prevented from giving thought to it because of the unhappiness that they themselves experience.
Many think that they can find peace in the different philosophies that are proposed.
Some look for complete and genuine liberation for man from man’s efforts alone. They are convinced that the coming kingdom of man on earth will satisfy all the desires of his heart.
There are those who despair of finding any meaning in life: they commend the boldness of those who deny all significance to human existence in itself, and seek to impose a total meaning on it only from within themselves.
But in the face of the way the world is developing today, there is an ever increasing number of people who are asking the most fundamental questions or are seeing them with a keener awareness: What is man? What is the meaning of pain, of evil, of death, which still persist in spite of such great progress? What is the use of those successes, achieved at such a cost? What can man contribute to society, what can he expect from society? What will come after this life on earth?
The Church believes that Christ died and rose for all, and can give man light and strength through his Spirit to fulfil his highest calling; his is the only name under heaven in which men can be saved.
So too the Church believes that the centre and goal of all human history is found in her Lord and Master.
The Church also affirms that underlying all changes there are many things that do not change; they have their ultimate foundation in Christ, who is the same yesterday, today and for ever.
Gramsci Again
I have not written a Gramsci post in ages. Look at all the ones at the side.
But, I call this era, the Era of Gramsci, as all the things he saw as competing with the power of the Catholic Church have come about. His own list of counter-Catholic activities, to create the millennium on earth were divorce, contraception, abortion, homosexuality, indifferentism and relativism.
The man was a genius. Thank God he converted at the end of his life, absolutely confirmed by a nun and a priest.
The Era of Gramsci is simply the final destruction of the earthly power of the Church over nation-states, supplanted by complete anarchy, which will then, somehow, bring in the glorious age of the working class.
Too bad the groups behind the scenes of Eurocommunism have beat Gramsci to the finish line.
That he believed in one world government is true, but his vision of the worker's paradise will not come to pass because the elites have decided on the elite class of the rich and are making the working class into slaves.
Gramsci would not have liked this. If you have time, read the many posts on his works....his ideas have all come to pass. I think I shall have some Masses said for him. I should have done this a long time ago.
But, I call this era, the Era of Gramsci, as all the things he saw as competing with the power of the Catholic Church have come about. His own list of counter-Catholic activities, to create the millennium on earth were divorce, contraception, abortion, homosexuality, indifferentism and relativism.
The man was a genius. Thank God he converted at the end of his life, absolutely confirmed by a nun and a priest.
The Era of Gramsci is simply the final destruction of the earthly power of the Church over nation-states, supplanted by complete anarchy, which will then, somehow, bring in the glorious age of the working class.
Too bad the groups behind the scenes of Eurocommunism have beat Gramsci to the finish line.
That he believed in one world government is true, but his vision of the worker's paradise will not come to pass because the elites have decided on the elite class of the rich and are making the working class into slaves.
Gramsci would not have liked this. If you have time, read the many posts on his works....his ideas have all come to pass. I think I shall have some Masses said for him. I should have done this a long time ago.
Sorry, forgot to share this
All Anonymous are automatically going into the spam folder now. If you have blogged with a name and anonymous, you will have to change to a name.
I no longer see Anonymous.
STM
I no longer see Anonymous.
STM
Friday, 27 February 2015
Pray for Leonard Nimoy
http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2015/02/27/leonard-nimoy-spock-star-trek-dead-at-83/
I liked him as the prophet Samuel in David.
Spock quote of the day...
“It is curious how often you humans manage to obtain that which you do not want,”
I liked him as the prophet Samuel in David.
Spock quote of the day...
“It is curious how often you humans manage to obtain that which you do not want,”
A Timely Reading
In one of today's readings from the Office of Readings, St. Aelred reminds us of Christ's forgiveness of His enemies. One section from the reading contains this thought, which is pertinent to us today.
Yet he put into it something more. It was not enough to pray for them: he wanted also to make excuses for them. Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing. They are great sinners, yes, but they have little judgement; therefore,Father, forgive them.
We are to move beyond sin. Sin destroys discernment and the ability to hear God. What Aelred is saying emphasizes the need for purification. Christ made excuses for sinners, and we are all sinners. But, we are not to remain in sin and ignorance.
The Kingdom of God needs saints, who sin as least as they are able through grace, and who have knowledge, having moved out of ignorance into illumination.
Too many Catholics make excuses for ignorance. Sin cannot be an excuse, although Christ gave us that excuse. His Passion and Death removed us from the land of sin and death to the land of life and holiness, if we cooperate with grace.
This Lent, re-read my long series on perfection.
Yet he put into it something more. It was not enough to pray for them: he wanted also to make excuses for them. Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing. They are great sinners, yes, but they have little judgement; therefore,Father, forgive them.
We are to move beyond sin. Sin destroys discernment and the ability to hear God. What Aelred is saying emphasizes the need for purification. Christ made excuses for sinners, and we are all sinners. But, we are not to remain in sin and ignorance.
The Kingdom of God needs saints, who sin as least as they are able through grace, and who have knowledge, having moved out of ignorance into illumination.
Too many Catholics make excuses for ignorance. Sin cannot be an excuse, although Christ gave us that excuse. His Passion and Death removed us from the land of sin and death to the land of life and holiness, if we cooperate with grace.
This Lent, re-read my long series on perfection.
22 Jan 2013
Aelred of Rievaulx. Posted by Supertradmum. When in the monastery, I read much, again, of Aelred, especially on friendship. In his Spiritual Friendship, he reminds us of two things. One, that one must surround one's self with really holy companions in order not to fall away. And, two, that Christian community must be based on friendship. Aelred was ... Dedicated to St. Etheldreda: Abbess of Ely. Dedicated to St. Etheldreda: Abbess of Ely a blog since early 2007 ...
Sleeping As The Wolf Steals The Sheep
 |
| http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/77/Wolf_sneak.jpg |
Same with me on this blog. Many of the original readers are still with me, but many have gone on to other sites or have stopped reading blogs.
Some have just stopped commenting, which is fine.
But, I have a hunch that some readers fade away because they fall back to sleep instead of keeping watch for the wolves among the sheep. It is hard to stay awake, to pray many hours of the day, to go the daily Mass and weekly Confession. It is hard to study the faith and keep up with daily work and chores.
I know, I lived the harried life of the single mum, working and homeschooling. God did it, not me.
It is extremely important that the faithful who keep up with the blogs at least read some of the articles posted by Father Z or Southern Orders, or other good blogs. Why? We are entering into a new unleashing of evil and many Catholics will get battle fatigue and fall away. Some will fall away from the Church by choosing an alternative, perhaps a local Catholic parish which will leave over ssm, or some other issue, like not giving Communion to those in irregular marriages, and so on
I had a long talk last night with a friend of mine and we came to the conclusion that despite many months, if not years of talking about community and podding, "it just ain't gonna happen."
The time has passed. This male friend, a wise and holy person, can see that most Catholics just do not get it--that we will be scattered and impoverished, according to the Will of God in the times to come upon us soon.
I am sorry that so many good and traditional Catholics did not heed the call to building community. I understand how easy it is to fall back into the stress and busyness of everydayness.
God bless all my readers. Do not give up the daily fight for holiness, and pray for strength, for perseverance. And, contrary to some writings on line recently, now is the time for the new evangelization. Our days for freedom are numbered.
Someone looking for a job
C.V. Name and contact given if you are sincerely interested
- Director, Iowa Space Science Center (at start-up phase)
- Auditory electrophysiologist, 15 years, University of Iowa
- Psychophysics and electrophysiology research, 3 years, University of Michigan
- Principle Investigator, NIH funded research (5 years, 4.25 FTE's)
- Co-investigator on NIH grants (11 years)
- Adjunct Professor, University of Iowa (11 years), teaching and Ph.D. committees
- Ad hoc grant reviewer (NIH, NSF, & private foundations)
- Automated test-systems engineer, Motorola Inc
- Skills:
- Auditory physiology of single nerve fibers
- Complex data reduction of single-fiber (spike) data
- Expertise in electrical stimulation of neural tissue
- Expertise in recording neural spikes & electric artifact elimination
- Author of >40 peer reviewed scientific papers.
- Grant proposal and scientific paper reviewer
- Software programming (Basic, Fortran, Matlab)
Director
Rediscover Science / Iowa Space Science Center
Facilitator and developer of a new model for public informal science education for children, adults, and gifted children. Current focus is on doing outreach events with our traveling planetarium and also providing information / talks on science literacy and the "STEM challenge"
Principle Investigator
University of Iowa
Headed 5-person group in research in neurophysiology of auditory nerve
- Grant information:
- Title: "Auditory nerve responses to electric pulse trains"
- Role: Principal Investigator
- Source: NIH, NIDCD
- Grant number: R01DC006478
- Funded amount: $2.2 million
- Grant period: 5 years
- FTE's supported: 4.15
- Work description / Skills:
Auditory physiologist specialing in gross evoked potentials and single-auditory-nerve-fiber recordings from mammalian animal models for applied research related to clinical auditory prostheses (aka "cochlear implants").
Expertise included (1) systems physiology, (2) animal surgery, (3) complex data reduction, (4) software programming, (5) NIH grant writing, (6) scholarly publications (over 40).
- Grant information:
- Title: "Auditory nerve responses to electric pulse trains"
- Role: Principal Investigator
- Source: NIH, NIDCD
- Grant number: R01DC006478
- Funded amount: $2.2 million
- Grant period: 5 years
- FTE's supported: 4.15
- Work description / Skills:
Auditory physiologist specialing in gross evoked potentials and single-auditory-nerve-fiber recordings from mammalian animal models for applied research related to clinical auditory prostheses (aka "cochlear implants").
Expertise included (1) systems physiology, (2) animal surgery, (3) complex data reduction, (4) software programming, (5) NIH grant writing, (6) scholarly publications (over 40).
Adjunct Associate Professor
University of Iowa
- Taught graduate-level course in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders
- Served as faculty committee member on several doctoral-student committees
- Supervised doctoral candidates in their laboratory research within the Auditory Physiology Research Laboratory, Department of Otolaryngology, University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics
- Served as faculty committee member on several doctoral-student committees
- Supervised doctoral candidates in their laboratory research within the Auditory Physiology Research Laboratory, Department of Otolaryngology, University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics
co-investigator / advisor
University of Iowa
Advisor / Supervisor for a colleague's funded research activity
- Investigator: Ning Hu, M.D., Ph.D.
- Funding organization: National Organization for Hearing Research
- Funded amount: $20,000
- Title: "Correlating Clinical Measures of Cochlear-Implant Channel Interaction to Auditory-Nerve Activation"
- Investigator: Ning Hu, M.D., Ph.D.
- Funding organization: National Organization for Hearing Research
- Funded amount: $20,000
- Title: "Correlating Clinical Measures of Cochlear-Implant Channel Interaction to Auditory-Nerve Activation"
Member of local media-reform group (Iowans for Better Local Television)
IBLTV
- Built and maintained website and web-based petition for civic group
interested in improving accountability of local media (www.ibltv.org) after a local television station / network smeared local citizen
- Helped with effort to create a Petition to Deny Relicensure that was submitted to the FCC
- Conducted quantitative research regarding televised program content and across-station comparisons
interested in improving accountability of local media (www.ibltv.org) after a local television station / network smeared local citizen
- Helped with effort to create a Petition to Deny Relicensure that was submitted to the FCC
- Conducted quantitative research regarding televised program content and across-station comparisons
Co-investigator
University of Iowa
Neural Prosthesis Program Contract N01-DC-2-1005 (funded through July 1, 2002 to June 30, 2006)
"The Effects of Remaining Hair Cells on Cochlear Implant Function"
Paul J. Abbas, Principle Investigator
Charles A. Miller, Co investigator
Neural Prosthesis Program RFP NIH DC 98 11 (funded from 1 July 99 to 30 June 02)
"The Effects of Remaining Hair Cells on Cochlear Implant Function"
Paul J. Abbas, Principle Investigator
Charles A. Miller, Co investigator
Jay T. Rubinstein, Co-investigator
Neural Prosthesis Program RFP NIH DC 98 141 (renewal funded from 1 Oct 99 to 31 Sep 02)
"The Neurophysiological Effects of Simulated Auditory Prosthesis Stimulation"
Paul J. Abbas, Principle Investigator
Jay T. Rubinstein, Co-investigator
Charles A. Miller, Co-investigator
NIH R29 DC02822 “Development of a cochlear neuron electrophysiology model”
Lianne A. Cartee, Ph.D, Principle Investigator
Chris van den Honert, Co-investigator
Charles C. Finley, Co-investigator
Charles A. Miller, Co-investigator (subcontract)
"The Effects of Remaining Hair Cells on Cochlear Implant Function"
Paul J. Abbas, Principle Investigator
Charles A. Miller, Co investigator
Neural Prosthesis Program RFP NIH DC 98 11 (funded from 1 July 99 to 30 June 02)
"The Effects of Remaining Hair Cells on Cochlear Implant Function"
Paul J. Abbas, Principle Investigator
Charles A. Miller, Co investigator
Jay T. Rubinstein, Co-investigator
Neural Prosthesis Program RFP NIH DC 98 141 (renewal funded from 1 Oct 99 to 31 Sep 02)
"The Neurophysiological Effects of Simulated Auditory Prosthesis Stimulation"
Paul J. Abbas, Principle Investigator
Jay T. Rubinstein, Co-investigator
Charles A. Miller, Co-investigator
NIH R29 DC02822 “Development of a cochlear neuron electrophysiology model”
Lianne A. Cartee, Ph.D, Principle Investigator
Chris van den Honert, Co-investigator
Charles C. Finley, Co-investigator
Charles A. Miller, Co-investigator (subcontract)
Teaching / Research Fellowship
University of Iowa
Departments of Speech Pathology & Audiology and
Otolaryngology * Head & Neck Surgery
University of Iowa Cochlear Implant Program Project
Otolaryngology * Head & Neck Surgery
University of Iowa Cochlear Implant Program Project
Test Systems Engineer
Motorola
Created automated test software and interface electronics for post-manufacture testing of communication equipment as part of in-factory quality assurance.
Publications
40+ peer-reviewed scientific publications on auditory physiology and psychophysics
Hearing Research, Ear and Hearing, JARO
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