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PAROQUIA – Nssa Senhora do ROSÁRIO

Residência Nssa. Sra. de Fátima                     29 July, 2022              LII:2

Trav. Carlos Pontes, 171                      fone:          (55 088) 2145 0990

62.900-000 Russas, Ceará                   http://www.egfbenya.com  

BRASIL                                                    e-mail: [email protected]      

Dear Colleagues, Family Collaborators, Benefactors and Friends,

Time marks its presence and passage, usually in a slow, profound, pacifying manner, but at times in a brutal, threatening and destructive presence. The benevolence of time is chronicled in the quality of certain foods; cheeses and wines see their quality improving with age of maturity or vintage. Many fermented products in fact gain quality with age as the fermentation process runs its course. Impeding that course of time can, in fact, impede the envisioned quality of the product, desired and planned in and through the fermentation process.

Time can have a brutality of effect. Mariners, miners, navigators, soldiers, police, firefighters, explores and investigators can attest to the harshness of days, hours, moments and even seconds as the intensity of a crisis unfolds. Vengeance and intensity seem to mount as a crisis unfolds “…the waves turn the minutes to hours…”, as Lightfoot put it in his classic dirge on a shipwreck.

In those who are wounded, bruised and injured time can be a healer, a remedy in itself promoting and driving recovery whose possibility at one time seemed impossible.

The effects of time are present in our lives, sometimes recognized but at time not apparent. The beneficial effects are Divine, the malicious are not. Initial effect can be quite misleading. What one initially perceives as injury, over time may actually be virtuous. What at first seems as blessing may in fact be malicious. Time and the Emergence of Truth play their part; PEACE arrives.

Marking and celebrating these 48 years in Religious Life and 38 years in Holy Orders, I have had the experience of time as violence and as virtue. They are distinct although initially they may have been quite confusing. Maturity of vocation has been marked by time.

Your presence in my life, vocation, ministries, works and apostolate has been a support that is distinct to me for each of you. Different times, epochs and eras associate each of you with me, some already in Eternity, others still navigating this life with me.

I continually thank God for YOU, your families and your presence in my life and vocation. That presence is a distinct aspect of the Communion of Saints. I remain most gratefully as I remain

In the Love of Jesus Christ,

            Pe. Ed Benya, S.J.

UNISINOS – RESIDÊNCIA CONCEIÇÃO

Residência Conceição                                              3 March, 2022            LII:1

UNISINOS

Cx. P. 101

93.022-630 São Leopoldo, RS                                 e-mail: [email protected]

BRAZIL                                                                      http://www.egfbenya.com

Dear Friends Benefactors, Family, Colleagues, and Collaborators,

The commemorations are annual events. Each year we remember and celebrate solemnities, feasts and special memorials of our Faith, beliefs and commitment to Almighty God. All legitimate faiths including the Hindu, Moslem and Jewish traditions have similar sequences of celebration, a liturgical calendar. These mark something of the Spirituality of each faith.

However the annual repetition of these celebrations can lead to a habit more than a Spirituality, mere ritual more than a Sacramentality. The Spirit of God must always enliven and direct these celebrations. The spirit of the original event, be it Ashura, Ramadan, Passover, Christmas, Easter, the Ascension, and others, must be preserved. If it is lost, we run the risk of acting more as trained subordinates rather that dedicated disciples.

A collective Mysticism must always mark and enlighten our celebrations. That mysticism has a spirit of its own, specific for each celebration in each faith. It can vary from one culture to another. It can vary from one person to another. Yet, that spirit must always capture something of the original event, It can also add something to the vitality of that event, a continuous progression of meaning and understanding as persons, peoples and the entire people of God continue our navigation of this life in witness to Him and His Call.

That mysticism finds a unique sprit in the Passover-Lenten-Pascal celebration. Some 70 days of fast, abstinence, prayer in preparation each year continuing to the celebration of our Salvation, our Redemption. It happened once and for all-time during an intense period of some 24 hours that were so concentrated in their demand, suffering and power that only the Savior Himself knew it all.

That first Christian Pascal celebration was more mystery than celebration. Christianity really had no formal Lenten season. That only arose some time later as Christians began to perceive what had happened.  Questions and doubts abounded for the apostles and disciples. Fear predominated more that Joy. Only with time did understanding begin. That understanding grows with our commemoration and celebration of the event each year.

 The gift of Salvation is continually bestowed on each generation as it arrives, as its members receive inception, are conceived and are born into this world. The Faith is regenerated with each new generation. Yet, it is for us, the established generations to receive and form the new generations in the Miracle of Mystery that defines our Redemption. We do it through Sacramental celebration. Join us in this celebration of gratitude and renewal, personal and communal. I personally thank God for YOU, your families and your presence in my life and vocation. I remain gratefully

In the Love of the risen Jesus Christ,

            Pe. Ed Benya, S.J.

UNISINOS – RESIDÊNCIA CONCEIÇÃO

Residência Conceição                                      29 November, 2021               LI:3

UNISINOS

Cx. P. 101

93.022-630 São Leopoldo, RS                          e-mail: [email protected]

BRAZIL                                                              http://www.egfbenya.com

Dear Benefactors, Family, Colleagues, Friends and Collaborators,

Preservation, Self-Preservation; these are in-created mechanisms, dynamics of existence. Every species and each creature within a species is born with these mechanisms. They are essential for existence. We have an instinct for them. The natural propensity or drive for existence is an essential drive in all extant creatures. Without existence, they go extinct.

However as transcending creatures we are called to proceed beyond mere existence. We are Called to LIVE and to live life completely, to go beyond ourselves, to transcend ourselves. The openness to that Call is also in-created within us. It is always with us notwithstanding our perception or response to it.

A definite tension exists between the dynamic of Self-preservation and the Call to Transcendence. This also remains with us all our lives. It has its positive and negative aspects. Our development throughout life depends to a high degree on how we handle that tension. Every saint who has navigated creation has had to manage that tension.

No one manages it perfectly. Temptations abound: close one’s self from all that is external to us, or throw one’s self to suicide. Both are extremes. Both are degeneracies because both deny transcendence. Yet both are forces in every life.

It is the “transcendence of one’s self” to which Almighty God calls us. We must learn it one way or another, and the profane world is no help in that learning process. That is why Almighty God Himself had to become one us, a man among us; to show, teach and redeem us. He lowered Himself to our situation,  BUT immortalizing us.

We celebrate the anniversary of His arrival each year at this time in the Hanukkah-Yuletide-Christmas season; the birth of the Redeemer, Jesus Christ. I pray that you have a most:

Joyous Hanukkah-Yuletide-Christmas season and a Blessed New Year of 2022!

In the grateful Love of Jesus Christ, I remain

            Pe. Ed Benya, S.J.

PAROQUIA – Nssa. Sra. Do Rosário

Residência Nssa. Sra. de Fátima                             12 July, 2021               LI:2

Trav. Carlos Portes, 171

Cx. P. 101

62.900-000 Russas, Ceará                                        e-mail: [email protected]

BRAZIL                                                                                 http://www.egfbenya.com

Dear Benefactors, Colleagues, Family, Collaborators and Friends:

The quest for certitude is legitimate! We encounter a call to perceive, verify and know points of information and data. Reasonable certainty of works, ministries and tasks is necessary for one to develop, progress and grow in life, and vocation.

The word “REASONABLE” is the key. Reasonable certitude is necessary in research, jurisprudence, financial transactions, ethical interchange, investigation, friendship, education and the Hope for the Future epitomized in child-bearing and rearing.

ABSOLUTE certitude is another matter. In most respects it is quite impossible. We simply cannot know ALL aspects of a problem, question or challenge, nor control those aspects. We ourselves, even in cooperative ventures, have LIMITS. Yet the quest for absolute certainty is most attractive. It challenges our in-created capacity of Faith, the “leap of virtue” to the Almighty. That challenge can become a call, an attraction, then degrade to temptation and fixation. The “leap of Faith” is necessary for all of us. Without that leap Assurance substitutes for Faith. We become closed, ever more isolated, calculating in every situation.

The Agnostic is UNSURE of the difference between Assurance and Faith. The Atheist has a religion of Assurance (quite sure that there is NO GOD) but has Faith in nothing. The Miso theist acknowledges that Almighty God exists, but Hates God because of God’s TOTALITY of BEING, Power and Benevolence. Social and financial EQUALITY is the panacea that drives the miso theist but which cannot be attained. Christ said: “You will always have the poor among you…” (Mt. 14:7).

The call to “Reasonable Certitude” is virtuous. The temptation to “Absolute Certitude” is vicious. Discerning between the two can be most difficult. Yet the Guidance of Almighty God is always present. We must use that Guidance as fully as possible in the vocation, works, ministries and apostolates to which God calls us, a most testing way of proceeding. At times it seems impossible. We can feel isolated and lost, yet with perseverance and experience we learn to recognize, accept and implement that Guidance. By the Grace of the same Almighty God we become quite proficient in this way of proceeding. We recognize the Communion we have with others in the same or similar situations. Time and age have their benefits notwithstanding our various failures along the way. Some 47 years in Religious Life and 37 years in Holy Orders I am especially grateful for this Guidance.

I pray that all of you recognize the Reasonable Certitude of every situation to which God calls and that you discern well that Certitude as you persevere in Faith, Hope and Charity. Almighty God Calls! Virtue directs! His Grace Confirms. Navigating this World, we remain

In the Benevolence of Jesus Christ

            Pe. Ed Benya, S.J.

PAROQUIA – Nssa. Sra. Do Rosário

Residência Nssa. Sra. de Fátima                         17 February, 2021                 LI:1

Trav. Carlos Portes, 171

Cx. P. 101

62.900-000 Russas, Ceará                                        e-mail: [email protected]

BRAZIL                                                                              http://www.egfbenya.com

Dear Family, Colleagues, Collaborators, Benefactors and Friends,

The day arrives once each year and as with most celebrations it is a commemoration a single 24-hour period, unique in its meaning and spirit. That meaning and spirit are buried to some degree by the solemnities that immediately precede, accompany and succeed it. Yet  Holy Saturday (Sabbatum Sanctum) is DISTINCT.

It was a most somber day for the disciples of Jesus Christ especially for the Apostles. Their friend and mentor had been captured, tortured and executed. One of the elite members of the group of 12 had betrayed the Master. Their temporal leader, had denied the Master three times. Redemption had been achieved, but they knew precious little about it. They had been informed of these events in advance and at various times, but like most messages of harsh reality, the notices were ignored, forgotten or perhaps guarded in some “closed mental segment” of the human memory. These disciples were marked for a similar treatment and were hiding in fear for their lives.

One of the most intelligent among them (perhaps the most intelligent), the actual traitor was a free man, pursued by no one and wealthier than the rest of them by 30 pieces of silver. Politically and financially he was quite secure.

These disciples had questions and doubts. They had bound themselves to a Leader expelled as a pariah from His own religious roots. Their futures seemed very insecure. They may well have questioned their attraction, dedication and surrender to the teachings of their deceased Leader.

Such crisis marks EVERY disciple who has ever dared to assume the ministry of vocation (Marriage, Holy Orders, Monastic, Anchoret or Virgin). A simple, profane world beckons to each of us. Iff we ignore it, then that world threatens us. If we continue to try to follow the Master, then that world pursues us. Sacramental PEACE can mark us, but calmness of life is difficult.

Slowly approaching the half-century mark in religious life I can attest to the Spirit of Holy Saturday in my life and vocation, more than once. Yet the Virtue of Redemption remains. It dominates clarifies and expels the doubts of a profane world. It did so at the time of the first disciples and it continues to do so now. That Spirit of Holy Saturday MUST mark every legitimate vocation. It presents a Communion that is distinct and specific in itself. It is sobering and can frighten, but one must not be terrified.

Many of you have lived it perhaps without knowing it by name. Many of you constitute the Communion of Holy Saturday that I have lived, a most vibrant Communion. I thank you for your presence and invite you to join us at this season of Lenten Penance, Passover and Easter Celebration as I remain GRATEFULLY

In the love of Jesus Christ

            Pe. Ed Benya, S.J.

PAROQUIA – Nssa. Sra. Do Rosário

Residência Nssa. Sra. de Fátima                             27 November, 2020            L:3

Trav. Carlos Portes, 171

Cx. P. 101

62.900-000 Russas, Ceará                                        e-mail: [email protected]

BRAZIL                                                                                 http://www.egfbenya.com

Dear Benefactors, Family, Friends, Collaborators and Colleagues,

THE Faith has a dynamic. That dynamic is sacramental. All religions within THE Faith have a dynamic. That dynamic finds definition in perseverance, surrender and obedience to Almighty God.

Persevere, Render, Yield! These are the sacramental dynamics of Transcendence (proceeding “beyond”) in and for Almighty God. Confusion, Fear, Escape; these are the dynamics of terror in and for the demonic.

Transcendence and Terror are two distinct dynamics in distinct directions and with distinct spirits that guide them. However their presence can be mysterious especially since the demonic always strives to confuse while the transcendent always strives to clarify. Clarity is essential in navigating this life. Hear the Word of God! Believe what you hear! Declare what you believe! Practice what you declare! It is all very CLEAR. Yet confusion, fear and escape enter every situation to complicate the navigation. The demon knows that by nature we detest evil. We must be confused and disoriented in order even to be tempted to evil. Thus the demon proceeds.

Since the time of our first parents as a species; confusion and disorientation have been the tools of the demonic. He succeeded in their fall. Our lot degraded as we were changed for the worse. Yet the Creator never relinquished us to evil. He promised Redemption and a Redeemer in the “fullness of time”.

That “fullness of time” required a maturity of spirit on our part as a species. We had to be prepared at least minimally to recognize and receive The Redeemer. The Old Testament is replete in its chronicle of messengers (prophets) sent by God to inform and prepare a people (the Jewish People), a nation (Ancient Israel) for the arrival of The Redeemer. The preparation of Ancient Israel for the position of universal witness to the arrival of The Redeemer required patience on the part of Almighty God and His prophets. Israel’s acceptance of that preparation was difficult to say the least. As with many nations today, the ancient Nation of Israel did not like the position of being unique in the world. They fought, persecuted and rejected God’s prophets. Yet the “fullness of time” arrived and so did The Redeemer. He too was persecuted and rejected as He is today by the “world”.

Yet for those who accepted Him He became the Standard, a source of Strength for Life, Witness and Salvation in a unique life in and for Transcendence. We celebrate the arrival of Jesus Christ in this Yuletide season recognizing that He is still rejected by a major portion of humanity. In its rejection of Him, humanity also rejects us. In our status as “rejected” perhaps lies our greatest Witness to Christ.

Join us in Witness as we celebrate the arrival of Jesus Christ, wishing all of you of a:

Happy Hanukkah-Yuletide-Christmas season and a Blessed New Year of 2021!

            In the love of Jesus Christ

            Pe. Ed Benya, S.J.

PAROQUIA – Nssa. Sra. Do Rosário

 

Residência Nssa. Sra. de Fátima                             6 August, 2020                       L:2

Trav. Carlos Portes, 171

Cx. P. 101

62.900-000 Russas, Ceará                            e-mail: [email protected]

BRAZIL                                                                     http://www.egfbenya.com

 

Dear Friends, Benefactors, Family, Collaborators and Colleagues,

 

Definitions indicate! They specify and focus, many times serving as a starting point or passage to another realm. They may be foreign, ambiguous, esoteric and even confusing, but they mark a step. References to any legitimate position, argument or statement must find their origin in established definitions. The hard sciences (mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, etc.) depend on established and proven definitions.

 

New definitions are continuously emerging as research and progress discover new truths or further understand established ones. This dynamic of definition can lead to redefinition of an entity. The pantheon of gods that our ancestors worshipped has given way to the recognition of The One True God whom we worship; not always accepted but clearly revealed and defined as to Who and What IS.

 

Definitions would be much easier to understand and use if they did not have that dynamic specific to each one. Without dynamic, definitions would be fixed in meaning and probably fixed in number. However because creation has a dynamic, definitions must have dynamic. All legitimate research is directed to addressing the dynamic of creation, and The Creator in His mercy inspires that research. Slow and profound, all legitimate research proceeds in steps in order that humans and all transcending beings can progress in knowledge, understanding and wisdom as well as in data accumulation.

 

Explosions of data occur, but they are infrequent and well-spaced as Almighty God patiently guides creation in charity rather in mere training or fixation as would one who trains animals or programs computers. That Divine Patience extends to each of us individually, called to unique sanctity for Eternal Life. The call of each saint has its own definition and the dynamic of that definition also progresses in steps. Each of us requires a most patient charity in arriving at the sanctity to which God calls. We doubt, question, wonder and fall at times. The demon tempts us to despair. Yet the Almighty never despairs of us. Notwithstanding our weaknesses and falls, He continues to call, forgive and sustain.

 

These points and steps of definition are well represented in my life. Your own lives probably have similar steps of definition. As I mark 36 years in Holy Orders, 46 years in Religious Life and 74 years navigating this life, I can see the dynamic of the Divine Call challenging me to a definition of sanctity that is still incomplete and still quite mysterious to me. Only God will judge when and Iff it is complete. My faults are many. Yet the passages of definition in this life have been most blessed. ALL of you have been with me in one way or another in this dynamic which continues NOT AS I DESIRE but as God wills. I thank God and I thank each of you as I remain

 

Most gratefully in Jesus Christ

 

Pe. Ed Benya, S.J.

PAROQUIA – Nssa. Sra. Do Rosário

 

Residência Nssa. Sra. de Fátima                             11 March, 2020                        L:1

Trav. Carlos Portes, 171

Cx. P. 101

62.900-000 Russas, Ceará                            e-mail: b[email protected]

BRAZIL                                                                     http://www.egfbenya.com

 

Dear Friends, Colleagues, Collaborators Family and Benefactors:

 

Their presence was ubiquitous and in most cases seen as a threat to the Christians and other believers of that time. Yet the military, especially the soldier holds a unique and many times a venerated place in Christendom.

The distinction between military, constabulary and investigative was virtually non-existent in ancient times. The military was the noted presence. It was essential for an empire to exist and to function, especially the Roman Empire. Soldiers underwent more of a type of training rather than formation. Discipline was harsh. Salaries were low. Hours of service were long and food was probably poor and minimal. Self-discipline was a key point for any ethical conduct and such conduct many times was lacking. The profession was rife for degeneration, abuse and brutalization. These could be exercised with little or no constraint.

Yet it was the military and those serving in it whose presence strongly defined Pre-Christian times, those of the Redeemer and the New Testament epoch. Soldiers touched by the Call of God through the preaching of John the Baptist were told NOT to abandon their service, but to be honest, just and to be satisfied with their salaries; quite literally “to sanctify their service”. That was quite a challenge. With precious few rules to govern their proclivities, soldiers were open to abuse; receiving and dispensing it. Compassion and mercy were in short supply.

Soldiers were the ones who Pontius Pilot entrusted with the pre-crucifixion brutalization of Jesus Christ. Tortures of insult, scourging, crowning with thorns and personal injury could not degrade Christ in His nobility, but they did brutalize, both Him and the torturers.

At execution, soldiers discharged the specifics of the passage to Calvary, the crucifixion and verification of death. At the Resurrection it was soldiers; tired, half-asleep, perhaps sound asleep who were among the first to perceive that something extraordinary had happened. Later, these were bribed in an attempt to try to deny and hide the Resurrection. However, it was a centurion (an officer in the Roman Army) who declared:

“…that man we crucified, WAS the Son of God!”

This depth and breadth of reaction within that military is astounding.

 

Both in ancient and in modern times, the military hold an essential place in the Judeo-Christian Epoch. The temptation to judgment can be strong, but the Call to Virtue must dominate. I pray that The Savior’s Call dominate your lives, ministries and vocations as I wish all of you a:

“A Happy and Holy Lenten, Pascal-Easter Season!”

as I remain

 

Most gratefully in Jesus Christ

 

Pe. Ed Benya, S.J.

UNISINOS – RESIDÊNCIA CONCEIÇÃO

 

Residência Conceição                                      6 November, 2019                   XLIX:3

UNISINOS

Cx. P. 101

93.022-630 São Leopoldo, RS                          e-mail: [email protected]

BRAZIL                                                              http://www.egfbenya.com

 

Dear Family, Benefactors, Friends Colleagues, and Collaborators:

 

The occurrence is rare and recognition of their presence even more rare. At 73 years of age I have encountered it for the first time in my life. For want of a more accurate and magnificent term I call it the “Family Millennial Generation”. This is a generation within one family, all descendants of one dad and one mother whose members (ALL still in this LIFE) present COMBINED ages of 1000 years or more. One or more members may have been born into Eternity. They are remembered but their ages are NOT included within this millennial total. However, the adopted are an integral part of these families.

The generation must usually number at least 12 extant members, the oldest usually around 80 years or more and the youngest about 50 years. Intervals between birth usually range between 2 to 3 years. The mother must be a woman of extraordinary strength and the dad of “Josephine” virtue, BOTH living a Biblical charity. Centuries past this was almost impossible as few people lived much beyond 50 years of age. Today it is also rare as few men and women have the strength, call or desire to bring a dozen or more children into this world.

Older members of the generation function as brothers and sisters plus quasi-parents to the younger members. The family itself must have a saintly dynamic of unity, love, morality and identity. The inevitable physical dispersion is mitigated by the strength of family communion.

Still more rare is a sequence of such generations within one family. This reflects not only and autonomous hope but a communal hope for the future. OPTIMISM is a singular characteristic of such families notwithstanding the unicity of each member. Strong family structure in essential.

The blessings of such families to a people, a culture, a nation are subtle and profound. Printed reference, such as this, cannot come close to conveying the beauty and sacramentality of these families. Yet it can present something of their magnificence.

I address it here as we prepare for the annual celebration of the Holy Family; the Annunciation, Conception, Adoption and Birth, the dynamic steps leading to the arrival of our Savior. ONE Savior arrives, yet many accompany and are born with Him and in Him. That plurality is not and cannot be replicated in any other family, but we can receive a reminder and reinforcement of that plurality in and through these Family Millennial Generations. They help us remember an essential vocation of married men and women respectively as “dads” and as “mothers”, vocations that cannot be eliminated, replaced or surpassed by culture, science or any technology.

Celebrate “Family” this season in your own families, gathered or dispersed. Have a happy:

Hanukkah-Yuletide-Christmas season and a Blessed New Year of 2020!

 

Most gratefully in Jesus Christ

 

Pe. Ed Benya, S.J.

 

 

 

 

 

UNISINOS – RESIDÊNCIA CONCEIÇÃO

 

Residência Conceição                                      24 August, 2019                      XLIX:2

UNISINOS

Cx. P. 101

93.022-630 São Leopoldo, RS                          e-mail: [email protected]

BRAZIL                                                              http://www.egfbenya.com

 

Dear Colleagues, Collaborators, Benefactors, Friends and Family:

 

This year the semi-decadal count (5-year intervals) of six major steps marking my life reaches a further plateau. Each of those six steps in that count completes another 5-year interval. These steps may mean precious little to anyone else but they mark a crucial dynamic that helps to define me. They include graduation from high school in 1964, entry into military service (U.S. Army) in 1969 entry into Religious life (Society of Jesus) in 1974, immigration to Brazil in 1979, Ordination to the Priesthood in 1984 and Third Probation in the Society of Jesus in 1989.

 

All of these involved some degree of discernment. At least one was obligatory by civil law at the time, another being obligatory by academic progress and the other four being obligatory by Divine Call. I will let you sift through them yourselves to perceive which ones fit where.

 

Each step has positive and negative aspects. Precious little planning went into any of them, although preparation was necessary for all of them. Their composite contribution however marks a flexibility that has allowed me a mobility in terms of ministries, works, apostolates and geographic service. The last of these, Third Probation, occurred at this time (August to December) of 1989. One might argue that my Dad’s birth into Eternity in August 1994 marks a seventh step in this count.

 

I address this sequence because 4 of these 7 steps began within the months of August and September of the respective years in which they occurred. Celebration of each has its unique tone. All are essential.

 

Many of you were present in one way or another for many, most or all of these steps and you may not even have been aware of your presence, nor I, for that matter as they began. Yet that presence remains crucial, as is the subtle presence of Almighty God in all of our undertakings good or bad.

 

For the “good”, the Almighty is ALWAYS present. Yet even in the worst, He accompanies us, never quitting on us because He is the ONLY TRUE and Ultimate JUDGE of Good and Bad. I say this with humble gratitude as I celebrate the 25 years since my Dad’s birth into Eternity, 30 years since Third Probation, 35 years since Ordination, 45 years since entry in Religious Life and 50 years since entry into the military. These years have been incredibly happy. Your presence, support and communion with me have helped make them as such. In that I continue to thank God and thank all of you as I ask God’s every blessing on you, your families as I remain

 

Most gratefully in Jesus Christ

 

Pe. Ed Benya, S.J.