Laboring for Christ (Colossians 1:24-25)

24 Now I rejoice in what I am suffering for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church. 25 I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness— This passage is

The One Who Reconciles (Colossians 1:20)

20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross. Christ is responsible for the reconciliation of all things in the entire universe. As Margaret MacDonald puts it: “Creation occurs through Christ and the broken harmony of the universe has been restored

The Seventh Last Word: “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit”: (Luke:23:44-56)

44 It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, 45 for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. 46 Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last. 47 The centurion, seeing

The Last Supper, Mark 14:12-21

12 On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, when it was customary to sacrifice the Passover lamb, Jesus’ disciples asked him, “Where do you want us to go and make preparations for you to eat the Passover?” 13 So he sent two of his disciples, telling them, “Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar

Jesus before Pilate (Mark 15:6-15)

6 Now it was the custom at the festival to release a prisoner whom the people requested. 7 A man called Barabbas was in prison with the insurrectionists who had committed murder in the uprising. 8 The crowd came up and asked Pilate to do for them what he usually did. 9 “Do you want me to release to you the king

Gethsemane (Mark 14:

32 They went to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” 33 He took Peter, James and John along with him, and he began to be deeply distressed and troubled. 34 “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death,” he said to them. “Stay here and keep watch.” 35 Going a little farther, he fell

Palm Sunday, the Passion according to St Mark (Part 1, 14:1-9)

Over Holy Week, we’ll be looking at parts of the passion story as recounted by St. Mark. You can find a commentary on the first gospel, on Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem, here https://biblestudystjosephsparis.wordpress.com/2021/03/27/palm-sunday-year-b-mark-111-10/ Now the Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread were only two days away, and the chief priests and the teachers of the

Fifth Sunday of Lent, Year B, Gospel Commentary (John 12:20-33)

20 Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the festival. 21 They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, with a request. “Sir,” they said, “we would like to see Jesus.” 22 Philip went to tell Andrew; Andrew and Philip in turn told Jesus. 23 Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be

The Fourth Last Word: “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” (Mark 15:33-34)

33 At noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. 34 And at three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”). This word stands at the center, and it represents a turning point. The first three, in spite of

Who Was St. Paul?

All Christians have heard of St. Paul, the former Pharisee (born Saul of Tarsus) and persecutor of the Church who, on the road to Damascus, came face to face with the risen Christ. This event changed his life and the history of the Church, as he became the chief figure in Christianity’s outreach to the