By Catholic News Service CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy (CNS) — While there’s nothing wrong with a bit of light reading in the summer, reading a book or two of the Bible also can be a relaxing — as well as enlightening — vacation activity, Pope Benedict XVI said. “Naturally, many of the books of literature we …

PAUL’S FIRST STOP IN EUROPE:  PHILIPPI Jerome Murphy-O’Connor, OP Sometime during the summer of AD 48 Paul sailed from Troas. This would have been his first journey by sea. Like all his contemporaries he would have faced it with trepidation. This time, however, he was lucky. They made the crossing to Neapolis, the port of …

PAUL’S FIRST INDEPENDENT MISSION Jerome Murphy-O’Connor, OP After they returned to Antioch-on-the-Orontes Barnabas and Paul had a disagreement, after which they went their separate ways. It cannot have been a major issue, because several years later they worked harmoniously together. Paul recruited Silas (or Silvanus), and set off for Antioch-in-Pisidia. Clearly he intended to use …

PAUL’S APPRENTICESHIP Jerome Murphy-O’Connor, OP Paul’s intense fortnight’s reflection on the historical Jesus with Peter in Jerusalem must have filled him with fervour to tell the story of this extraordinary man. We should have expected Paul to rush into an intense missionary campaign. If so, it took place in Syria and Cilicia, but it has …

JESUS THE DEAD MESSIAH Jerome Murphy-O’Connor, OP Peter must have been deeply touched by Paul’s insatiable curiosity about Jesus. It is likely that Paul’s detailed inquiries brought to the surface of his mind incidents and impressions that he had fogotten. To this extent they delighted in a common quest. There was one important issue, however, …

With Peter in Jerusalem -

April 29th, 2011

WITH PETER IN JERUSALEM Jerome Murphy-O’Connor, OP Paul’s departure from Damascus involved both high drama and farce. Probably in the autumn of AD 37 the Roman emperor Gaius (Caligula) gave Damascus to the Nabataeans as part of his reoganization of the eastern frontier of the empire. For some reason Paul felt that this put him …

Three Years in Damascus -

April 22nd, 2011

THREE YEARS IN DAMASCUS Jerome Murphy-O’Connor, OP When Paul rushed off to Arabia immediately after his conversion, he did not know what he was getting into. He acted impulsively without doing his homework on the situation there. A few questions in Damascus would have alerted him to a serious problem. Just at this moment the …

THE CONVERSION OF SAINT PAUL Jerome Murphy-O’Connor, OP We do not know how long Paul’s persecution of Christians lasted. We can be sure, however, that in the process he must have learned something about the founder of the movement. We know from contemporary non-Christian sources something of what the Pharisees knew about Jeus. The Jewish …

PERSECUTOR OF CHRISTIANS Jerome Murphy-O’Connor, OP Paul arrived in Jerusalem about AD 15. His conversion can be dated to AD 33. Since Pharisees ventured outside Jerusalem for only brief periods, we can safely assume that Paul spent these 18 years in the Holy City. This means Paul and Jesus were in Jerusalem at the same …

A PHARISEE IN JERUSALEM Jerome Murphy-O’Connor, OP As a teenager in Tarsus Paul was pulled in two directions. On one hand there were all the attractions of a Roman provincial capital, which, moreover, lay on one of the great trade-routes of antiquity linking Syria and points east with Asia Minor and the Aegean. Paul’s secular …

THE YEARS IN TARSUS Jerome Murphy-O’Connor, OP Saint Paul just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Herod the Great died in the Spring of 4 BC. He had been king of the Jews for 33 years, and his rule had been severe and oppressive. His secret police were everywhere, and …

Decries Threats From Inside and Outside Church (From: http://www.zenit.org/article-31692?l=english ) MADRID, Spain, FEB. 8, 2011 (Zenit.org).- The relativization of the Bible, which denies the value of Word of God, constitutes a genuine crisis that is both external and internal to the Church, says Cardinal Marc Ouellet. The prefect of the Congregation for Bishops, who served as relator …

You may have heard that 2011 marks the 400th anniversary since the original publication of the King James Bible. So what? The KJV (King James Version) is not simply a Bible, it is the Bible that has influenced the English-speaking world more than any other. To read the full article: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jon-m-sweeney/the-king-james-bible-at-4_b_805452.html

A new edition of one the most popular English-language Bibles will offer substitutes for many references to better reflect modern understanding, a Catholic group said Wednesday. http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/41873135/ns/today-books/from/toolbar

The Holy Land In the introduction to his book, The Land and the Book, William Thomson wrote that the Holy Land “has had an all-pervading influence upon the costume and character of the Bible”.  Thus he traveled through the land with the following objective in mind: Let us, therefore, deal reverently with it; walk softly …

MIDNIGHT MASS SOLEMNITY OF THE NATIVITY OF THE LORD HOMILY OF HIS HOLINESS BENEDICT XVI Saint Peter’s Basilica Friday, 24 December 2010 Dear Brothers and Sisters! “You are my son, this day I have begotten you” – with this passage from Psalm 2 the Church begins the liturgy of this holy night. She knows that …

VATICAN CITY, 11 NOV 2010 (VIS) – At midday today in the Holy See Press Office, the presentation took place of the Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation “Verbum Domini” of Benedict XVI, on the Word of God in the life and mission of the Church. Today’s press conference was presented by Cardinal Marc Ouellet P.S.S., prefect of …

41 Propositions of Mideast Synod Addresses Identity of Christians, Migration, Dialogue VATICAN CITY, OCT. 24, 2010 (Zenit.org).- Here is the unofficial Vatican translation of the 41 propositions of the Special Assembly for the Middle East of the Synod of Bishops on the theme The Catholic Church in the Middle East: Communion and Witness.” Full text …

St. Ephrem of Syria, Deacon and Doctor of the Church This excerpt, from a commentary on the Diatessaron by Saint Ephrem (1, 18-19: SC 121, 52-53), is a testimony to the rich, inexhaustible treasure that is the Sacred Scriptures.  The Bible is like a spring which never runs dry, which always has the ability to …

Jesus was not about himself but about the Kingdom of God/Reign of God.  What is this Reign of God that was the meaning of the life of Jesus and for that matter the whole meaning of the Synoptics?  Some would say that this theme is the central one for the whole New Testament or Christian …

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