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Philippians 1:12-14
New Catholic Bible
Philippians 1:12-14
New Catholic Bible
News and Instructions
12 To Live Is Christ.[a] Brethren, I want you to know that what has happened to me has actually helped spread the gospel, 13 for my imprisonment has become known not only throughout the praetorium[b] but to everyone else as well. 14 And the majority of the brethren having taken encouragement in the Lord from my imprisonment, dare more than ever to proclaim the word without fear.
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- Philippians 1:12 Little concerned for his own fate, the prisoner is interested only in the progress of the Good News of Christ. Certain missionaries, jealous of his success among the Gentiles, profit from his captivity to gain influence at his expense (see 1 Cor 1). Far from taking offense, Paul is able to rejoice in this: for it means that Christ is better known and loved.
Never before has he let his readers discern the profound bond that unites him to Jesus, a bond inaugurated by Baptism and sealed by the Eucharist but a bond that is lived in the whole initiative of his existence. He has already attained his spiritual maturity, and all his desire is fixed on Christ. As in the Second Letter to the Corinthians (5:6-8), he lets us glimpse his eager longing for an immediate meeting with the Savior. There is a part of him that can no longer wait for the day of the resurrection. This striking text constitutes one of the highest points of Christian mysticism. - Philippians 1:13 Praetorium: this may refer to the praetorian guard in the city of Paul’s imprisonment or to the governor’s residence in a Roman province (see Mk 15:16; Acts 23:35).
