Joan Carroll Cruz, *Prayers and Heavenly Promises: Compiled from Approved Sources* claims: >PROMISES: According to St. Bridget of Sweden (1303-1373), the Blessed Virgin grants seven graces to the souls who honor her daily by saying seven *Hail Marys* while meditating on her tears and dolors: > > 1. “I will grant peace to their families.” > 2. “They will be enlightened about the divine Mysteries.” > 2. “I will console them in their pains and I will accompany them in their work.” > 2. “I will give them as much as they ask for as long as it does not oppose the adorable will of my divine Son or the sanctification of their souls.” > 2. “I will defend them in their spiritual battles with the infernal enemy and I will protect them at every instant of their lives.” > 2. “I will visibly help them at the moment of their death—they will see the face of their mother.” > 2. “I have obtained this grace from my divine Son, that those who propagate this devotion to my tears and dolors will be taken directly from this earthly life to eternal happiness, since all their sins will be forgiven and my Son will be their eternal consolation and joy.” Where exactly in *The Revelations of St. Birgitta of Sweden* do these promises occur? I couldn't find them there.

We read in Jn 19:33-34( KJV): > But when they came to Jesus, and saw that he was dead already, they brake not his legs: But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water. Possible physiological reasons for the flow of blood and water include the phenomenon where the physical toll of the crucifixion and scourging caused a buildup of fluid around Jesus' heart and lungs. Going back to OT, we see in Lev 5:9: > And he shall sprinkle of the blood of the sin offering upon the side of the altar; and the rest of the blood shall be wrung out at the bottom of the altar: it is a sin offering. Traditionally, the water from Jesus' pierced heart is taken as an indication that he had no blood left in the body . (A number of prayers contain the statement that Jesus shed blood to the last drop in order to atone for the sins of mankind ). In fact, John the Evangelist's narration appears to have been made with the purpose of substantiating that Jesus in deed was dead on the cross. Traditional teachings perhaps put together both the Leviticus instructions on draining of the sacrificial animal/ bird of all its blood, as well as Jn 19:34 to conclude that Jesus had shed blood to the last drop on the cross. My question is: How do Bible scholars interpret Jn 19:34 ? Inputs from experts of any denomination are welcome.

We read in Mtt 27:48 how a person standing by the cross , runs to get sour wine for Jesus to drink, after the Lord cries aloud in Aramaic. Jn 19:29 states that a jar of sour wine was there. It was to this jar that the person ( could be a soldier) was running. Now, sour wine or vinegar has the properties to quench thirst and also to kill pain. Calvary having been a place where crucifixion was regularly held, there is a possibility that a jar of sour wine was permanently kept somewhere nearby in a shaded place. The shelf- life of vinegar being good, there was no problem with its getting spoilt. Nor would someone steal it. As a matter of fact, the jar would serve as the source of last drink to the crucified convicts. (It is also clear from Mtt 27:34 where Jesus refuses the gall- mixed wine offered to him before the crucifixion ).In other words, Jesus was made to share his last drink before his death , with criminals. But one seldom comes across writings on the issue. My question therefore is : Are there any apocryphal writings of writing by scholars,on the last drink that Jesus had on the cross ?

The text of Consecration of the Holy Mass has two integral parts namely the blessing of the bread followed by the blessing of the wine. As the second part commences, the celebrant says "When the supper was ended...". It implies that there was a time-gap at the Last Supper, between the breaking of the bread and sharing of the wine, which would turn into the Body and Blood of the Saviour, as evidenced by Lk 22:20 and 1 Cor 11:25. Going to the physical passion of Christ, we see him shedding blood by way of sweat in Gethsemane followed by the breaking of his flesh at the flogging. Separation of one's blood from flesh signifies death. There must have been a reason why the Lord separately broke the bread and blessed the wine with a time-gap between the two. Perhaps he wanted to allow sufficient time for the apostles to fully understand the mystery of trans-substantiation, and also to watch their response. My question is: **Is the time-gap between the breaking of the bread and the blessing of the wine, as mentioned during Consecration, of significance to the Christian faith? Does the Catholic Church offer any teachings on the subject?**

We see in Luke 23:22 how Pilate states that he did not find it justifiable to award death sentence to Jesus and would therefore let him off after giving a punishment. Though Luke does not state what punishment was in the mind of Pilate, Jn 19:1 specifies that Jesus was flogged.John goes on to state that Pilate tried to release Jesus, but later gave in to the pressure made by the Jewish leaders who had started blackmailing him by taking Caesar's name. Now, we see Jesus dying earlier than was anticipated, presumably on account of the severe scourging . It is doubtful if crucifixion as a punishment was generally preceded by scourging. The fact that some convicts stayed on the cross for days on end before succumbing to loss of blood and breath, proves otherwise. Reading things together , one can assume that flogging was an additional punishment , that could have been avoided in Jesus' case, given that the Jewish leaders had been demanding crucifixion for him. My question therefore is: Was Jesus sentenced twice by Pilate ? Inputs from scholars of any denomination are welcome.