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In his letter to the Christian community in Colossae, St Paul makes a startling and, at first glance, troubling assertion. “Now I rejoice in [my] sufferings [endured] for your sake,” he declares, “ and I complete in my flesh what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of His Body, which is the Church” (Col 1:24). In what sense can the apostle complete, make up for, or fulfill what is lacking in Christ’s own suffering?

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