I refer to the letter ‘Quote or misquote’ by Revel Barker (April 23).

It could be that the Holy Family returned to their own city, Nazareth (Luke 2:39) this news item was repeated in Matt 2:23, not Matt 2:14 before going to Egypt and that after travelling to and from Egypt they returned to Nazareth again. Bible writers frequently moved from one subject to the next without intending to list every action that took place during a particular time. The holy authors had no specific chronological implications to follow.

It is appropriate to state that the Bible is a book that covers about 4,000 years. Simply because Matthew and Luke or any other Bible writer does not mention everything that every other Bible writer says about the same general time or event does not mean some-one has erred. Just as we often times tell stories today and include certain details that others omit, so did the inspired writers of scripture.

With regard to the Crucifixion day, according to the Bible, it was the first day of the Unleavened Bread (Mark 14:12) and preparation day for the Passover (John 19:14), which may be the same date.

But even if the difficulty is not cleared up and the discrepancy seems to remain, the context must not be abandoned. Truth cannot contradict truth and we may be sure that some mistake has been made either in the interpretation of the words or in the polemic discussion itself and if no such mistake can be detected, we must then suspend judgement for the time being (Providentissimus Deus, Pope Leo XIII).

“As time goes on, mistaken views die and disappear but truth remaineth and groweth stronger for ever and ever” ( 3 Esdr. 4:38).

I’m sorry this letter does not carry an element of clever humour, which I relish, but as the correspondent rightly suggested, a word of encouragement.