Crisis in the church is not a new phenomenon. In fact, the church has always been 'and probably always will be 'involved in some kind of crisis. Even in the apostolic period, which is regarded by many as the church's golden age, there were serious crises coming both from the outside, as in 1 Peter, and from the inside, as in Jude and 2 Peter. The three short New Testament letters treated in "1 Peter, Jude and 2 Peter" illustrate the problems early Christians faced as well as the rhetorical techniques and theological concepts with which they combated those problems.

In the first part of this volume, Donald Senior views 1 Peter as written from Rome in Peter's name to several churches in northern Asia Minor 'present-day Turkey 'in the latter part of the first century CE. The new Christians addressed in 1 Peter found themselves aliens and exiles in the wider Greco-Roman society and suffered a kind of social ostracism. But they are given a marvelous theological Vision of who they have become through their baptism and pastoral encouragement to stand firm. They are shown how to take a missionary stance toward the outside world by giving the witness of a holy and blameless life to offset the slander and ignorance of the non-Christian majority and possibly even to lead them to glorify God on the day of judgment.

In the second part of this volume, Daniel Harrington interprets Jude and 2 Peter as confronting crises in the late first century that were perpetrated by Christian teachers who are described polemically as intruders in Jude and as false teachers in 2 Peter. In confronting the crises within their churches, the authors appeal frequently to the Old Testament and to early summaries of Christian faith. While Jude uses other Jewish traditions, 2 Peter includes most of the text of Jude as well as many distinctively Greek terms and concepts. It is clear that for the authors, despite their different social settings, what was at stake was the struggle for the faith.

"Daniel J. Harrington, SJ, is a professor of New Testament at Boston College School of Theology and Ministry in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He has written numerous works, including "What Are We Hoping For? New Testament Images, Why Do We Hope? Images in the Psalms, and Jesus Ben Sira of Jerusalem: A Biblical Guide to Living Wisely, " al published by Liturgical Press. Harrington is editor of the "Sacra Pagina" series, for which he also authored "The Gospel of Matthew" and coauthored "The Gospel of Mark."

"Donald Senior, CP, is president of Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, where he is also a member of the faculty as professor of New Testament. He is the general editor of the acclaimed "Catholic Study Bible" (Oxford University Press, rev. ed., 2006), coeditor of "The New Interpreters Study Bible "(Abingdon Press, 2003), and editor-in-chief of"The Bible Today." His publications include the four-volume "The Passion series" (Liturgical Press), "Jesus: A Gospel Portrait" (Paulist Press, rev. ed., 1994), "What Are They Saying About Matthew?" (Paulist Press, rev. ed., 1996), and a commentary on the Gospel of Matthew ("Matthew." Abingdon Press, 1998). He is past president of the Catholic Biblical Association of America. In 2001 Pope John Paul II appointed him as a member of the Pontifical Biblical Commission and he was reappointed in 2006 by Pope Benedict XVI."

In his First Letter to the Corinthians Paul cites "administrators" as one of God's gifts to the Christian community (1 Cor 12:28). But many who serve in administrative service today have difficulty seeing how their everyday work is an expression of discipleship. This book, written by an experienced administrator and noted biblical scholar, shows how the various functions of institutional administration are deeply rooted in the Scriptures and are a genuine expression of our call to discipleship. Leadership, mission statements and planning, finances and fund raising, personnel issues, communications, and public relations-all of these seemingly "secular" activities serve to build up the Body of Christ and deserve to be recognized as authentic Christian ministry. To see administrative service as a biblically rooted gift can help those involved in this way of life to find deeper and more satisfying spiritual meaning in what they do.

The psalms offer a harmony to life and a rhythm that keeps us peacefully in tune with the intense fervor of life. In The Spirituality of the Psalms, Carroll Stuhlmueller, CP, looks at the structure of the psalms to explain how they can have bearing in our lives today. He describes how we can apply the psalms to our spiritual lives and integrate the psalms in the Church's prayer life and ministry. The Spirituality of the Psalms is the last work of Stuhlmueller which was uncompleted upon his death in 1994. He had completed a first draft of all but two chapters, 12 and 13, which Timothy Lenchak, SVD, added from Stuhlmueller's commentary Psalms 1 and 2. The completed text was then edited, revised, and updated by Carol Dempsey, OP, who did so with care so as not to lose Stuhlmueller's voice" and "hand" in the text. Chapters are "Chapter One: The Psalms within the Bible and Christian Community," "Chapter Two: Methods for Studying and Praying the Psalms," "Chapter Three: Hymns of Praise," "Chapter Four: Hymns of Praise," "Chapter Five: Celebrating the Lord as King and Creator," "Chapter Six: The Royal Dynasty of David," "Chapter Seven: Community Laments," "Chapter Eight: Individual Laments," "Chapter Nine: Psalms for Sickness and Dying," "Chapter Ten: Cursing and Reconciliation," "Chapter Eleven: Psalms for Reconciliation," "Chapter Twelve: Wisdom Psalms," "Chapter Thirteen: Thanksgiving Psalms," and "Questions for Reflection." Carroll Stuhlmueller, CP, was professor of Old Testament at the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, a widely published author on biblical scholarship, and a mentor to a generation of biblical scholars. His association with The Liturgical Press included being editor of The Bible Today, the author of Amos, Hosea, Micah, Nahum, Zephaniah, Habbakkuk of The Collegeville Bible Commentary, and Psalms 1 and 2, of the Message of Biblical Theology series, and founding editor of The Collegeville Pastoral Dictionary of Biblical Theology. Carol J. Dempsey, OP, PhD, teaches Old Testament at the University of Portland. "

Which came first: a coherent Passion story or the Gospel of Mark? Contemporary biblical scholarship is divided over this issue of how, exactly, the Passion story developed. Whatever the shape of the story prior to Mark, it must have been imprinted with Christian experience as well as historical memory. Mark, in turn, felt free to retell and reinterpret that story for his own time and place. The Passion of Jesus was not only a story from the past but also, in the sufferings and hopes of the Christians of Mark's time, a living reality of the present. The readers of this insightful work will find that the Passion of Jesus as told by Mark continues to hold meaning for the present.

With this volume on John the Passion series concludes its study of the meaning of Jesus' death in each of the Gospels. But though last, it is certainly not less important or a repetition of the other Gospels. In fact, John's portrayal of the death is as distinctive and unique as the rest of this maverick" Gospel.

Father Senior explores how the rest of the Gospel prepares for the Passion story. He then gives a detailed analysis of the Passion narrative itself. Finally, he explores the theological motifs that dominate the Passion narrative. With scholarly finesse and deep pastoral awareness, he makes John's vibrant message of the Passion speak to our life and times."

The Word of the cross is a living word, crying out for reinterpretation as life takes new shape and expression. Reinterpreting the Gospel was particularly compelling for Matthew's church because his Christians lived in a time of profound transition. The Passion of Jesus, then, was not simply a story of suffering out of the past but a point of identification for the Christians of Matthew's own time.

For us twentieth-century Christians, who also know the peculiar suffering and hope of living in an age that is both dying and being born, the Passion of Jesus according to Matthew has special meaning.

The recent resurgence of scholarship on Luke's Gospel is due, in part, to this Gospel's special appeal for an age in which questions of economic justice, peace, and the prophetic role of the Churches questions al important in Luke are so urgent.

Father Senior's exegesis yields a strong sense of what Luke intended to communicate to his readers and, to some degree, what may have been the circumstances that shaped his message. He reveals the Luke who presents Jesus as a champion of the poor and marginalized, whose message of justice is proclaimed with a sharp prophetic edge.