Carolyn Osiek

The references to social differences in the Shepherd, especially in the Second Similitude and Tenth Mandate, suggest a social context in which traditional biblical values of attention to the poor are in tension with the behavior of members of the church community to which the author belongs. Rather than the usual judgment of the Shepherd as a treatise on early penitential discipline, it is in fact a window into the social relationships and challenges of an early second-century Christian community.

The references to social differences in the Shepherd, especially in the Second Similitude and Tenth Mandate, suggest a social context in which traditional biblical values of attention to the poor are in tension with the behavior of members of the church community to which the author belongs. Rather than the usual judgment of the Shepherd as a treatise on early penitential discipline, it is in fact a window into the social relationships and challenges of an early second-century Christian community.

From its original composition and wide distribution in the early second century, the Shepherd of Hermas has both puzzled and intrigued readers with its strange images, surprising language, and challenging rhetoric. Today, both critical and confessional scholars struggle with placing its message in its original historical-theological context while lay readers find the work to be riddled with countless puzzles. To help dispel some of the mystery and misunderstandings concerning the Shepherd of Hermas, this volume offers a new lucid translation that recreates the original colloquial tone of the work. Accompanying the translation is a commentary that unpacks the meanings of the ancient text. Alongside these, a number of introductions focus on matters of date, authorship, genre, theological and practical content, and the writing's relationship to other ancient literature.

Biographer and historian of the American frontier, Louise Callan, RSCJ, in 1935: "And through the whole of this, like a golden thread binding it into unity, runs the character of our greatest Indian missionary nun, Mother Lucile Mathevon - a novice of Mother Duchesne, foundress of the house of St. Charles (1828), and for about 35 years the very heart and soul of the Indian Mission. She is just glorious - a Dauphinoise, but so different from Mother Duchesne - yet a SAINT. You see where my heart lies. I should thrill to write it all myself.... You can imagine how little of all this I could include in one chapter of my dissertation, not 50 typed pages."-Louise Callan, RSCJ, author of The Society of the Sacred Heart in North America (1937) and Philippine Duchesne, Frontier Missionary of the Sacred Heart (1957)

The stories in the Bible continue to be told and retold, learned and loved by every generation and every age level. Here are some of the most popular and some that seldom get much attention, all told from a different perspective, for young readers to get to know these wonderful people of the Bible and learn how to tell their own stories about them.

The stories in the Bible continue to be told and retold, learned and loved by every generation and every age level. Here are some of the most popular and some that seldom get much attention, all told from a different perspective, for young readers to get to know these wonderful people of the Bible and learn how to tell their own stories about them.

This focused look at women in the household context discusses the importance of issues of space and visibility in shaping the lives of early Christian women. Several aspects of women's everyday existence are investigated, including the lives of wives, widows, women with children, female slaves, women as patrons, household leaders, and teachers. In addition, several key themes emerge: hospitality, dining practices, and the extent of female segregation.

Comprehensive and careful, this is the first and only full-length commentary on "The Shepherd" in English. The revelations are glimpses of the religious imagination, social world, and moral ideals among early second-century Roman Christians.