The author of the Letter of James was most likely the James mentioned by St. Matthew as “the brother of the Lord” (Mt. 13:55). We would call him a cousin. He was the head of the Christian community in Jerusalem and took a prominent part in the Council of Jerusalem. St; Paul, shortly after his conversion, visited James in Jerusalem. The Jews put James to death in the year 62 A.D.

    This epistle is more a sermon than a letter. The author has rethought the Old Testament in the light of his Master’s teaching. As a result, he is able to re-present these teachings in an original way. His themes are similar to those of the Sermon on the Mount.

  St. James instructs the people on how to behave in time of trial, on the origin of temptation, on how to control the tongue, on good relations and sympathy with one’s neighbors, on the power of prayer. What he says about the anointing of the sick (5:14 ff.) has been used as the main scriptural source of the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick.

  There are two main themes in the Letter of James:

The author praises the poor and threatens the rich, showing a concern for the lowly. God’s favored ones.
He urges Christians to do good and not to be content with a faith that produces nothing.

The Protestant Reformers rejected this Letter of James because of their teaching about salvation by faith alone.

  St. James explicitly says that he is writing to “the twelve tribes that are in the Dispersion” by which we know the letter is intended for Christians of Jewish background. Scholars have not been able to determine what particular community, if any, he had in mind.

  The First Letter of St. Peter was accepted from the very beginning by the Fathers of the Church as written by the Apostle Peter. At the same time, it is understood that Peter used a secretary, for he states that he wrote by “Silvanus” (5:12). Thus the thought is Peter’s but the language is that of Silvanus.

    The letter was written for Christian communities in Asia Minor as we are told in the first verse. The purpose was to help the communities to be strong in faith in a time of trial. Christ is the model. Christians must suffer like Him when their trials are due to their faith and to the good lives they are leading. In return for evil they are to offer charity, obedience to civil authority, gentleness to all.

  Written after the Letter of St. James, I Peter is a very practical letter and a valuable summary of apostolic theology.

  The authenticity of the Second Letter of Peter has been questioned more than any other book of the New Testament. That St. Peter is the author is doubtful for it is quite likely that it was written after his death. However, the Church has accepted it as canonical and as an authoritative document from the apostolic age.

  It was common enough in those ancient times for a particular writing to be attributed to a person other than the actual author. This was a literary device that helped to create an air of authority. In the present case, the author would feel justified if he was actually presenting the thought of St. Peter to whom he ascribed the work.

  The epistle reveals a fairly well developed doctrine about Christ and His teaching: the vocation of all Christians is to share in the divine nature; Christ is the Savior who has given us all that we need to share in the divine promises and in the divine nature itself; the second coming of Jesus Christ is a certainty although no one can know when He will come. II Peter is also a defence of the Scriptures as inspired by the Holy spirit, containing God’s own word by which o one can be deceived.

   The Letter of Jude was not written by the Apostle Jude, but by the brother of James, the Bishop of Jerusalem and the author of the epistle that bears his name. St. Mark refers in his Gospel to James and Jude as related to Jesus (Mk. 6:3).

  The epistle, too, is not without controversy about its authorship. The Church has accepted it as inspired by the Holy Spirit. The Letter of Jude is thought to have been written between 70 and 80 A.D. as it appears that the author of the Second Letter of Peter relied on it and developed its thought in his own.

  Like the Epistle of St. James, the Letter of Jude warns the Jewish Christians against new threats to their faith. It denounces false teachers and presents a number of admonitions.