Ma. Anicia B. Co, R.V.M. (“Luke’s Good News to the Poor: Ambiguities and Challenges”) explains the significance of the programmatic passage found at the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry in Luke’s gospel: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor ….” (Lk. 4:18–19; cf. Isa. 61:1–2; 58:6). Co investigates first the meaning of the verb [to bring good news] and then the identity of the [poor]. What did Jesus do to bring good news? Co studies all the various occurrences of [the verb] in Luke-Acts. “Bringing good news” is a fitting prelude to all of Jesus’ subsequent activities: e.g., proclaiming the Kingdom of God, healing the sick, raising the dead, reconciling sinners to God, etc. The “good news” is Jesus himself and the authority manifest in his person. Who are the “poor” that are the recipients of good news? They are not just the needy and the afflicted, but also the sinners whom Jesus cared for and reconciled with God. Moreover, there are also those who have made themselves poor in order to follow Jesus. “What Jesus started in his ministry,” Co notes, “is an alternative lifestyle of radical prophetic poverty. It is an alternative lifestyle that manifests radical trust in God, serves as a protest against rich living, and expresses solidarity with the least.” This is the kind of poverty that challenges all of us who aspire to be disciples of Jesus. – from the Editor’s Preface