Bonnie B. Thurston - Böcker

2009 Catholic Press Association Award Winner!To read the Gospel of Mark is to embark on a journey that begins in a desert and ends with a boulder rolled away from the tomb. In between, Jesus teaches his disciples, calls them to journey and learn what it means to follow him, and guides them to Jerusalem, the scene of the Passion.In The Spiritual Landscape of Mark, Bonnie Thurston has adapted a retreat that she gave to the Society of the Sacred Cross at Tymawr Convent in Wales, thereby inviting all of us to embark on this spiritual journey. Mark's gospel is full of places' desert, house, sea, valley, mountain, city, cross, garden and the winding roads between them. Thurston's prose invites us to go away to a quiet place and reflect awhile on what it means to be Jesus's disciple, to follow him across the hard landscape. Along the way there will be glimpses of his glory when he stills the storm and is transfigured on the mountain, when he heals the sick and feeds the hungry. Still, the primary lesson is the difficult way to which we are called, along with the great joy of knowing that Jesus has initiated the journey and leads us exactly where we need to go.Bonnie B. Thurston, PhD, lives in West Virginia in solitude. She is ordained in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and the author of several books, including Philippians in the Sacra Pagina series and Religious Vows, the Sermon on the Mount, and Christian Living (Liturgical Press), and Preaching Mark (Fortress Press).

The Sermon on the Mount in St. Matthew's Gospel is a good synopsis of Jesus ' teaching and the Beatitudes summarize the Sermon on the Mount. Bonnie Thurston reflects on the Beatitudes and their focus on the kingdom of heaven. She shows how the Sermon on the Mount deepens understanding of the spiritual virtues the vows are intended to nurture and how the values embodied in the vows are central to all Christian living. Thurston begins with a study of the Beatitudes that introduces what Jesus might have meant by Kingdom of Heaven. She then looks at passages from the Sermon on the Mount and discusses their implications for religious vows. The book closes with a discussion of how monastic vows might enrich the spirituality of marriage.

Although relatively brief, Philippians is one of the most interesting and beloved of Paul’s undisputed epistles. In Philippians and Philemon, Bonnie Thurston makes a convincing case that canonical Philippians is as Paul wrote it, one letter. Although there is not enough specific evidence to “name names,” she suggests a number of possible audiences. A translation conforming as closely as possible to the original Greek is provided, along with a careful analysis of the language of the letter that yields insights into the context and theological underpinning of this epistle.The apostle’s very brief letter to Philemon stands solidly within the Pauline collection of authentic and canonical letters. In this volume, Judith Ryan argues that Philemon makes two specific appeals. The first seeks to elicit Philemon’s partnership and his community’s support in welcoming Onesimus back as both beloved brother and honored guest. The second requests that Onesimus be allowed to use the freedom he already has to serve Christ and his Gospel. In this commentary Ryan provides a fresh translation, critical notes for each verse, and interpretation on defined sections. She situates the letter in the historical context of slavery in the ancient world and shows how Paul combined his theology with contemporary rhetorical strategies to produce an effective challenge to his audience.Bonnie B. Thurston, PhD, lives in West Virginia in solitude. She is ordained in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and the author of several books, including The Spiritual Landscape of Mark and Religious Vows, the Sermon on the Mount, and Christian Living (Liturgical Press) and Preaching Mark (Fortress Press).Judith M. Ryan, PhD,STL, is associate professor of New Testament at the University of St. Thomas School of Theology at St. Mary's Seminary, Houston, Texas. Previously she taught at Catholic University of America, Fordham University, the University of Scranton, College Misericordia, and St. Mary's Seminary and University, Baltimore, Maryland.

Although relatively brief, Philippians is one of the most interesting and beloved of Paul’s undisputed epistles. In Philippians and Philemon, Bonnie Thurston makes a convincing case that canonical Philippians is as Paul wrote it, one letter. Although there is not enough specific evidence to “name names,” she suggests a number of possible audiences. A translation conforming as closely as possible to the original Greek is provided, along with a careful analysis of the language of the letter that yields insights into the context and theological underpinning of this epistle.The apostle’s very brief letter to Philemon stands solidly within the Pauline collection of authentic and canonical letters. In this volume, Judith Ryan argues that Philemon makes two specific appeals. The first seeks to elicit Philemon’s partnership and his community’s support in welcoming Onesimus back as both beloved brother and honored guest. The second requests that Onesimus be allowed to use the freedom he already has to serve Christ and his Gospel. In this commentary Ryan provides a fresh translation, critical notes for each verse, and interpretation on defined sections. She situates the letter in the historical context of slavery in the ancient world and shows how Paul combined his theology with contemporary rhetorical strategies to produce an effective challenge to his audience.Bonnie B. Thurston, PhD, lives in West Virginia in solitude. She is ordained in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and the author of several books, including The Spiritual Landscape of Mark and Religious Vows, the Sermon on the Mount, and Christian Living (Liturgical Press) and Preaching Mark (Fortress Press).Judith M. Ryan, PhD,STL, is associate professor of New Testament at the University of St. Thomas School of Theology at St. Mary's Seminary, Houston, Texas. Previously she taught at Catholic University of America, Fordham University, the University of Scranton, College Misericordia, and St. Mary's Seminary and University, Baltimore, Maryland.

By taking a closer look at the “stones” that impeded Jesus’s last week, we are challenged to identify the obstructions to our spiritual lives.  When Jesus descends the Mount of Olives into Jerusalem to the acclamation of the crowd, he announces “I tell you, if these were silent, the stones would shout out.” In TheStones of the Last Week, Bonnie B. Thurston reflects on the Passion narratives in Luke 19-24, and explores the many references to stones, both literal and spiritual, that impeded Jesus’s last week with a view to their significance for our own journey to the fullness of life that resurrection offers.  The Stones of the Last Week reflects on the impediments to Easter, challenging us to consider our own “stones,”—the difficulties, hindrances, and obstructions in our spiritual lives—from the perspective of talking stones, stones of destruction, impermanent stones, stones that measure distances, and the stone marking life and death. Turn to this enriching resource as Lent unfolds into Easter, or for personal reading and reflection throughout the year.

To understand the life and thought of Thomas Merton, one must understand him as a monk. After introducing his vocation and entrance into the Trappist order, this book highlights some of his basic spiritual presuppositions. Relying primarily on Merton's writing, Bonnie B. Thurston surveys his thought on fundamental aspects of monastic formation and spirituality, particularly obedience, silence, solitude, and prayer. She also addresses some of the temptations and popular misunderstandings surrounding monastic life. Accessible and conversational in style, the book suggests how monastic spirituality is relevant, not only for all Christians, but also for serious spiritual seekers.

2022 Catholic Media Association second place award in mysticismFrom its origins in the fourth and fifth centuries, first in monastic circles and then in wider Christian communities, the story of Mary of Egypt was wildly popular. From early Christianity through the medieval periods, from Egypt to Scandinavia, verse lives in Greek, Latin, and vernacular languages portray her as the model of repentance. Continuously venerated in the liturgy and icons of the Orthodox Churches, she is now seldom known in the West. This modern verse life and the accompanying essay reintroduces St. Mary’s extraordinary life, its theological and spiritual implications, and its remarkable depiction of gender complementarity.

With these poems and meditations Bonnie B. Thurston continues her unsentimental journey through darkness towards light. Following the steep ascent of Holy Week from the uneasy hope and celebration of Palm Sunday, through the long stillness of Holy Saturday, and into the fragile dawn of Easter, they speak honestly of loss and exhaustion, yet remain fiercely attentive to grace breaking through the ordinary days. Written with theological depth and poetic restraint, they remain close to lived experience: grief and fatigue, waiting and watching, the costly, unremarkable work of love.Rooted in scripture and shaped by a life intentionally lived quietly, Thurston’s voice is both disciplined and compassionate. She does not seek to resolve the mystery of resurrection, but to stay with it, to listen, to endure, and to trust that love, extravagant and undeserved, is already at work. Having stepped away from an academic career for a quiet life in West Virginia, Thurston writes from the margins: attentive to silence, service, grief and the slow work of faith.This is a book for those who know that Easter is not hurried, that resurrection carries the shadow of the cross, for readers who walk Holy Week with open eyes and steady hearts, trusting that even in darkness, love is already at work. It invites us to pause, ponder, and find solace in the transformative mystery of Christ’s passion, death and resurrection.