RELIGIOUS VOWS, THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT, AND CHRISTIAN LIVING:

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.