Roberta C. Bondi

If you read one book by Roberta Bondi, read Memories of God. If you read two, either read To Pray is to Love or To Love as God Loves(which are pretty similar to one another). But if you are reading through the Bondi corpus, this is worth a read.

What makes Bondi an interesting writer in the realm of Christian spirituality is her interest in thinking through the particulars of her life and story in prayerful reflection and in conversation with theology. In particular, as a patristics scholar, show more she often makes reference to the desert fathers.

This book is organized as a series of letters to a friend about 'healing the wounds of the heart' through prayer. This often means praying through past hurts from childhood and inviting the presence of Christ to heal memories. There is much here which accords with the 'inner healing' type literature but Bondi isn't interacting with that literature. It also seems to be advice for growth in private prayer vs. attentiveness to the corporate dimension of the body of Christ. This might be because her chosen dialogue partners are the monks that went into the wilderness to devote themselves to prayer and contemplation. But it is also because Bondi focuses on the personal dimensions of prayer and spiritual growth. When she struggles with healing her body image or her own judgmentalism,past hurts, she shares these with keen psychological insight into how her current attitudes were shaped by childhood experiences. She shows how attentiveness to the self in prayer allows God to bring healing creatively.

In the end, I think the insights of this book are similar to Memories of God, though the 'letters' format feels a little contrived and preachy to me. I don't agree with everything she says (i.e.-she seems too loose for me on matters of Christian particularity) but there is enough here to chew on for a while. show less

In this book, Roberta Bondi narrates her own experience in the Church and in academia in order and reflects upon her theological beliefs. This is a provocative book. Bondi is thoughtful about the images of God which were distortions and about how sexism in the Church made it difficult for her to love God and herself. This book tells of her journey of discovery of the God of love (that she has while teaching theology). This isn't a linear tale, but a thematic inquiry where Bondi explore show more different spiritual themes. As such, she does return to some instances several times to reflect on it from a different angle. Whether or not you buy all of Bondi's conclusions, she is thoughtful and worth a read. show less

Reading these honest and profound reflections on Bondi's evolving theology moved me deeply for several reasons. Her account of growing up in a similar time and place to the one I grew up in, emphasized the very different cultural expectations that were impressed upon girls and boys until quite recently. She also inspired my to reexamine my attitudes toward women and to reflect on my images and expectations of God.

Here is a theologian giving a personal history of the dimensions of her faith in God. She is a woman born in the 40s, and her concept of God was shaped to a male image. The cracking of this concept and others (crucifixon, resurrection) are wonderously related.