James Martin

The Rev. James Martin, S.J. is a Jesuit priest, associate editor of America magazine and author of numerous books, including My Life with the Saints, which Publishers Weekly name one of the “Best Books” of 2006. Father Martin is a frequent commentator in the national and international media, having appeared in such diverse venues as NPR’s “Fresh Air with Terry Gross,” Fox TV’s “The O’Reilly Factor,” PBS’s “The Newshour with Jim Lehrer,” as well as in The New York Times, The Boston Globe, The Chicago Tribune, the major TV networks, the History Channel, BBC and Vatican Radio. Before entering the Jesuits in 1988 he graduated from the Wharton School of Business and worked with General Electric for six years, so he’s not completely unaware of life “on the outside,” as Jesuits say.

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Christian Living

The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything

A Spirituality for Real Life

Talking Points

The Roman Catholic religious order-the Society of Jesus, a.k.a. “The Jesuits”-was founded in the 16th century by Saint Ignatius of Loyola. Famous for their practical spirituality and ardent commitment to education, the Jesuits have a reputation as smart people of faith who change lives for the better and make a difference in the world.

The traditional wisdom that Jesuits use to help other people in their daily lives-how to make decisions, how to move towards freedom, how to live a spiritual life in the modern world-are easily applied, but not often explained well to the general public. The Jesuit Guide to Everything translates the 500-year-old insights of Saint Ignatius (often called “Ignatian spirituality”) for a modern audience, using stories and examples from Martin’s 20 years as a Jesuit and from the lives of the great Jesuit saints and spiritual masters.

Ignatius’ mission was to integrate spirituality with the practical concerns of everyday life. “Finding God in all things” could easily qualify as the Jesuit motto because every area of our lives-relationships, money, work, prayer, and decision making-has deep spiritual signifcance.

Description

With both humor and substance, Martin delivers a terrific read as he helps readers tackle the big questions of life by sharing the spiritual practices that Jesuits have been applying for 500 years. It’s this kind of no nonsense spirituality that explains why Ignatian retreats are the most popular spiritual retreats in both Catholic and Protestant churches around the country

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Body, Mind, and Spirit

Catholicism

Spirituality

Between Heaven and Mirth

Why Joy, Humor, and Laughter Are at the Heart of the Spiritual Life

Description

In Between Heaven and Mirth, James Martin, SJ, assures us that God wants us to experience joy, to cultivate a sense of holy humor, and to laugh at life’s absurdities—not to mention our own humanity. Father Martin invites believers to rediscover the importance of humor and laughter in our daily lives and to embrace an essential truth: faith leads to joy.

Holy people are joyful people, says Father Martin, offering countless examples of healthy humor and purposeful levity in the stories of biblical heroes and heroines, and in the lives of the saints and the world’s great spiritual masters. He shows us how the parables are often the stuff of comedy, and how the gospels reveal Jesus to be a man with a palpable sense of joy and even playfulness. In fact, Father Martin argues compellingly, thinking about a Jesus without a sense of humor may be close to heretical.

Drawing on Scripture, sharing anecdotes from his experiences as a lifelong Catholic, a Jesuit for over twenty years, and a priest for more than ten, and including amusing and insightful sidebars, footnotes, and jokes, Father Martin illustrates how joy, humor, and laughter help us to live more spiritual lives, understand ourselves and others better, and more fully appreciate God’s presence among us. Practical how-to advice helps us use humor to show our faith, embrace our humanity, put things into perspective, open our minds, speak truth, demonstrate courage, challenge power, learn hospitality, foster effective human relations, deepen our relationship with God, and ... enjoy ourselves. Inviting God to lighten our hearts, we can enjoy a little heaven on earth.

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