Synopses & Reviews
Una mirada honesta e íntima a una vida con los santos
Para el padre James Martin, SJ, los santos son mucho más que estatuas de yeso, ¡son amigos personales! En Mi vida con los santos James Martin nos presenta su conmovedora experiencia con los santos –desde María, la madre de Jesús, hasta San Francisco o la Madre Teresa– y la manera personal en la que ha sido dirigido por los héroes de la Iglesia a lo largo de su vida. El padre James nos presenta vívidos y encantadores relatos de los santos más populares, permitiéndonos ver no sólo su santidad, sino su humanidad.
A partir de esta experiencia descubrimos la llamada y posibilidad de vivir la santidad en nuestra propia humanidad.
James Martin, SJ, es sacerdote jesuita y subdirector de la revista América. Es un comentarista frecuente en los medios de información en torno a temas de religión y espiritualidad. Sus escritos han aparecido en numerosos periódicos y revistas, incluyendo The New York Times. La edición en inglés de este libro es un best seller y ha recibido numerosos galardones.
“Todos buscamos personas que nos guíen hacia Dios. El padre James Martin, SJ, nos presenta, de una manera viva y llena de amor, a estos extraordinarios hombres y mujeres como guías en nuestro caminar spiritual hacia Dios”.
Monseñor Richard J. García
Obispo de la diócesis de Monterey, CA
Presidente del Subcomité para Asuntos Hispanos
Conferencia de Obispos Católicos de los Estados Unidos
Una mirada honesta e íntima a una vida con los santos
Para el padre James Martin, SJ, los santos son mucho más que estatuas de yeso, ¡son amigos personales! En Mi vida con los santos James Martin nos presenta su conmovedora experiencia con los santos –desde María, la madre de Jesús, hasta San Francisco o la Madre Teresa– y la manera personal en la que ha sido dirigido por los héroes de la Iglesia a lo largo de su vida. El padre James nos presenta vívidos y encantadores relatos de los santos más populares, permitiéndonos ver no sólo su santidad, sino su humanidad.
A partir de esta experiencia descubrimos la llamada y posibilidad de vivir la santidad en nuestra propia humanidad.
James Martin, SJ, es sacerdote jesuita y subdirector de la revista América. Es un comentarista frecuente en los medios de información en torno a temas de religión y espiritualidad. Sus escritos han aparecido en numerosos periódicos y revistas, incluyendo The New York Times. La edición en inglés de este libro es un best seller y ha recibido numerosos galardones.
“Todos buscamos personas que nos guíen hacia Dios. El padre James Martin, SJ, nos presenta, de una manera viva y llena de amor, a estos extraordinarios hombres y mujeres como guías en nuestro caminar spiritual hacia Dios”.
Monseñor Richard J. García
Obispo de la diócesis de Monterey, CA
Presidente del Subcomité para Asuntos Hispanos
Conferencia de Obispos Católicos de los Estados Unidos
Review
“Part retreat, part seminar, part master class, James Martin’s account of his role as ‘theological adviser’ for a play about Jesus and Judas is ultimately a spellbinding story of faith, friendship, and the deepest mysteries of the heart. Like a great drama, its impact lingers long after the curtain has fallen.”
—Robert Ellsberg, author of The Saints’ Guide to Happiness
Review
“Father Martin’s account of his experiences as an adviser to the Off-Broadway production of The Last Days of Judas Iscariot is not only riveting; it is also theologically important: no one who reads this book can come away thinking that Christianity is just a set of dry rules and regulations. Father Martin helps us see that we all play our parts in a great and complex cosmic drama about the goodness of creation, the pain of sin and brokenness, and the power of God’s redemptive love.”
—M. Cathleen Kaveny, John P. Murphy Foundation Professor of Law and professor of theology at the University of Notre Dame
Review
“This memoir is a superb exercise of the Catholic imagination, delighting in the profound connections between sacred and secular. James Martin is both Virgil and Dante, not only guiding us through an engaging drama but also recounting how he himself was changed by the experience. And is that not the goal of all theater—and the Christian life?”
—David Gibson, author of The Coming Catholic Church
Review
“The estimable James Martin compresses a short course in New Testament criticism along with a glimpse into Ignatian spirituality while creating a model for making friends in this fast-paced account of his experiences as a Jesuit consultant for an Off-Broadway play about Judas. In the narrative, Martin shows us how he almost inadvertently morphed from a consultant into an unofficial chaplain. This book is a vivid lesson about how the Christian life can be led when it is lived out in the midst of the real (and imagined) world.”
—Lawrence S. Cunningham, author of A Brief History of Saints
Review
“James Martin’s storytelling at its best! A Jesuit Off-Broadway provides a fascinating glimpse into the production of a new play, beautifully blending pop culture with the gospel, and theater with theology. Martin and his colorful cast accomplish much more than five acts. In retelling the Passion story, they make it real.”
—Therese J. Borchard, author of Beliefnet.com’s blog Beyond Blue
Synopsis
In Awake My Soul, editor James Martin, SJ, offers a meaningful collection of fascinating essays focusing on Catholic devotions and their place in the life of contemporary believers. Originally published as part of a Lenten series in America magazine, each essay discusses a favorite Catholic devotion, its history, its place in an individual's life, and its role in the life of today's Catholics.Awake My Soul features some of today's top Catholic writers celebrating traditional Catholic devotions such as the rosary, the stations of the cross, holy water, novenas, relics, the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and more. Contributors include Ron Hansen; Emilie Griffin; Joan Chittister, O.S.B.; and Eric Stoltz.
Synopsis
This meaningful collection of fascinating essays focuses on traditional devotions and their place in the life of contemporary Catholics.
Synopsis
awake my soul introduces the practice of devotions to a new generation of the faithful. The essays in this enlightening collection celebrate the traditional Catholic devotions—those sensual, physical, time-honored forms of piety that have sustained generations of believers. Contemporary men and women are finding in the devotions what earlier generations found—comfort in times of trial, models of discipleship, encouragement to care for others, and ways to draw closer to Jesus in prayer and worship.
The twenty contributors to Awake My Soul—which include Ron Hansen, Joan Chittester, Lawrence Cunningham, and Paul Mariani—share their delight in this rediscovery of their Catholic heritage. Awake My Soul shows how the great tradition of Catholic prayer can help all of us to regain a sense of the profound mystery at the center of our Catholic faith and to discover new depths of meaning in our prayer lives.
Synopsis
In A Jesuit Off-Broadway, James Martin, SJ, writes about advising the cast and crew of The Last Days of Judas Iscariot. See theology and theater mix.
Synopsis
An Off-Broadway cast has plenty of questions about life and faith—and Fr. James Martin is just the right person to offer some answers.
Can we believe the Bible? Does hell exist? What is sin? A Jesuit Off-Broadway provides answers to these and more questions as it recounts Fr. Martin’s thrilling six months with New York’s LAByrinth Theater Company. Asked to serve as the theological consultant for The Last Days of Judas Iscariot, Fr. Martin soon discovers that everyone from the playwright to the actors has pressing questions they want answered.
Over the course of the many weeks leading up to opening night and during the play’s sold-out run, all who are involved in the play come to understand that the sacred and the secular aren’t so far apart after all—and that Fr. Martin is much more than an invaluable adviser: he’s a genuine friend.
Synopsis
Many of us have questions about the Bible: Can we believe the Bible? What was Jesus’ mission? What is sin? Does hell exist? Is anyone beyond God’s forgiveness? In A Jesuit Off-Brodway, James Martin, SJ, answers these questions about the Bible, and other big questions about life, as he serves as a theological advisor to the cast of The Last Days of Judas Iscariot.
Grab a front-row seat to Fr. Martin's six months with the LAByrinth Theater Company and see first-hand what it's like to share the faith with a largely secular group of people . . . and discover, along with Martin, that the sacred and the secular aren't always that far apart.
Synopsis
A Jesuit priest, a New York play, and questions as profound as they come . . .
A few years after being called to the priesthood, Father James Martin was startled to get a very different kind of call one evening in 2004: a phone call from actor Sam Rockwell. Rockwell had been cast for the part of Judas Iscariot in an Off-Broadway play, The Last Days of Judas Iscariot, where Judas was on trial for his crime of betraying Jesus. Would Martin be willing to serve as a theological consultant for the play? Martin gladly obliged, and within weeks playwright Stephen Adly Guirgis, director Philip Seymour Hoffman, and members of the cast began to dialogue with Martin about a host of spiritual issues that the play evoked: Can we believe the Bible? What was Jesus’ mission? What is sin? Does hell exist? Is anyone beyond God’s forgiveness?
A Jesuit Off-Broadway recounts Martin’s six months with the LAByrinth Theater Company and his education in the making of a play, from the writing of the script to the cast party on closing night. At the same time, the occasionally profane and routinely free-spirited creative team and actors learned from Martin key insights into Christian faith and theology, while often revealing a profoundly spiritual side to their lives. By the time the final curtain fell, Martin and the cast had gleaned important and at times surprising lessons from each other as they realized how the sacred and the secular aren’t always that far apart . . . and how, in the end, questions tell us more than answers ever do.
Synopsis
What happens when theater and theology share the stage?
Discover the answer in this thought-provoking memoir by Christopher Award–winning author and Jesuit priest James Martin. Take a front-row seat to Father Martin’s six-month experience as a theological consultant for the New York theater production of The Last Days of Judas Iscariot, directed by Oscar-winning actor Philip Seymour Hoffman, and starring Sam Rockwell and Eric Bogosian. While Martin thoughtfully responds to the deeply spiritual and soul-searching questions posed to him by the creative team and actors—questions that many of us ponder at one time or another in our lives—he learns about the world of professional theater and all that is required to put on a successful play.
Join Father Martin as he takes this fascinating foray into the acting arena . . . and offers answers to some of life’s biggest questions.
Synopsis
Recently, James Martin, SJ, went on a Lourdes pilgrimage as chaplain for a group of pilgrims sponsored by the Order of Malta. Lourdes Diary is Fr. Martin's illuminating account of seven busy and gratifying days at Massabieille—at turns touching, humorous, reverent, and self-effacing. As we journey with Martin, we come to understand why six million people a year make a Lourdes pilgrimage, and why many of them are forever changed by their experiences of this sacred place.
Synopsis
The sacred grotto at Massabieille, near the town of Lourdes in southern France, appeals to Catholics like no other place. This is the shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes, the place where Mary appeared to a humble peasant girl named Bernadette Soubirous in 1858 and spoke words of comfort and simple faith. At Mary’s behest, Bernadette dug in the rocky soil of the grotto and struck water. A puddle soon became a spring that gushed forth waters that were recognized to have documented healing properties, baffling physicians and scientific experts. Some six million pilgrims visit Lourdes each year, making it the most popular place of pilgrimage in the world.
One of these recent pilgrims was Fr. James Martin, an American Jesuit who went to Lourdes as chaplain for a group of pilgrims sponsored by the Order of Malta. Fr. Martin’s illuminating account of seven busy and gratifying days at Massabieille—at turns touching, humorous, reverent, and self-effacing—is a vivid description of a place with a special, mysterious spiritual presence.
Synopsis
A charming and touching story that reminds us, with St. Bernadette, that grace is everywhere.”
—Robert Ellsberg, author, Blessed Among All Women
he shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes in southern France appeals to Catholics as few other places do. The famous grotto is a place of healing that attracts some six million pilgrims to Lourdes each year.
One of these recent pilgrims was James Martin, an American Jesuit. Fr. Martin went to Lourdes to serve as chaplain for a group of pilgrims sponsored by the Order of Malta, an international Catholic association devoted to charitable works. During his stay, Martin kept an illuminating diary of his trip. His touching and humorous account of the busy and gratifying days that he spent at Lourdes is a vivid description of a place filled with a powerful spiritual presence. “Lourdes is now one of those places where I have met God in a special way,” Martin writes. Through this diary, we are able to share in his journey and feel the presence of God that he encountered there.
A charming and touching story that reminds us, with St. Bernadette, that grace is everywhere.”
—Robert Ellsberg, author, Blessed Among All Women
he shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes in southern France appeals to Catholics as few other places do. The famous grotto is a place of healing that attracts some six million pilgrims to Lourdes each year.
One of these recent pilgrims was James Martin, an American Jesuit. Fr. Martin went to Lourdes to serve as chaplain for a group of pilgrims sponsored by the Order of Malta, an international Catholic association devoted to charitable works. During his stay, Martin kept an illuminating diary of his trip. His touching and humorous account of the busy and gratifying days that he spent at Lourdes is a vivid description of a place filled with a powerful spiritual presence. “Lourdes is now one of those places where I have met God in a special way,” Martin writes. Through this diary, we are able to share in his journey and feel the presence of God that he encountered there.
Synopsis
Participation in the Mass is the one experience that all active Catholics share. The articles collected in Celebrating Good Liturgy, derived from a popular series in America magazine, show how the church’s central act of worship can be a richer experience for everyone.
The essays, written by the most accomplished liturgists in the country, examine the “roles” of all the people involved in the Mass—the congregation, presider, deacons, lectors, musicians, eucharistic ministers, and ministers of hospitality. They examine each role and off er a wealth of practical advice to deepen Catholics’ appreciation of the Mass.
Celebrating Good Liturgy will prove helpful to everyone involved in the Mass—from those who plan the liturgy to those Catholics who regularly participate in the church’s great sacrament
Synopsis
The Mass—The central act of Catholic worship—can be a richer experience for everyone, as shown in these popular essays written by the most accomplished liturgists in the country. The contributors examine the roles of all the people involved in the Mass—the congregation, presider, deacons, lectors, musicians, eucharistic ministers, ministers of hospitality—and offer a wealth of practical advice to deepen Catholics’ appreciation of the Mass. The articles in Celebrating Good Liturgy are written in an accessible, popular style. They were originally published in America magazine as one of the most popular series in the magazine’s history. They will prove helpful to everyone involved in the Mass—especially those many Catholics who regularly celebrate it.
“There is terrific wisdom, common sense, and practical information in this collection of brief essays. Priests and deacons should read it; members of parish liturgy committees should read it; and above all, ‘the folks in the pews’ should read it.”—Mitch Finley, author of The Seeker’s Guide to Being Catholic"A rich—and immediately useful—collection of ways to engage the assembly at Mass and deepen our understanding of this most important hour each week.”—Paul Wilkes, author of Excellent Catholic Parishes: The Guide to Best Places and Practices and The 7 Secrets of Successful Catholics
The Mass—The central act of Catholic worship—can be a richer experience for everyone, as shown in these popular essays written by the most accomplished liturgists in the country. The contributors examine the roles of all the people involved in the Mass—the congregation, presider, deacons, lectors, musicians, eucharistic ministers, ministers of hospitality—and offer a wealth of practical advice to deepen Catholics’ appreciation of the Mass. The articles in Celebrating Good Liturgy are written in an accessible, popular style. They were originally published in America magazine as one of the most popular series in the magazine’s history. They will prove helpful to everyone involved in the Mass—especially those many Catholics who regularly celebrate it.
“There is terrific wisdom, common sense, and practical information in this collection of brief essays. Priests and deacons should read it; members of parish liturgy committees should read it; and above all, ‘the folks in the pews’ should read it.”—Mitch Finley, author of The Seeker’s Guide to Being Catholic
"A rich—and immediately useful—collection of ways to engage the assembly at Mass and deepen our understanding of this most important hour each week.”—Paul Wilkes, author of Excellent Catholic Parishes: The Guide to Best Places and Practices and The 7 Secrets of Successful Catholics
Synopsis
En Mi vida con los Santos James Martin nos presenta una conmovedora experiencia respect a su relación con los Santos –desde María, la madre de Jesús, hasta San Francisco o la Madre Teresa- y la manera personal en la que ha side dirigido por los heroes de la Iglesia a lo largo de toda su vida.
Synopsis
An honest and intimate look at one man's lifelong journey with the saints / Una mirada honesta e íntima a la vida de un hombre con los santos
Over 90,000 sold in the English-language edition!
English-language edition was named one of Publishers Weekly's Best Books of the Year
For James Martin, SJ, the saints are much more than plaster statues—they’re personal friends! Mi vida con los santos is Fr. Martin’s stirring memoir of his special relationship with the saints—from Mary, the Mother of Jesus, to Francis of Assisi to Mother Teresa—and how he has been personally and powerfully guided by the Church’s heroes throughout his life. Martin’s engaging stories allow us to see both the vividly holy and typically human sides of many popular saints, and from these saints, we learn how to live out the holiness in our own humanity.
Para el padre James Martin, SJ los santos son mucho más que estatuas de yeso, ¡son amigos personales! En Mi vida con los santos James Martin nos presenta una conmovedora experiencia de su relación con los santos —desde María, la madre de Jesús, hasta San Francisco o la Madre Teresa— y la manera personal en la que ha sido dirigido por los héroes de la Iglesia a lo largo de toda su vida. El padre James nos presenta vívidos y encantadores relatos de los santos más populares, permitiéndonos ver no sólo su santidad, sino también su humanidad. A partir de esta experiencia descubrimos la llamada y posibilidad de vivir la santidad en nuestra propia humanidad.
Synopsis
Para el padre James Martin, SJ los Santos ¡son mucho más que estatuas de yeso, son amigos personales! En Mi vida con los Santos James Martin nos presenta una conmovedora experiencia respect a su relación con los Santos –desde María, la madre de Jesús, hasta San Francisco o la Madre Teresa− y la manera personal en la que ha side dirigido por los heroes de la Iglesia a lo largo de toda su vida. El padre James nos presenta vívidos y encantadores relatos de los Santos más populares, permitiéndonos ver no solo su santidad, sino su humanidad. A partir de esta experiencia descubrimos la llamada y posibilidad de vivir la santidad en nuestra propia humanidad.
Synopsis
This conversation about prayer within the pages of
America Magazine spans more than 100 years, chronicling the evolution of Catholic thinking and teaching about prayer. In this one collection,
Praying with America presents and celebrates the diversity of prayer over the past century and offers readers the wisdom and inspiration of leading Catholic thinkers on the practice of prayer.
Synopsis
“Prayer can be a difficult topic to write about, since trying to explain it is something like trying to pin down a butterfly. The more you seek to capture it, the more it wants to escape. In the end, what happens in prayer is incommunicable, as it happens privately, between one person and God.”—from the Introduction by James Martin, SJ
Prayer is our conversation with God. It is also at the heart of Ignatian spirituality. Understanding the practice and process of prayer, its various forms and expressions, is fundamental for people of faith. In one collection, Praying with America presents and celebrates the diversity of prayer over the past century and offers readers the wisdom and inspiration of leading Catholic thinkers on the practice of prayer.
Praying with America provides a curated collection of wide-ranging discussions on the subject, full of practical and inspirational wisdom, by some of the best-known Jesuit writers and other spiritual luminaries, including Thomas Keating, OCSO; Henri J. M. Nouwen; William O’Malley, SJ; Daniel J. Harrington, SJ; William A. Barry, SJ; Evelyn Waugh; and many more from America, which continues to be a leading Catholic weekly, reporting on news and the lives of the faithful around the globe for more than 100 years. James Martin, SJ, who introduces the collection, is a Jesuit priest, editor-at-large at America, and author of numerous books, including My Life with the Saints.
About the Author
James Martin, SJ, is associate editor of America magazine. A prolific author, writer, and editor, his books include
Searching for God at Ground Zero, In Good Company,
My Life with the Saints, and
A Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything, and his articles have appered in
The New York Times,
The Philadelphia Inquirer,
The Tablet, and
Commonweal. He resides in New York City.Stephen Adly Guirgis is an American playwright, screenwriter, and actor. He is a member and co-artistic director of New York City's LAByrinth Theater Company. His plays have been produced on five continents and throughout the United States. His plays include
The Little Flower of East Orange,
Our Lady of 121st Street,
Jesus Hopped the ‘A’ Train,
In Arabia, We’d All Be Kings, and
The Last Days of Judas Iscariot produced by LAByrinth in collaboration with The Public Theater in 2005.
Table of Contents
Indice
El lenguaje de los santos.............. xiii
Introducción a la edición en español
1. El santo del cajón de los calcetines 1
Una introducción
2. Hija de Dios 11
Juana de Arco
3. Drama interior 27
Teresa de Lisieux
4. El verdadero ser 41
Thomas Merton
5. Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam 71
Ignacio de Loyola
6. Más que nunca 101
Pedro Arrupe
7. En la gruta de Massabieille 123
Bernardita Soubirous
8. Compartan esta alegría con todos los que encuentren 149
Madre Teresa de Calcuta
9. Vicario de Cristo 175
Papa Juan XXIII
10. Vivir en su mundo 205
Dorothy Day
11. Porque soy un pecador 225
Pedro
12. Fides Quaerens Intellectum 249
Tomás de Aquino
13. Locos por Cristo 267
Francisco de Asís
14. Vidas ocultas 293
José
15. Quien en Dios confía 309
Mártires de Uganda
16. Mi posesión más querida 327
Luis Gonzaga
17. Llena de gracia 341
María
18. Santos de manera diferente 367
Conclusión
Sugerencia de lecturas 387
Agradecimientos 401