James Martin (Jesuit writer)

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For other persons named James Martin, see James Martin (disambiguation).

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James Martin is a writer and Acting Publisher of the Jesuit magazine America^[1]. Father Martin's most well known book, My Life with the Saints (2006), was named by Publishers Weekly as one of the "Best Books of the Year" ^[2] and was the winner of a 2007 Christopher Award^[3]. He is also a frequent commentator for CNN, NPR, FoxNews, Time Magazine, and other news outlets, and has written several op-ed pieces and blogged for The New York Times.

Martin grew up in Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania and attended Plymouth-Whitemarsh High School ^[4]. He graduated the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business in 1982 and worked in corporate finance at General Electric for six years. Dissatisfied with the corporate world, he became more deeply involved in the Catholic Church and decided to enter the Society of Jesus (more commonly known as the Jesuits) in 1988 and was ordained a priest in 1999. In addition to his work at America Magazine, Martin has performed many humanitarian activities in the United States and around the world, and has written or edited more than 10 books, many of which are largely about his own experiences.

Martin is also a member of the LAByrinth Theater Company^[5]. His involvement with the LAByrinth Theater Company's 2005 stage production of The Last Days of Judas Iscariot, written by Stephen Adly Guirgis, directed by Philip Seymour Hoffman, and featuring Sam Rockwell, John Ortiz, Eric Bogosian, and Callie Thorne, is the subject of Martin's most recent book, A Jesuit Off-Broadway: Center Stage with Jesus, Judas, and Life's Big Questions (LoyolaPress., 2007). Publishers Weekly, which gave the book a coveted starred review, named A Jesuit Off-Broadway one of the Best Books of 2007. ^[6]

In May, 2007, he received an honorary doctor of divinity degree from Wagner College in Staten Island, NY.^[7]

On September 13, 2007, Father Martin appeared on Comedy Central's The Colbert Report to discuss Mother Teresa's fifty year long sense of abandonment by God which had much coverage in the media at the time. During the interview, Stephen Colbert jokingly asked Father Martin if Mother Teresa's "crisis of faith" had earned her, in his words, "a table for one...by the Lake of Fire." ^[8]

[edit] Publications

Martin's books include:

This Our Exile: A Spiritual Journey with the Refugees of East Africa (Orbis Books, 1999), which tells of Martin's experiences in the early 1990s working with the Jesuit Refugee Service in Nairobi, Kenya and helping East African refugees start small businesses.
In Good Company: The Fast Track from the Corporate World to Poverty, Chastity and Obedience (Sheed & Ward, 2000), which is the story of Martin's call to the priesthood and the early days of his Jesuit vocation. "In Good Company" has been translated into several languages, including Spanish and German.
Searching for God at Ground Zero (Sheed & Ward, 2002), which contains Martin's reflections on God, evil, love and hope as he ministered to rescue workers at Ground Zero in the days following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
Becoming Who You Are: Insights on the True Self from Thomas Merton and Other Saints (Paulist Press, 2006) tells the story of the influence the writings of Catholic spiritual writers Thomas Merton and Henri Nouwen have had on Martin's life.
My Life with the Saints (Loyola Press., 2006), Martin's memoir, chronicling the lives of some (very human) Catholic saints and other holy men and women and how they have touched and guided his life.
Lourdes Diary: Seven Days at the Grotto of Massabieille (LoyolaPress., 2006), a touching and humorous account of a pilgrimage to Lourdes.
A Jesuit Off-Broadway: Center Stage with Jesus, Judas, and Life's Big Questions (LoyolaPress., 2007).

Martin has also edited the following books:

How Can I Find God? The Famous and Not-So-Famous Consider the Quintessential Question (Triumph Books, 1997).
Professions of Faith: Living and Working as a Catholic (with Jeremy Langford) (Sheed & Ward, 2002).
Awake My Soul: Contemporary Catholics on Traditional Devotions (LoyolaPress., 2004).
Celebrating Good Liturgy: A Guide to the Ministries of the Mass (LoyolaPress., 2005).

His essays are included the following:

I Like Being an American, edited by Michael Leach (Doubleday, 2003)
Sixty Things to Do When You Turn Sixty (Sellers Publishing, Inc., 2006), in which Father Martin exhorts readers to "Be a Saint!"