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A Wonderful Introduction to the Martin Canon

Revisado: 02-05-20 El oyente recibió este título gratis

For those of us who only met Father Jim Martin though the publication of Building a Bridge, Jon Sweeney’s concise autobiography is a wonderful gateway to Father Martin’s many other books and writings. Much like the Thomas Merton biopic that just happened to be on television late one night in the apartment of Jimmy Martin, the burned-out GE Capital executive, this James Martin, SJ, audio-biography, that just happened to be in my Facebook feed, is just what I needed at this very moment in my spiritual life. Father Martin’s background both explains and illuminates his common-sense approach to the most complex theological concepts. His upbringing in a less-than-devout family (he attended public schools in the 1960s an area that even today has multiple Catholic school systems) inspires those of us who feel like we’ve fallen short in our faith. If he can do it, then so can we!

More importantly, Sweeney maps out how Father Martin’s journey through the Ivy League and the HR department grounded him in a way that emerges in the simple authenticity of his writing. Father Martin’s writing style is further informed by the delays and challenges in his Jesuit formation. This books lays out how Father Martin was actually formed by this process, instead of simply jumping through hoops to get to ordination. Indeed, his entire ministry at America Magazine turns out to have been the by-product of year-long delay in his theology studies.

Again, for a Building a Bridge fan, I was surprised at how late in the book Sweeney approached the topic of LGBT Catholics. But this is because Father Martin wrote so many books before Bridge, and Sweeney covers the genesis of most of the major works.

The only drawback of this book, which is surely no fault of Sweeney’s, but rather of the format of this series, it its brevity. Indeed, because Father Martin has been such a prolific author, this drawback acts instead as a powerful invitation to Martin canon. I desperately want to hear more about that night with the Merton biography on television, so I will read In Good Company. I want to know more details about the refugees in East Africa, so I will read This is Our Exile. And I long for a more present spiritual life, so I will dive into The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything.

If you can’t have James Martin, SJ, as your spiritual advisor, then let his biography lead you to his writings. I am grateful to Jon Sweeney for opening the gate down what I hope will be a fruitful path.

I am ordering In Good Company as I finish this review. . .

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