My Life with the Saints Anniversary Edition

One of Publishers Weekly's Best Books of the Year Winner of the Christopher Award Winner of the Catholic Press Association Book Award

WITTY, WRYLY HONEST, AND ALWAYS ORIGINAL, My Life with the Saints is James Martin's story of how his life has been shaped by some surprising friends--the saints of the Catholic Church. In his modern classic memoir, Martin introduces us to saints throughout history--from St. Peter to Dorothy Day, St. Francis of Assisi to Mother Teresa--and chronicles his lifelong friendships with them. Filled with fascinating tales, Martin's funny, vibrant, and stirring book invites readers to discover how saints guide us throughout our earthly journeys and how they help each of us find holiness in our own lives.

Featuring a new chapter from Martin, this tenth-anniversary edition of the best-selling memoir updates readers about his life over the past ten years. In that time, he has been a New York Times best-selling author, official chaplain of The Colbert Report, and a welcome presence in the media whenever there's a breaking Catholic news story. But he has always remained recognizably himself. John L. Allen, Jr., the acclaimed Catholic journalist, contributes a foreword that shows how Martin has become one of the wisest and most insightful voices of this era.

"An outstanding and often hilarious memoir." --Publishers Weekly

"One of the best spiritual memoirs in years." --Robert Ellsberg

"Remarkably engaging." --U.S. Catholic

"Martin's final word is as Jungian as it is Catholic: God does not want us to be Mother Teresa or Dorothy Day. God wants us to be most fully ourselves." --The Washington Post Book World

Be inspired by the Catholic saints like never before in My Life with the Saints by James Martin, SJ. This best-selling memoir of spiritual self-discovery is an homage to the Catholic saints who have accompanied Fr. Martin throughout his life. From a lukewarm childhood Catholicism, to the Wharton School of Business, to the executive fast track at General Electric, to the Jesuits, to a media career in Manhattan, Martin has relied on the Catholic saints to intervene in and guide his life. As Martin shares with us his many surprising encounters and journeys with the saints, he convincingly shows how we, too, can be close friends with the saints of the Catholic Church.

CONTENTS

Foreword .................................................. xi
By John Allen Jr.

The Saint of the Sock Drawer .................. 1
An Introduction

Child of God ............................................. 11
Joan of Arc

Inward Drama ........................................... 27
Therese of Lisieux

The True Self ............................................ 41
Thomas Merton

Ad Mjorem Dei Gloriam ............................ 71
Ignatius of Loyola

More Than Ever ........................................ 101
Pedro Arrupe

In the Grotto of Massabieille ..................... 123
Bernadette Soubirous

Share This Joy with All You Meet .............. 149
Mother Teresa

Vicar of Christ ............................................ 175
Pope John XXIII

Living in Her World .................................... 203
Dorothy Day

For I Am a Sinful Man ............................... 223
Peter

Fides Quaerens Intellectum ...................... 245
Thomas Aquinas

Fools for Christ .......................................... 261
St. Francis of Assisi

Hidden Lives .............................................. 287
Joseph

Who Trusts in God ..................................... 303
The Ugandan Martyrs

The Most Precious Thing I Possess .......... 319
Aloysius Gonzaga

Full of Grace .............................................. 333
Mary

Holy in a Different Way .............................. 359
A Conclusion

Still Trying to Become a Saint .................... 379
An Epilogue

"Before you know it you're swept under his writerly wing, and riding along on his mystery tour of saints he wants you to know -- and befriend. And through some transitive literary property, it works."--Barbara Mahany, Chicago Tribune

"It isn't often that a new and noteworthy book comes along in this genre, but we have reason to celebrate My Life with the Saints. It is earmarked for longevity. It will endure as an important and uncommon contribution to religious writing."
--Doris Donnelly, America

"In a volume that is part spiritual memoir, part inspirational guide, Martin, a Jesuit priest and associate editor at America, applies the teachings of great saints to everyday life. Martin is interested in holding up the saints not as paragons but as exemplars of holy struggle. All the saints, he writes, struggled in one way or another. . . . Martin's final word for us is as Jungian as it is Catholic: God does not want us to be like Mother Teresa or Dorothy Day. God wants us to be most fully ourselves." --Doris Donnelly, The Washington Post Book World

"Martin takes a splendid idea and develops it masterfully by weaving stories from his life into those of his favorite saints. Martin's animated style and wide-ranging experiences will make this a book readers of diverse backgrounds will enjoy." --Doris Donnelly, Publishers Weekly

"The saints are given to us as patrons and companions. James Martin tells us how they have been resources for him in every time of need. In delightful prose he recounts incidents, both perilous and funny, that have prompted him to turn to the saints, and in doing so shows us a new way of living out a devotion that is as old and universal as the church."
--Avery Cardinal Dulles, SJ, Publishers Weekly

"This wonderfully written volume interweaves the spiritual pilgrimage of a young Jesuit and his discovery of the saints of the Catholic tradition. Readers of this book will receive both the abundant gift of good writing and the more abundant grace that flows from the witness of the saints. Enthusiastically recommended. --Lawrence S. Cunningham, Publishers Weekly

"The saints' stories and their relevance to Martin's own spiritual journey form the spine of this remarkably engaging book. A mix of history, memoir, social commentary, and spiritual exercise, My Life with the Saints reveals the familiar and not familiar stories of a handful of holy people. --Lawrence S. Cunningham, U.S. Catholic

"In a cross between Holden Caulfield and Thomas Merton, James Martin has written one of the best spiritual memoirs in years. With help from the saints who have inspired and guided his way, he recounts a journey that is as entertaining as it is profound. --Robert Ellsberg, U.S. Catholic