The Spiritual Life with Fr. James Martin, S.J.

It’s been over ten years since the award-winning actor Andrew Garfield trained as a Jesuit priest with Fr. James Martin, S.J. Well, more accurately, since he trained to play a Jesuit priest in Martin Scorsese's film Silence. And the fruits of those Ignatian practices of prayer and contemplation have continued to bear out in his life. Garfield joins his long-time spiritual director, Fr. Martin on this episode of “The Spiritual Life” to reflect on:

-The importance of empathy in Garfield’s own spirituality of acting

-The ways God calls us to defend human dignity and fight for justice as portrayed in Garfield’s new movie, ‘The Uprising’

-What lessons from The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius have remained close to Garfield’s heart

-God speaking through our dreams

Timecodes:

0:00 Andrew Garfield

5:20 The spiritual themes of ‘The Uprising’

10:10 Is there a spirituality of acting?

14:30 His mother’s ability to attune to small miracles

18:30 The mystery of faith in ‘Silence’

21:30 Encountering Jesus in the Spiritual Exercises

28:10 How Andrew Garfield reflects on his day with the Jesuit examen

38:05 Does God and our loved ones speak through dreams?

42:20 Audience Question: How do I transform my pain to stop transmitting it to others?

Maggi Van Dorn’s producer’s notes on this episode

Do you have a spiritual question for Fr. Jim? You can write to us at: thespirituallife@americamedia.org

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“The Spiritual Life with Fr. James Martin, S.J.” returns for its third season with what is sure to be a crowd favorite: a conversation with the legendary Catholic musician Matt Maher. A nine-time Grammy Award nominee, Maher has written some of the most widely sung worship songs across many Christian denominations, including “Lord I Need You,” “Your Grace Is Enough,” and his latest, “Gonna Be Alright.” Together with host James Martin, S.J, Matt reflects upon:

The profound conversion experience Matt had in his early 20s that led to his vocation as a praise and worship singer-songwriter.

The evolution of praise and worship music in the last century

The ways that “writing to task” and divine inspiration have shaped Maher’s songwriting

The ministry of being on the road with people and home with family

Timcodes:

0:00 In a didactic age of faith, we need to return to the experience of God

5:10 The conversion experience that led to Matt’s vocation as a Christian musician

12:39 Church music progression: from the St. Louis Jesuits to modern praise and worship

24:35 Writing out of the experience of the Eucharist

26:10 Any great song tells the truth

30:10 The practices that keep Matt spiritually alive

34:13 Discernment and detachment for creatives

38:28 Encountering God in relationships

46:54 Audience Question: I am often moved to tears at mass but don’t understand why?

Maggi Van Dorn’s producer’s notes on this episode

Do you have a spiritual question for Fr. Jim? You can write to us at: thespirituallife@americamedia.org

Become a subscriber today at Americamagazine.org/subscribe

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Founder of Homeboy Industries and best-selling spiritual writer, Greg Boyle, S.J., joins James Martin S.J. on the season finale of “The Spiritual Life” podcast. They talk about who inspired Greg to join the Jesuits, where he goes for spiritual direction each morning, bringing a mystical lens to reading the Bible, and how the community at Homeboy, the world’s leading gang intervention rehabilitation program, has made God’s love real to him.

Timecodes: 

0:00 Greg Boyle doesn’t know a bad person

5:20 How Homeboy ministries began 

14:17 How joy, humor and fearlessness attracted Fr. Greg to the Jesuits

20:20 Why you need a mystical filter to know the God of Love

24:45 You want to see Jesus so you can be Jesus to others

35:55 Hate is a symptom of bad health, not a bad person

47:00 Dealing with criticism and praise

50:31 Greg’s morning spiritual practice

54:45 Audience Question: How do we know for sure if God forgives us?

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Read Fr. Jim’s spiritual reflection on moral heroes

Fr. Greg Boyle’s books:

Tattoos on the Heart

Barking to the Choir

Cherished Belonging

Forgive Everyone Everything

Do you have a spiritual question for Father Jim? You can write to us at: thespirituallife@americamedia.org

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Hasan Minhaj is “down to catch a blessing,” wherever that may be. The Emmy Award-winning comedian joins James Martin, S.J. on “The Spiritual Life” podcast to share his Muslim faith, how laughter helped to save his life, and his hopes for interreligious dialogue and prayer. 

Timecodes:

0:00 How a traveling comedian looks to an ancient faith

4:11 Why laughter is important to the spiritual life

8:13 Hasan’s early childhood influences

9:35 The story of Islam 

13:26 Malcolm X & Dr. Sherman Jackson on being Muslim in America

26:02 An inter-faith dialogue on Jesus and the Trinity

30:22 Dealing with negative stereotypes about Islam

33:40 The call to prayer

37:58 Encountering God through acts of virtue

41:30 Islam does not depict God through images

44:15 Audience Question: Advice for someone who hasn’t lived a religious life and has doubts,  but still feels called to faith?

Hasan’s podcast episode with Fr. Jim: Hasan Minhaj Doesn't Know

Read ⁠Fr. Jim's ⁠ spiritual reflection⁠ on this episode

Do you have a spiritual question for Father Jim? You can write to us at: thespirituallife@americamedia.org

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David Brooks is known as one of America’s leading public intellectuals, a longtime columnist for The New York Times and now a staff writer at The Atlantic. He joins James Martin, S.J., on “The Spiritual Life” podcast to share how he went from a mostly cultural Jew, to a “Jew-y” Christian in the land of faith. 

 Timeline:

0:00 Traveling to the land of faith

6:20 Our social and political problems are spiritual ones

10:04 Understanding the America’s religious revival 

11:46 Religious but not yet spiritual

14:05 David’s movement to faith

19:05 Dorothy Day and St. Augustine influences 

28:15 Unpacking  David’s mystical experiences

34:35 A new frontier in the Christian faith

37:33 Three Jewish women that paid attention: Simone Weil, Edith Stein, Etty Hillesum

47:50 Audience Question: How do we maintain hope in bleak times?

Brooks is the bestselling author of several books including:

 How to Know a Person: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/652822/how-to-know-a-person-by-david-brooks/

The Second Mountain: The Quest for a Moral Life:

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/217649/the-second-mountain-by-david-brooks/

The Road to Character:

https://www.acappellabooks.com/pages/books/343956/david-brooks/the-road-to-character

Bobos in Paradise

https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Bobos-in-Paradise/David-Brooks/9780684853789

Read Fr. Jim's ⁠ spiritual reflection on this episode

Do you have a spiritual question for Father Jim? You can write to us at: thespirituallife@americamedia.org

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