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    My Life With the Saints

    my life with the saints book cover Just before Christmas (or was it after?), James handed me My Life with the Saints by James Martin, SJ. For some reason I also started reading it even though I already had a million other books I wanted to get through. I have a vague passing interest in saints and at the time was feeling that we Christians have forgotten too much of our heritage whilst we were eagerly embracing contemporary worship. So I read the introduction.

    I was really drawn in by the style of the writing. From the cover I had missed the blurb describing the book as memoirs so was pleasantly surprised to find that this book is a personal encounter with the author as well as being an introduction to the lives of a handful of saints. It is written with humour, warmth and a sense of the shared humanity that we all have – the author describes times of fear, uncertainty, confusion, pride and injury as well as joy, friendship and even a little adventure (well I count standing between two armed gangs in Chicago gangland as adventure).

    Each chapter of the book is about a saint but is also about a chapter in the life of the author. So we move from his highschool shenanigans working for a movie theatre to his first placement as a novice in the Jesuits and then through a series of missions and pilgrimages that he has been involved in as a Jesuit – including becoming a writer. Sometimes we go back and forwards in time to fill in the gaps too so it’s not too linear.

    The book gives a lot of insight into the life of someone in a religious order. He talks about vows, some experiences of being a priest and giving mass, relationships with other religious and the challenges he had to face in his vocation.

    I should also mention that the use of the words ‘Saints’ is a pretty loose use of the word as many of the saints we come across in the book are not canonised but instead are recognised as being holy people by many Christians. Also not all of the saints are ‘old and dusty’ some of them like Thomas Merton and Dorris Day lived recently and shared similar experiences to those we have in modern life.

    Thanks James for lending me this book and thanks James Martin, SJ for writing it. Recomended.

    Librarything record for My Life with the Saints

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    Posted: February 1st, 2007 under Inspirational People, Books.
    Comments: 3

    Comments

    Comment from Sheena Walsh
    Time: 5/2/2007, 10:03 am

    I would be interested in anything by/about Dorothy Day, she keeps popping up in my readings lately. If anyone has a title to recommend, please do so. Did you come across anything at ACU, Matt?

    Comment from djfoobarmatt
    Time: 6/2/2007, 9:13 am

    There is a list of recommended readings on each of the saints at the back of the book so perhaps you could borrow it next…

    Comment from Brandon
    Time: 10/2/2007, 9:54 am

    I’ve currently been reading “The Lure of Saints” by Jon Sweeney and that’s not too bad either. Next time I’m at St. Paul’s Book Centre in the city, I think I might have a skim through “My Life With The Saints” if it’s there

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