“My Life with the Saints,” An Amiable, Accessible Introduction

Last updated on: November 28, 2016 at 3:02 pm by Cynthia Dagnal-Myron

“My Life with the Saints,” An Amiable, Accessible Introduction 2016-11-28T15:02:48-07:00 Cynthia Dagnal-Myron

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

mylifewiththesaints

My Life with the Saints, by James Martin, SJ, is like an “amuse bouche.” Or better yet, you could call it a Whitman sampler of popular saints.

Martin’s mission is to introduce some of the most famous and fascinating saints, hoping you’ll fall in love with that special one who’ll be your guide forever. And in the process, he proves, among other things, that Catholics do not pray to saints to keep from “bothering Jesus” as comedienne Kathleen Madigan quips during her tour and HBO special entitled, you guessed it: Bothering Jesus.

He also debunks the oft-repeated myth that Catholics worship saints more than Jesus.

“Everything the saints say and do is centered on Christ,” Martin writes, noting that Thérèse of Lisieux’ last words were, “Oh, I love Him…My God…I love you.”

“I find Thérèse a companionable presence, a cheerful sister, a patient woman and a lifelong believer,” he explains. ”She is joyful, patient and generous. She is someone whose company, had I known her, would have made me a better Christian.”

But it’s Thomas Merton who changed Martin’s life forever, convincing him, through his writings to enter the Jesuit novitiate. And of all the saints he describes, it was Merton whose words leapt off the page and into my heart as well.

Two quotes moved me to tears of both gratitude and relief:

“For perfect hope is achieved on the brink of despair, when instead of falling over the edge, we find ourselves walking on air…for at the moment of supreme crisis, God’s power is suddenly made perfect in our infirmity. So we learn to expect his mercy most calmly when all is most dangerous, to seek him quietly in the face of peril, certain that he cannot fail us.”

And:

“It is not necessary that we succeed in everything. A man can be perfect and still reap no fruit from his work, and it may happen that a man who is able to accomplish very little is much more of a person than a man who seems to accomplish very much.”

That we are loved no matter how much we achieve, even as we’re falling over that edge–how blessed are we? And in the end, Martin’s book is most valuable for providing these nuggets of wisdom we can return to, in time of need.

This is not a particularly philosophical or analytical book. Martin specializes in amiable, accessible prose. His previous best seller, Jesus: A Pilgrimage, is a personal and personable introduction to the Holy Land that reads like a journal.

Similarly, this book is long on personal anecdote but sometimes a bit short on actual information about the saints themselves. The little biographies that follow the introductory ruminations sometimes seem like afterthoughts, or those Cliff Notes summaries we used to read to avoid having to struggle through an entire book.

Likewise, this is not a book for those who know the saints well and might be hoping to read about a few lesser known ones. These are the heavy hitters: Joan of Arc, Mother Teresa, Pedro Arrupe, Dorothy Day, Ignatius of Loyola, Thomas Aquinas and Francis of Assisi and other luminaries.

But for newbies like me, this may be the perfect approach. Martin draws us in, giving us stories from his own life that sound familiar to us, before plunging us into the intense lives of these remarkable role models.

And by offering his “testimony” so candidly, he challenges all of us to think more deeply about our own beliefs and how—or if–we live them. That alone makes this a very valuable book.

Uncategorized

Previous Post

November 18, 2016

Déjà Vu All Over Again--Ruminations of a Black Woman in Trumpland

Next Post

December 2, 2016 Drop That Stone, Jesus is Testing You

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Uncategorized

Select a Month May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who was the cupbearer to the king who fasted and prayed for Jerusalem?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Haggai Zerubbabel Nehemiah Ezra