Why does everything have to smell of politics? Interesting history about better and lesser known saints, but with James Martin's political bias showing through again and again. ( )

[a:James Martin|16201|Niccolò Machiavelli|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1185567895p2/16201.jpg] is a great guy to have in the spotlight as an example of Jesuit life. He's also a great writer whose humbleness and natural humor comes through the written word as easily as it does on camera.

This book is a wonderfully original way of writing an autobiography. By focusing on specific saints as they related to his life in various phases, we get a sense not only of the external events, but also of the interior transformation that took place in James over his lifetime. It's is a very accessible book and a fun read that keeps your attention nicely, but it doesn't demand you sit and read it at length. I'll put it on the list of "good bathroom reading". ( )

As I write it's the Feast of St. George, and I'm smitten that there's a feast day for a dragon slayer. (Also that George is patron saint of herpes sufferers.) Sure, maybe no dragons were smitten or maidens sacrificed in the real life of George, but I grew up on the fairy tale. Saints likely contributed to my love of biography and understanding of how narratives take on a life independent of veracity. James Martin claims quite a life story himself, forsaking the corporate world for the Jesuit religious order and a vocation in media. Saints are Martin's framework to tell his own story, as he reflects on how religious figures first captivated him. Martin's lives of the saints aren't much more complicated than back-of-the-church tracts, but they inspire him to find goodness in others, and that slays me.

I really liked it...made it real and not the ole hokey saints stuf. Nice ( )

This spiritual memoir weaves the lives of the saints with those of Martin’s impressive experiences. In James Martin’s My Life with the Saints, St. Jude was always there for him. With St. Joan of Arc he discovered the true French spirit. St. Thérèse of Lisieux was a distinctive “little flower” his heroes revered. Thomas Merton was a bundle of contradictions, but a rock to emulate. St. Ignatius of Loyola - founder of the Jesuits, provided a path that wasn’t always straight. While Pedro Arrupe he admired, and was saddened by his gradual demise.
Martin remembered the Song of Bernadette, and his experiences at Lourdes. St. Mother Teresa was glorified with the Missionaries of Charity. He was struck by the wit and wisdom of Pope John XXⅢ, and the practice of voluntary poverty of Dorothy Day. After his novitiate he took vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience, and the “vow name” Peter. But St. Thomas Aquinas augmented his gifts of reason, faith, and humility.
In St. Francis of Assisi, Martin saw the “imitation of Christ.” Jesus’s father Joseph lived a hidden life just like the Little Sisters of Jesus in sub-Sahara Africa. But his work with the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS), visits to the shrine in Namugongo in honor of Saint Charles Lwanga and his companions, further opened his eyes to the plight of Africans, and the Ugandan martyrs.
Martin was struck by St. Aloysius Gonzaga’s determination to enter religious life, and described the opposition of his father as similar to those of his parents about his intention to leave the corporate world. He however found comfort by praying Hail Mary when he wanted something because he knew she was there to intercede for us. He wrote readers would be impressed by the contemporary saints, but he however saw them as models, and enjoyed the benefits of their experiences. But when it comes to Christian believers Martin wrote, “Each of us brings something to the table, and we each through our own gifts, manifest a personal way of holiness that enlivens the community. We help build up the Kingdom of God in ways that others cannot.” ( )