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

Afleveringen

1. Can prayer and friendship overcome polarization?

   27 oktober 2026 · 52 min

   Afspelen
   Can Catholics come together in deeply polarized times? Fr. James Martin is joined by Tim Busch, a businessman, philanthropist, and one of the most prominent Catholic lay leaders in the United States. He is the co-founder and chairman of The Napa Institute, which brings together clergy, scholars, business leaders, and other lay Catholics to explore the Church’s mission in contemporary culture. He’s known for his “salon dinners,” where he brings together people with different perspectives from within the church to break down walls and build friendships. Lees meer

   Together, Tim Busch and Fr. Jim discuss:

   Reaching out and listening to people, even when we disagree ideologically

   Contemplative prayer for busy people

   How our spirituality can help us remain open to people who believe or practice the faith differently than we do

   Chapters:

   0:00 We all can be pastoral to one another

   3:32 Tim’s leadership with the Eucharistic procession

   4:45 Salon dinners – bringing Catholics together from diverse perspectives

   11:57 The impact of Legatus on Tim Busch

   17:15 Contemplative prayer for a busy person

   22:32: Experiencing God in daily life

   25:15 How to find God while suffering

   29:45 What’s the Napa Institute?

   34:40 Bridging divides in the Catholic church

   41:59 Audience Question: How do I know if I’m giving enough of my time and material resources to those in need?

   Read Maggi’s spiritual advice column for this episode here: https://www.americamagazine.org/podcasts/2026/10/26/tim-busch-spiritual-life-father-james-martin

   Links from the show:

   Lowering the temperature in Catholic culture wars—over a meal

   Breaking bread and ending culture wars

   Tim Busch and Jim Martin bring left and right Catholics together over dinner and wine

   Support The Spiritual Life by becoming a digital subscriber to America magazine at americamagazine.org/subscribe

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

   Become a subscriber today at Americam…

2. From refugee to Bishop: Michael Pham’s remarkable story of migration, vocation and advocacy

   20 oktober 2026 · 57 min

   Afspelen
   How can leaders in the church accompany migrants and refugees? Fr. James Martin, S.J., speaks with Bishop Michael Pham about how his background as a refugee has led him to accompany migrants today. Lees meer

   Bishop Pham fled Vietnam in 1980 with his older sister and a younger brother, arriving first at a refugee camp in Malaysia, before being sponsored a year later by an American family and relocating to Minnesota. He graduated from San Diego State University with a bachelor’s and started a master’s degree in aerospace engineering before shifting his course and pursuing the priesthood. Pope Francis appointed him as auxiliary bishop of San Diego in 2023. In 2025, Pope Leo XIV named him the seventh bishop of San Diego, making him the nation’s first Vietnamese-American diocesan bishop. Since then he has been a leader among U.S. bishops in advocating for migrants and refugees.

   Together, Bishop Pham and Fr. Martin discuss:

   His childhood in Vietnam and escaping conflict as a refugee

   How Bishop Pham supports migrants today

   How prayers and sacraments can sustain us while helping vulnerable communities

   Chapters:

   0:00 A church that walks with migrants

   4:24 Bishop Pham’s story of fleeing Vietnam as a child

   17:19 Separated from his family at a refugee camp

   18:19 Prayer strengthened his family’s faith in hardship

   22:55 Discerning the priesthood

   31:18 Bishop Pham’s work with migrants today

   39:39 The church’s response to migration centers on human dignity

   42:00 Remember to celebrate the small blessings

   45:30 Audience Question: How can prayer and sacraments sustain me through the work of helping vulnerable communities?

   Read Maggi’s spiritual reflection here

   Links from the show:

   Why San Diego’s Catholic leaders are standing with migrants in court—against impossible odds

   Pope Leo XIV, in first U.S. appointment, names San Diego’s new bishop

   U.S. Catholics are facing an authoritarian threat. The church has been here before.

   The U.S. bishops have made a (needed) statement on…

3. Bishop Mariann Budde on preaching the gospel in a political world

   13 oktober 2026 · 1 uur 4 min

   Afspelen
   How do we navigate politics in our congregations, our prayers, and our lives of faith? Fr. James Martin, S.J., discusses these questions with Bishop Mariann Budde of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington DC. Bishop Budde became the first-ever woman to hold her position after being consecrated as the ninth bishop of Washington in November 2011. In addition to being a bishop, she is a mother, grandmother, and author of books including, “Gathering Up the Fragments: Preaching as Spiritual Practice” and “How We Learn to Be Brave: Decisive Moments in Life and Faith”. Lees meer

   Together, Bishop Budde and Fr. Martin discuss:

   Preaching in a politically fraught time

   Recognizing the humanity in everyone in a polarized country

   Experiencing God in your daily life

   Chapters:

   00:00 Welcome Bishop Mariann Budde

   3:51 What defines Episcopalian spirituality?

   7:25 Matthew Shepard’s internment at the National Cathedral

   11:44 How do you preach about politics?

   22:33 Challenging a culture of contempt

   28:50 Bishop Budde’s call to ordained ministry

   33:35 What is liberation theology?

   41:00 Spiritual practices that keep Bishop Budde grounded

   47:49: Experiencing God in your day-to-day life

   52:29 Audience question: How do we ensure our transgender child knows they are loved by God and by us?

   Links from the show:

   Bishop Budde showed faithful moral courage. Catholics should follow her lead.

   How We Learn to Be Brave

   Gathering Up the Fragments: Preaching as Spiritual Practice

   Read Maggi and Fr. Jim’s article reflecting on the themes of this episode

   Support The Spiritual Life by becoming a digital subscriber to America magazine at americamagazine.org/subscribe

   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

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4. What role does conscience play in our spiritual lives?

   6 oktober 2026 · 56 min

   Afspelen
   What is moral theology, and where does it fit in our spiritual lives? Fr. James Martin, S.J., asks these questions to James Keenan, a Jesuit priest and one of the world's leading Catholic moral theologians on “The Spiritual Life” podcast. He is the Canisius professor of theology at Boston College, where he also serves as director of the Jesuit Institute and Vice Provost for Global Engagement. He has written and edited over a dozen books, covering everything from church leadership to moral life to bioethics, and more. Lees meer

   Together, they discuss:

   - Moral theology in practice

   - The role of conscience in our daily lives

   - What happens when conscience and church teaching disagree?

   Chapters:

   00:00 Who is Fr. James Keenan, S.J.?

   4:15 Mercy and vulnerability

   6:10 Sin is "not bothering"

   9:10 What sins are Jesus concerned with?

   10:35 Becoming a moral theologian

   15:15 Morality and birth control

   18:40 What is moral theology?

   22:30 What is conscience?

   26:23 Conscience and church teaching

   30:05 Understanding the Good Samaritan

   41:00 Fr. Keenan's spiritual practices

   45:10 Audience question: Conscience in difficult decisions

   Spiritual advice column for this episode by Maggi and Fr. Jim: https://www.americamagazine.org/podcasts/2026/10/06/father-james-martin-keenan-conscience-spiritual-life

   Other links:

   The liberating work of mercy: Banning ‘servile work’

   Pope Leo’s powerful lesson in vulnerable leadership

   James F. Keenan, S.J., on guidance for the LGBTQ Catholic conscience

   Focusing on the individual is not enough to face today’s crises. We need collective moral agency.

   The Moral Life

   Support The Spiritual LifeJesuitical by becoming a digital subscriber to America magazine at americamagazine.org/subscribe

   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
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5. What does it mean to have a personal relationship with Jesus?

   29 september 2026 · 1 uur 2 min

   Afspelen
   Fr. James Martin, S.J., welcomes Susan Stabile, a spiritual director and retreat leader in the Ignatian tradition onto “The Spiritual Life” podcast. Susan was raised Catholic, but spent twenty years practicing Buddhism (and was ordained a Tibetan Buddhist nun) before returning to Catholicism. She now serves as Distinguished Senior Fellow at the University of St. Thomas, as well as adjunct instructor in Theology at St. Catherine’s University, where she is also Co-Director of a Contemplative Practices initiative. Susan offers retreats, spiritual direction, and adult faith formation programs nationally, and is the author of Growing in Love and Wisdom: Tibetan Buddhist Sources for Christian Meditation. Lees meer

   Together, Susan and Fr James discuss:

   Her journey through Buddhism and back home to Catholicism

   Having a personal relationship with Jesus

   Spiritual direction as part of her return to the Church

   Timecodes:
   0:00 The difference between ‘talking about’ and ‘talking to’ Jesus
   08:09 The pivotal experience in Susan’s spiritual life
   17:28 What does a personal relationship with Jesus mean?
   19:17 Engaging the senses in Ignatian contemplation
   22:56 What Bible commentaries can do for our faith
   30:50 How do I know this isn’t just in my head?
   36:45 What happens in spiritual direction?
   42:39 Key qualities in a good spiritual director
   45:16 Overcoming spiritual hurdles
   54:17 Audience Question: How do I discern whether an experience is coming from God or my ego?

   Check out Susan's book:
   Growing in Love and Wisdom: Tibetan Buddhist Sources for Christian Meditation

   Maggi and Fr. Jim’s spiritual reflection article.

   Spiritual Directors International website.

   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
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6. How do you face suffering with faith?

   22 september 2026 · 1 uur 10 min

   Afspelen
   How do you maintain a friendship with God when life gets hard? What do you do when, in your mid-fifties and at the height of your career, you are diagnosed with an aggressive and incurable brain cancer? That’s the question that confronted Ann Garrido, our guest on, “The Spiritual Life with Fr. James Martin, S.J.” podcast. Ann is an associate professor of homiletics at Aquinas Institute of Theology in St. Louis Missouri, where she also founded the school’s master’s program in the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd. She has written several award-winning books including Redeeming Administration, Redeeming Conflict, and Redeeming Power. Lees meer

   Together, Fr. Jim and Ann discuss:

   How to reflect on human suffering and “offer it up” as a prayer

   Allowing oneself to be wooed by God daily, even when the future seems uncertain

   What we can know about heaven

   Timecodes:

   0:00 “I am with you, and I am within you”

   5:58 Where Ann’s life of teaching, preaching and ministry began

   9:30 The hard theological questions born in Africa

   15:42 How Ann was diagnosed with a glioblastoma

   19:57 Noticing God’s presence and offering up her suffering

   28:38 God woos Ann each day through the examen prayer

   39:46 What we can know about heaven

   51:00 Audience Question: How do we maintain a friendship with Jesus that allows us to remain joyful when life is so hard?

   Check out Ann's recent book, Redeeming Power

   Maggi and Fr. Jim’s article reflection on “offering up” our suffering

   Preach episode featuring Ann Garrido

   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

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7. How Jesuit spirituality changed Andrew Garfield’s life

   15 september 2026 · 59 min

   Afspelen
   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: Lees meer

   -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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8. Music as a doorway to the divine with Matt Maher

   8 september 2026 · 59 min

   Afspelen
   “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: Lees meer

   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

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9. Greg Boyle, S.J. on compassion and kinship

   30 juni 2026 · 1 uur 6 min

   Afspelen
   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. Lees meer

   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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10. Hasan Minhaj on Islam, comedy, and the spiritual life

    23 juni 2026 · 56 min

    Afspelen
    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. Lees meer

    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

    Become a subscriber today at Americamagazine.org/subscribe
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