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My Life With the Saints  By  cover art

My Life With the Saints

By: James Martin SJ
Narrated by: James Martin SJ
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Publisher's summary

Be inspired by saints like never before in My Life with the Saints by James Martin, SJ. This best-selling memoir of spiritual self-discovery is an homage to the saints who have accompanied Fr. Martin throughout his life. From a lukewarm childhood Catholicism, to the Wharton School of Business, to the executive fast track at General Electric, to the Jesuits, to a media career in Manhattan, Martin has relied on the saints to intervene in and guide his life.

As Martin shares with us his many surprising encounters and journeys with the saints, he convincingly explains how we, too, can be close friends with the saints.

©2006 James Martin, SJ (P)2009 St. Anthony Messenger Press

Critic reviews

"Martin, a Jesuit priest and associate editor of America magazine, takes a splendid idea and develops it masterfully by weaving stories from his life into those of his favorite saints." ( Publishers Weekly)
"It is one thing to read the lives of the saints, quite another to hear about somebody who lives with the saints, who thinks about, researches, and calls upon certain saints regularly. Such a person is, today, a rarity. Such a person is GE-exec-turned-Jesuit Martin, associate editor of the national Catholic weekly America, who details his introduction to and relationship with more than a dozen of his favorite haloed heroes in this book." ( Booklist)

What listeners say about My Life With the Saints

Average customer ratings
Overall
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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

The title describes the book

I almost deleted this book after the first 20 minutes. I had just listened to a purely factual book and expected 'My Life with the Saints' to be similar: a condensed biography of a selection of saints. It seemed too slow and conversational. But then I understood that this was his "life" with the Saints, not a book about the "lives of the Saints". Well it isn't. It interweaves the life of James Martin with lessons and some history of the Saints he selects. To use a cliche, he "makes the Saints come alive". Through the book you see the relevance of these Saints in a modern world, to the poor in Africa, to the homeless, to the student and office workers. There are some who are not canonized Saints - Pedro Arupe for example and Thomas Merton. But what "saintly" lives they led. And then there is the very last chapter. It brings perspective to "sainthood" that I hardly imaged. That was the great tour de force. I listened to the book over about a month to and from work and was excited to see who the next Saint was. I miss Father Martin's conversational style and the people - both Saints and the "ordinary" people he met in his travels. This is a great start if any one wants to visit with the Saints prior to jumping headlong into biographies of individual ones. I hope he writes / records volume 2. By the way, I am not Catholic - but my life was inspired by these men and women through the book.

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29 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Like a present from God

I never dreamed that I would get as much out of this book as I have. I thought just another dreary account of the saints. The cover artwork was the attraction. Surprise! Father Martin is a wonderful, personal author. The saints he selected have always artracted my attention. Joan of Arc the brve. Teresa of Liseaux the sweet, holy saint. Thomas Merton, my favorite. St. Ignatius who's Exercises have enriched my journey. I am indepted to the author for sharing his story and I will continue to recommend his book to others.
God blesses you Father Martin and your readers too.
Carol Gorman

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19 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Personable and Informative

I loved this book because not only do you learn a lot about many saints, the author weaves them into his own autobiographical sketch. He highlights the saints meaning to him during a partcular time in his life. His story is also a testament to the energetic and interesting life a Jesuit leads. This book would be great for everyone, but especially good for someone considering the priesthood or religious life.

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11 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Such a great book!

Would you listen to My Life With the Saints again? Why?

Yes, I would definitely listen to this book again. There are so many little gems about the saints and their lives and examples of how you can use their experiences to help you in your own life. It was so jammed packed I want to listen to it over and over again and take notes. I loved it!

What was one of the most memorable moments of My Life With the Saints?

There wasn't really just one memorable moment in this book. Each chapter dove into another Saint. Each time I turned the book on I was taken into their world and given a preview of them and their lives. I was also on James Martins personal journey as he met each saint not unlike you would meet a new friend and create a relationship with them.

Any additional comments?

I am currently going through the RCIA program at my Catholic church and am going to be baptized this Easter Vigil. During my class I was told that I could choose a saint to be named after for my confirmation. I knew about saints but felt like there where thousands to choose from and didn't know where to start.

I found this book and it was such a blessing. It taught me about a whole slew of saints. It also got me excited to keep learning about more saints and see how I can live better through their experiences.

I loved this book and can't wait to read it again to find things that I missed.

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10 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

I really like this author, and am a fan of saints.

What made the experience of listening to My Life With the Saints the most enjoyable?

There's a certain charm in the blending of personal narrative and saintly biography that I find delightful. I enjoy people who are comfortable talking about themselves--not in the narcissistic way, but in the "I've done some reflecting on my life and would like to share it with you" way. Father Martin has that quality, and this is a good example of how he mixes himself with this subject.

What did you like best about this story?

The stories of the saints themselves, particularly those I didn't know much about, including the African martyrs.

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9 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

easy listening hagiography

I was so excited to see St Anthony Messenger Press titles added to Audible that I quickly used up all my accumulated credits on several. In fact, I misread the title of this and thought it was a memoir of contemporary life in the Jesuits.

After my inital disappointment, it turned out to be easy listening stories of Saints, mostly from a fresh perspective -- a vehicle for Martin's tale of his spiritual pilgrmage ---which of course did eventually involve Jesuits, but much more also.

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

WoW

I enjoyed how the saints are presented... we are called to be just like him...

Listened to it twice and still willing to read it again. Even with the knowledge of some of the Saints, it is very interesting to see how they placed in the book. I learned alot! Fun listen!

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

One of my Favorites

My Life With the Saints is a special audiobook for me. I was first given the book by a friend at Church and was really hoping to find it in audio format and when I did I was very happy. I listen to parts of this audiobook almost every night.

James Martin is a Jesuit Priest and a wonderful storyteller. I especially like that he narrated his own book. That makes it all the more better. This has been a helpful audiobook for me at all times and I would definitely recommend the audio version for those who haven't heard or read his books before.

A real joy in my life.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Engaging, Informative, Inspiring

What made the experience of listening to My Life With the Saints the most enjoyable?

I enjoyed the approach taken when writing this book. It wasn't just another dry, biographical depiction of saints with a new person covered with each chapter. Father Martin gives a solid 'cliff notes' biography of each person with several anecdotes added for flavor; but the book was enhanced with his stories how he came to know about each of these saints & what role they played in his life.

Who was your favorite character and why?

A favorite character doesn't apply for me in this case; but Father Martin's presentation has prompted me to further explore the lives of a couple of these men & women I wasn't that familiar with.

Have you listened to any of James Martin’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I haven't listened to James Martin before; but his narration was very engaging.

Any additional comments?

The key word would be 'relational'. I often forget that even though these people are saints (yes some he talks about are not cannonized), they had faults & vices just like all of us. There are many more saints out there to explore & ask for intercession when we need it. I think we have a lot more in common with these people than what we realize.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Does not disappoint; very accessible

I am not Catholic but enjoyed Martin's take on things, which is consistent with my experience with Jesuit spirituality. The different Saints provide the reader with a sort of buffet. Don't expect to be equally moved by all due to the diversity, but definitely worth my time.

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3 people found this helpful