Posts Tagged ‘Jesuit Father James Martin’

Anticipating a Christmas season that looks nothing like the Normal Rockwell ideal? Jesuit Father James Martin offers some tips on getting through the festivities with your sense of humor intact:

1) Laugh about the craziness. Got a crazy family who always argues about the same thing every single time they get together? “I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU BROUGHT THAT UP AGAIN!” Don’t get angry; get perspective. Unless you’re the Messiah and can work miracles, you’re probably not going to change them. So stop trying. You’re driving yourself nuts. You can be open and loving, but you can also be realistic.

2) Laugh at things that are supposed to be funny. There’s plenty of funny holiday-themed humor out there. If you’re not tickled by Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer (which I am not) there’s always A Christmas Story, (“You’ll shoot your eye out!”), which airs on TV 24/7 from Thanksgiving to Christmas, so you’ve got no excuse not to smile at least once in November and December.

3) Laugh at yourself. As Jesus said to the disciples, “Get over yourself!” (Well, he should have said it.) Stop taking yourself so seriously. Your coworkers thought that your Christmas tie was ugly? Maybe it is. Someone didn’t like your “Famous Mulled Wine” or your “Christmasy Ginger-Pumpkin Nutbread” handed down from your great-grandmother? Get over it. Life’s too short to take yourself too seriously.

To read the full post on ways to survive this time of year, check out the full blog post here.

Fr. Martin is the author of the new book Between Heaven and Mirth: Why Joy, Humor and Laughter Are at the Heart of the Spiritual Life (HarperOne), which, he would like to say, makes the perfect gift for any holiday.

A prolific writer and the cultural editor for America Magazine, Jesuit Father James Martin also frequently contributes to the Huffington Post‘s Religion section and appears on the late night satirical talk show The Colbert Report.

Fr. Martin is a best selling author of books like “The Jesuits Guide to Everything” and “My Life with the Saints.” This month, Martin’s latest book “Between Heaven and Mirth: Why Joy, Humor and Laughter are at the Heart of the Spiritual Life” is hitting bookshelves and ereaders across the country. In this latest book, Martin explores the intersection of faith and humor and why being spiritual and being serious don’t always go hand in hand.

Martin took the time to speak with us by phone for this month’s NJN podcast. You can listen below:

Even though 10 years have passed, for many of us, September 11th, 2001 feels like yesterday. Thousands of people lost their lives that September morning, many of them while trying to save others. As this sad anniversary approaches, Jesuit Father James Martin recently reflected in America Magazine about the ministry he and his fellow Jesuits performed during the days that followed.

“In this hell I found grace. Working at the World Trade Center was one of the most profound experiences of the Holy Spirit I’ve ever had, for there I encountered an overwhelming sense of charity, unity and concord. Every person working at Ground Zero was “other-directed.” Every person was selfless, utterly unconcerned for himself or herself. Every person seemed kind, considerate, loving. And here was God offering us a parable today. As I looked around at the rescue workers, I thought, what is God like? God is like the firefighter who rushes into a burning building to save someone. That’s how much God loves us. And I saw this love expressed in the great charity of all the rescue workers who gathered at the American Golgotha.”

To read Father Martin’s full article, please click here.

Or, to purchase his book Searching for God at Ground Zero, please click here.

Jesuit Father Jim Martin, “chaplain” to the late night Colbert Report, recently stopped by the satirical show to answer some questions from political humorist and host Stephen Colbert about God’s job and job performance.

When asked what God’s job is, Fr. Martin said it is “sustaining the universe.” Colbert then asked if we can judge him. “No,” Martin said.

“I think we can try to understand the universe and God’s ways, but ultimately it is mysterious … things like famines, floods, natural disasters, these things have confounded theologians and saints for years,” Martin continued.

Martin said the question of why God allows these things to happen is really something we probably won’t be able to answer until the end of our lives when we meet God.

The comedian also asked Martin why God’s approval ratings are so low right now.

Martin said, “I think that frequently when people are thinking about God’s ‘performance rating’ or what they think about God, they are thinking of how things are in their lives. If you are a Christian … you look at Jesus and things didn’t always work out for him either.”

But Martin points out, “God would never destroy a relationship that he had created. So the relationship God has with you is something that’s going to endure forever.”

A prolific writer and the cultural editor for America Magazine, Jesuit Father James Martin also frequently contributes to the Huffington Post‘s Religion section. There, Fr. Martin shared a recent video from his own DVD series on the life of the saints where he explains the religious conversion of Saint Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Jesuits, and his lasting contributions to those seeking spiritual guidance and a closer relationship with God.

You can watch it here: