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

Latest Episodes:

From refugee to Bishop: Michael Pham’s remarkable story of migration, vocation and advocacy Oct 20, 2026

Show notes

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.

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:

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Bishop Mariann Budde on preaching the gospel in a political world Oct 13, 2026

Show notes

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”.

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:

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

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

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What role does conscience play in our spiritual lives? Oct 06, 2026

Show notes

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.

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

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What does it mean to have a personal relationship with Jesus? Sep 29, 2026

Show notes

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. 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

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How do you face suffering with faith? Sep 22, 2026

Show notes

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.

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

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How Jesuit spirituality changed Andrew Garfield’s life Sep 15, 2026

Show notes

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:

-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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Music as a doorway to the divine with Matt Maher Sep 08, 2026

Show notes

“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:

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

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Greg Boyle, S.J. on compassion and kinship Jun 30, 2026

Show notes

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.

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

35:55Hate 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 Become a subscriber today at Americamagazine.org/subscribe

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Hasan Minhaj on Islam, comedy, and the spiritual life Jun 23, 2026

Show notes

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.

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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David Brooks on finding faith later in life Jun 16, 2026

Show notes

David Brooks is known as one of America’s leading public intellectuals, a longtime columnist for The New York Times and now a staff writer at The Atlantic. He joins James Martin, S.J., on “The Spiritual Life” podcast to share how he went from a mostly cultural Jew, to a “Jew-y” Christian in the land of faith.

Timeline:

0:00 Traveling to the land of faith

6:20 Our social and political problems are spiritual ones

10:04 Understanding the America’s religious revival

11:46 Religious but not yet spiritual

14:05 David’s movement to faith

19:05 Dorothy Day and St. Augustine influences

28:15 Unpacking David’s mystical experiences

34:35 A new frontier in the Christian faith

37:33 Three Jewish women that paid attention: Simone Weil, Edith Stein, Etty Hillesum

47:50 Audience Question: How do we maintain hope in bleak times?

Brooks is the bestselling author of several books including:

How to Know a Person: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/652822/how-to-know-a-person-by-david-brooks/

The Second Mountain: The Quest for a Moral Life:

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/217649/the-second-mountain-by-david-brooks/

The Road to Character:

https://www.acappellabooks.com/pages/books/343956/david-brooks/the-road-to-character

Bobos in Paradise

https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Bobos-in-Paradise/David-Brooks/9780684853789

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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