Fellow blogger Father James Martin, SJ, posted a beautiful tribute to a sister who died recently. Sister Louise French, BVM, died last week. She was a member of the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Dubuque, Iowa.

Sister Louise was a sister for 69 years and a lifelong educator who taught philosophy taught philosophy at Clarke College in Dubuque and Mundelein College and Loyola University in Chicago. Father Martin first met Sister Louise when he was sent to Loyola to learn philosophy with other Jesuit scholastics. Father Martin writes that she is “one of the best people I’ve ever known.”

Father Martin writes,

“At this point in my life I had scant experience with any real-life nuns, or, to use a more contemporary term, “women religious.” In my childhood I had run into a few at our local parish during C.C.D. classes (a sort of Catholic Sunday School). But apart from seeing “The Nun’s Story” and “The Sound of Music,” and bumping into a very few during my novitiate years, I remained completely ignorant about religious life for women. As a result, I arrived in Chicago carrying the same stereotypes about women religious that many Americans hold: sisters compassionate, of course, but they were also a little clueless, rather uneducated, somewhat naïve and perhaps even silly.

Sister French was none of those things–except compassionate. She had completed her Ph.D. in philosophy at Saint Louis University, and by the time I met her had enjoyed a long and distinguished teaching career…. Her intellect, memory and grasp of even the most mind-bending philosophical proofs were nothing short of astonishing. As all great teachers do, Sister French could make even the most difficult concepts seem easy: this was one reason why she was so valued by the Jesuit seminarians….

The other reason we valued Sister French was Sister French herself: she was a patient, gentle and caring woman.

Be sure to read all of Father Martin’s blog post about Sister Louise on the website of America Magazine (10/21/09).

Our condolences to the BVM Sisters and to Sister Louise’s family and friends, and all those whom she touched with her life and spirit.

* * *

Join Sister Maxine and me for prayer today at noon Central Time at http://anunslife.org/live.

Father Jim Martin’s article The New Yorker Has Its “Fun with Nuns” about Paul Rudnick’s article has generated a lot of interesting discussion. There’s one comment in particular that I’d like to highlight (thanks to Jean for alerting me to it).

The comment is from “RP”, a religious sister ministering in Los Angeles.

… Thank you for what you wrote about sisters and how The New Yorker article depicted us, mocked us. I have been a religious for 42 years. I have met my share of “interesting” sisters; some with very heavy burdens that came to bear on the community as well. What the writer Paul Rudnick  failed to note is that religious communities are microcosms of society; almost every group is. We are human, but we are trying to be our best selves for love of God and others.

What surprised me is that whatever mix-match of writers and film makers came up with the hodgepodge of “Sister Act,” they got some parts right. My favorite scene is when the nuns raid the ice cream after a day of working hard in the neighborhood. That was so real. Maybe he’s fixating on the pre-transformed Maggie Smith mother superior character. He is believing his own stereotypes. That sense of belonging and community is what energizes gives so many of us to keep going for the sake of the Gospel. Then there is the scene between Whoppi and the novice. How does a writer get some parts so right and then forget? Maybe he wrote all the inaccurate parts of the film.

… All I mean to say is, Rudnick can mock, but he cannot win. Maybe he’s trying to be another Christopher Hitchens. God help us. These people are so much work.

The person making a difference last night on NBC news was a nun from Boston … a beautiful profile.

Anyway, thanks for taking on The New Yorker. Although I am an educator I find that defending against bias can sap ones energy; I prefer to engage in the media in a positive way by educating future media makers to work from the premise of human dignity and the common good.

And you know what? We just keep going. If we were not living and ministering for the love of God and people, we would never have stayed. It is why we stay.

I don’t know who Sister “RP” is, but I sense that she has a lot of “ballast in the boat” … a grounded woman whose trust and faith in God and in Religious Life is far greater than anyone’s mockery or derision. I particularly like her line, “I prefer to engage in the media in a positive way by educating future media makers to work from the premise of human dignity and the common good.”

What are some ways that we can engage in a positive way? A) to present Catholic sisters and nuns on their own terms, not as caricatures or mystical creatures or objects of derision; and B) to encourage the media (and ourselves) to approach ALL persons “from the premise of human dignity and the common good.”

By the way, be sure to check out the NBC piece that Sister “RP” mentioned: Flying Nun’ Takes Good Works Around the World on NBC’s Making a Difference feature (NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams, July 14, 2009)

Father James Martin, SJ, has written a fine response to Paul Rudnick’s article “Fun with Nuns” in The New Yorker (July 20, 2009 issue). Rudnick’s article covers his efforts to get a screenplay (that would eventually end up as “Sister Act”) produced. But his attitude toward and descriptions of nuns is more than “slightly repellent” as Father Martin writes, it’s disparaging and insulting. It illustrates in bold relief negative stereotypes of Catholic nuns and sisters.

Pondering a possible screenplay using nuns, Rudnick muses that they can be “dictatorial, sexually repressed and scary.”  A grumpy elderly nun at a convent gift store looks like a “bat” or a “long fossilized chimp.”  “’I hate this!’ the chimp yipped,” he writes about the elderly woman who has taken vows of “silence, poverty and chastity” (fact checkers–you missed a vow: obedience) and has led what even she describes a “hard life.”  Rudnick admits that the prioress of Regina Laudis, which he visits to do a full two days’ research, is “kind and helpful,” but most of the article depicts the nuns—scratch that, all nuns–as at best cartoonish, at worst absurd.  “’Nuns,’ I declared,” writes Rudnick about his efforts to cajole studio execs into considering them attractive, “I’d do ‘em!”  (Later the same execs wonder which nuns in the upcoming movie are “f—able.”)

The nuns referred to are the sisters of the Regina Laudis monastery (read the A Nun’s Life post about Mother Delores Hart From Hollywood to Benedictine Monastery).

Do read Paul Rudnick’s piece Fun with Nuns (the link is to an abstract of the article — need to register for full article) and James Martin’s response The New Yorker Has Its “Fun with Nuns”.

Thanks to Father James Martin, SJ, for this article – “Pope Hopes Excommunicated Nun Might Become Saint (America, July 9, 2009).

Mother Mary McKillop, the foundress of the Australian-based Sisters of St. Joseph of the Sacred Heart, was, in 1871, officially excommunicated by her local bishop, on the grounds that she “‘she had incited the sisters to disobedience and defiance.”  That same church leader, Bishop Sheil, had earlier invited her to work in Adelaide, where she and her sisters would eventually set up schools, a women’s shelter and an orphanage, among their many works….

In April of this year, in an extraordinary gesture, Bishop’s Sheil’s successor, the current archbishop of Adelaide, Philip Wilson, made a public apology to the Sisters for their foundress’s excommunication.  Standing before her statue, said that he was “profoundly ashamed of the Bishop’s actions in driving the Sisters out onto the streets.”  McKillop was beatified (the next-to-last step for canonization) by Pope John Paul II in 1995.

This is an interesting article in its own right but also in light of the swirling news about the Apostolic Visitation to some U.S. women’s religious communities. There is a great variety of speculation, study, interpretation, experience, and plain old ignorance about the Visitation. Sadly, some in the Catholic blogosphere have used this opportunity to slander individual Catholic sisters and nuns and congregations with accusations that sound pretty much like the ones Mother Mary McKillop received. I am reminded of the words of Saint Augustine (which someone had posted elsewhere as a rebuke to slanderous comments) — “In essentials, unity, in non-essentials diversity, in all things charity.”

I’d love to hear your comments about Father Martin’s piece, Pope Hopes Excommunicated Nun Might Become Saint. The article goes a lot deeper than the headline suggests and includes the fabulous line “Musty stories of dead nuns?” How can you resist wanting to know how Father Martin slipped that line in??

General Information on the Conversation with Father James Martin, SJ

Online Conversation tomorrow at ANunsLife.org – Preparation
Conversation with James Martin, SJ – Introduction
Follow the James Martin, SJ, conversation on Twitter – Twittering the Event
Wrapping up with Father James Martin, SJ – Preliminary Conclusion
James Martin, SJ, final thoughts on vocations and his blog tour – Final Conclusion

Topics Addressed by Father Martin

James Martin, SJ, …

• responds to Sister Julie’s questions
• on variety of religious communities and on fear discerning
• on whether Protestant churches recognize saints
• on possible indicators of a vocation to religious life
• on young people entering and on fostering vocations
• on “cloistered” and “apostolic” distinctions
• on exploring saints’ biographies and using them to spread the word of God
• on discerning a non-religious vocation
• on the Ignatian style of imaginative prayer
• on people’s reactions to his vocation decision
• on the broader Jesuit family

Father Martin: Thanks so much to Sister Julie for hosting me today on her wonderful blog! I had a terrific time answering so many questions and getting to know her readers.

To wrap up today’s discussions, maybe I could talk a little more about the concept of “vocation,” which seemed to be on everyone’s mind. In short, I believe that a vocation is not so mysterious thing as people might think. Typically it manifests itself through very personal desires. A man and woman fall in love, and so discover their vocation as a married couple. A student might love studying biology, and so manifests his vocation as a doctor or biologist. The same in religious life or the priesthood. A young man or woman (or even an older one!) may find himself or herself powerfully attracted to a particular religious order or the priesthood. This is the “call.” The key is trusting that your deepest desires are God’s desires for you, and the way that God fulfills God’s desires for the world.

So the first step is, as St. Ignatius says, to pray to understand your desires, and believe that they are ways that God is calling you.

The second is to test them out. See where these desires and longings lead you. Explore and investigate. And then…join an order that appeals to you. Enter a seminary that you feel drawn to. Choose a career that you find exciting. Begin a relationship with the person you love. As Father Arrupe said, “Fall in love, stay in love, and that will decide everything.”

Finally, look for signs of “confirmation.” Now that you’ve started testing the waters, or entered the novitiate or seminary, or started a job, or started dating, how do you feel? What’s going on inside of you? St. Ignatius says that confirmation comes with deep feelings of peace and joy, even if there are some occasional problems. That’s a real sign that your “in sync” with the Holy Spirit who dwells within you. You may shock some people with what you’ve chosen, but over time if it’s the right vocation, it will bring joy to everyone. (And you might have to settle at the beginning for peace within you, even if not in others!) Overall, a feeling of “rightness” and gladness, as well as a deeply felt peace, are good signs of confirmation.

Anyway, that’s a little précis on vocation.

So thanks for all those questions. I talk a lot more about all this stuff in my books “My Life with the Saints,” and also “Becoming Who You Are.” I hope you might read them some day.

And do keep me in your prayers.

Sister Julie: What a blessing you have been to us, Father Martin. I’ve enjoyed hanging out with you and with all those who have visited today. May God continue to bless you and all that you do to reflect the light of God within the world. Know that you are always welcome here at A Nun’s Life.

My thanks to Denise for twittering the event at http://twitter.com/Denise205, to Michelle and Molly for your facilitation of the blog event, and to Loyola Press for the raffled book and discount for my readers.

And to my readers: Thank you for participating in Father Martin’s blog tour — for the questions you asked, comments you made, and for just being here. Father Martin’s blog tour continues through this week. Here are the other blogs where you can see what he is up to!

Wednesday, June 4 – The Dawn Patrol

Thursday, June 5 – The Anchoress

Friday, June 6 – Happy Catholic

Tomorrow I’ll let you know who won the autographed copy of My Life with the Saints. For a discount on this book see my post Conversation with James Martin, SJ.

Augustine: This is a really wonderful resource to all discerning Christians. Had I known better about religious life in my youth, I’d probably have become a friar myself.

But given that God has not abandoned me and has blessed me with a wife and a family, I’m grateful to Him, although I carry a certain remorse for not having pursuing further His calling before.

Anyways, I’m now in the novitiate of the Secular Order of Discalced Carmelites. It’s been wonderful to grow in the charisms of this religious order as a secular member. I still pause in awe at the wisdom of the Church for providing so many ways for the faithful to strengthen their relationship with the Lord.

However, even though the Jesuits don’t have a third order, it seems to me that secular orders are often overlooked if not downright dismissed at the parish and diocesan level. Evidently, vocation to the priesthood and to the religious life should be a priority, but I think that vocations to religious orders as seculars should also be fostered. What are Fr. Martin’s views on third orders?

Father Martin: Yes, the Jesuits don’t have a third order, or a women’s religious community attached to it. The latter decision was a result of a few unfortunate experiences that St. Ignatius Loyola had early on with a few women who actually joined the order and took vows. But these days there are many women’s communities who base their spirituality and “way of proceeding” on St. Ignatius. Of course I should point out that we have always had Jesuit brothers (technically lay men) who are full-fledged Jesuits (and who also are among our greatest saints). And happily today we have several lay groups that are closely associated with us. For example, the Jesuit Volunteer Corps (for recent college grads working with the poor), Ignatian Lay Volunteers (retired persons working with the poor) as well as the thousands of Jesuit associates who participate (and often run!) our colleges, universities, high schools and retreat centers. And of course the Spiritual Exercises, the foundation of Jesuit life, are available to everyone. So though we don’t have lay associates, we are very closely related to millions of lay people who are part of the Jesuit family.

Father Martin has signed off for the rest of the afternoon but will check in again this evening to answer any more questions that have emerged (Augustine and Karen, I just saw yours come in). If we missed your question, please let us know by commenting below. Do check the blog later so you can read Father Martin’s final comments.

I also encourage you to read Father Martin’s newest book, A Jesuit Off-Broadway: Center Stage with Jesus, Judas, and Life’s Big Questions. It recently won First Place in the Catholic Press Association’s category “Popular Presentation of the Catholic Faith”.

What more popular presentation of the faith can there be than an engaging story as this by one of America’s best Catholic writers about his experience as an adviser to (and then being invited to be a member of) a Broadway company doing a play about Jesus and Judas? This is a charming, highly readable book about our faith in the modern world, very well presented, brightened by humor and warmed by the author’s connection with an keen understanding of the lives we Catholics lead in the world we inhabit. 

And remember … all who have commented today will be entered in a raffle for Father Martin’s book My Life with the Saints. I will contact the winner by email tomorrow.

If you’d like to purchase a copy of My Life with the Saints, the publisher Loyola Press is offering you a 35% discount on the book. You can order at www.loyolabooks.org/martin or by calling Loyola Press toll-free at 800-621-1008. Please use the code 2679 to receive the 35% discount off the hardcover or paperback of My Life with the Saints. This offer is good through June 8, 2008.

Crystal: This question is sort of off-topic, but I was wondering if you could say a bit about the Ignatian style of imaginative prayer that is a conversation with Jesus. Thanks

Father Martin: Actually, there is a long explanation of that in my chapter on St. Ignatius in My Life with the Saints. But briefly put, “Ignatian prayer” or “Ignatian contemplation” uses the imagination as a way to help people enter into a scene from Scripture, or to enter into a “discussion” with Jesus. For example, if you were looking at the story of the Sermon on the Mount, you might imagine yourself listening to Jesus speaking, and would ask the following questions in your prayer to set the scene: What do I see? What do I hear? What do I feel? What do I smell? What do I taste? In this way you “compose the place,” as St. Ignatius said, in your imagination, as a way of entering more deeply into the Scripture passage. And then you see what happens. Sometimes you are rewarded with new insights about that Bible story, and sometimes your emotion about what you are seeing reveals something new about yourself, about Jesus, or about God. In this case, for example, you might find yourself a little surprised that you are frightened about following all of the beatitudes, which might lead you into a good prayer about what is really required to follow Jesus. That’s just one example.

As for talking with Jesus, Ignatius calls these discussion “colloquies” in which you imagine Jesus before you and you speak to him in a “familiar” way as you would a friend. Essentially, Ignatius reminds us that our imagination is simply another way through which God communicates to us.

Christian W: Father Martin, God Bless You, and thank you for taking the time to visit on Sister Julie’s blog today.

I first heard you conducting an interview on the Saintcast podcast talking about your books. Then, not too long after, I was attending the Los Angeles Religious Education Congress and found myself at the Loyola Press display. ‘My Life with the Saints’ was on sale at a special price for the exhibit – so I purchased a copy.
The only other biographical-style book I have ever purchased prior to your book is ‘The Story of a Soul.’ I bought that book because St. Therese helped to bring me back into the Church in my mid 30’s. I focused on St. Therese because she is the Patroness of my Diocese (Fresno, CA). Oh, and did I mention my parish is the Shrine of St. Therese in Fresno? Coming back to the Church and listening to homilies relating to an ordinary girl from Lisieux made me realize that any of us can be called to do something extraordinary. It also inspired me to get her story in her words.

Your stories on how you were introduced to each of the saints in your book are enjoyable, but it leads me to my question. How does an ordinary lay person cull through all of the Saints and find some biographies and other stories about these amazing lives and find the right one that might affect our own lives in some way. Additionally, how can we use these Saints to help better spread the word of God and the Church today.
I look forward to reading ‘A Jesuit Off-Broadway’. Thank you again for your time.

Father Martin: First of all, St. Therese is one of the very best saints to start with, because her spirituality of the “Little Way” (doing small things with great love for God) can be applicable to everyone’s life. So keep following her example and praying to her! As for books to read, at the back of my book I include a long list of good and accessible biographies of each of the saints that I talk about. But let me recommend a few other general books which themselves include helpful bibliographies. First, Richard McBrien’s “Lives of the Saints,” and, second and third, Robert Ellbergs “All Saints” and “Blessed Among all Women.” Additionally, I would ask those people whom you know are devoted to one or another saint to ask for a recommendation.

As for your second question, we can use the saints lives to spread the word of God best showing, through their lives, how God works in unique ways in each of us. The Saints show us what it means to be holy in “this particular way,” as Karl Rahner said. So they help us to become holy in our own ways. And the stories of the saints always lead us back to the Gospels because all their lives were patterned on, and followed, the life of Christ.

Sister Florence Vales OSC: Hi, Father Martin. Peace and all good wishes. I am a Poor Clare in Chesterfield, NJ and am delighted to be able to ask you a question.

Why is it that young women are not entering Religious life? We all know the typical answers: more choices for women, etc., but in the Franciscan Friars they receive young men, late 20’s to early 30’s. We have a woman in her 50’s, married before, etc., and a young woman from Nigeria, 19, and so much too young to enter, so she is an affiliate. So what are your views? We know there are vocations out there. Most of our vocations come from a Friar suggesting us, but that is far and between.

Is there anything we can do to foster vocations? We do pray everyday for vocations to our way of life and to the Church.

By the way, I am reading “A Jesuit Off-Broadway,” and some of the answers to our culture are there. Good stuff.

Father Martin: Dear Sister, Thanks for your question – I love the Poor Clares! Please do pray for me, and ask your community to do the same! (And thanks for the kind words about “A Jesuit Off-Broadway.”)

I think that young woman are choosing not to enter religious life in the way they did in past decades for a few reasons. First, there are more choices available to women these days who wish to contribute to the life of the church. In the past, many women felt that they could only do this as nuns or sisters. Today they can exercise both service and leadership roles in new ways, in both the single and married lives. Second, both young men and young women seem to have a more difficult time making life-long commitments today. Third, after the Second Vatican Council religious life was no longer seen as “better” than the married life, which may have diminished its appeal. Fourth, the vow of chastity is a particular barrier for many young people who, I think, don’t understand it. (That’s one reason I have a lengthy discussion of it in “My Life with the Saints.”) Finally, there is a simple decline in religiosity, or general interest in the church overall. So those are just a few reasons.

But your question of how to foster vocations is a terrific one. Certainly prayer is the number one thing to do: asking God for vocations. Second, I think it is more important than ever frequently to ask women who you think might be interested in joining whether they have ever considered this. Now I know your sisters must do this already, but I think these days we have be much more assertive in our asking. (For myself, I ask young men regularly about the Jesuits!) Third, perhaps by being creative in the ways that you introduce young women to your congregation: for example, “Come and See” evenings or weekends, visiting local parishes, and so on. And finally, I think it is important, particularly for contemplative communities, to use every possible means of modern technology to reach people who might not have heard of religious life, or, more specifically, may not know much about the Poor Clares. So, for example, besides having pamphlets, writing magazine articles, taking out advertisements, responding to media requests for interviews, etc., it’s also important to use the Internet, YouTube, and every other means of contemporary media to reach young people. The reason for that is because those types of new media are the primary places where young people get their information these days.

But the best answer to that question is one that I heard from the former Superior General of the Jesuits, Peter- Hans Kolvenbach, who visited our novitiate in Boston when I was a first-year novice. I asked Fr. General, “What’s the best way to increase vocation?” And he said something totally unexpected. (I imagined he would say, “We need to advertise more, etc.) He said, “Live you own vocation joyfully!” By that doing that, you naturally attract people to your way of life, the way that early Christians did 2000 years ago.

Sylvester: Father, I’m not a Catholic but I’m fascinated by everything Catholic. What I want to know is whether or not Protestant churches recognize saints? If so, how do Protestants get to become saints if only the Vatican approves them?

Father Martin: Protestant churches do indeed recognize saints, and we only need to think of the apostles to be reminded of that. For example, I’ll bet you’ve seen a lot of Lutheran Church’s called St. Peter’s and a lot of Episcopal churches called St. Mary’s! But, as far as I know, most of these churches don’t have an “official” canonization processes, and so many of their saints, most of whom come from the early church, are agreed upon by common consent–at least as far as I know. But I’m glad that you are enjoying the Catholic saints, because they are not just for the benefit of Catholics. A good book to read that talks about saints from many different traditions is Robert Ellsberg’s “All Saints.”  (And of course “My Life with the Saints!”)

It is a pleasure to welcome Father James Martin, SJ, to A Nun’s Life blog. Father Martin is a member of the Jesuits (the Society of Jesus), a Catholic religious community for men. He is also a fellow blogger at In All Things, an editorial blog at America magazine where he is an author and associate editor. (Read more at James Martin, SJ – Biography.)

Father Martin is here at A Nun’s Life to chat with you about the saints, becoming a saint through your everyday life, and much more. Since I often write about religious life and discerning God’s call, I’ve asked Father Martin some questions around his own vocation as well as religious life and discernment in general — click here for my initial questions for Father Martin. Those questions are just to get the ball rolling because really this conversation is for you!

Here’s how this works …

1) Ask your question(s) for Father Martin by writing a comment in the comment box below this post or any post today (all of the posts today will be part of the conversation with Father Martin).

2) Father Martin will be scanning all of these posts and comments and will respond to people’s questions. He’ll send me an email so that I can re-post the questions along with his responses in a new post. The most recent questions with responses will appear at the top of the blog. Father Martin’s responses will be in blue text.

3) If the questioner, Father Martin or anyone else would like to further a particular conversation, they can click on that post and comment there.

4) Loyola Press, the sponsor of Father Martin’s blog tour, is raffling off a free autographed copy of Father Martin’s book My Life with the Saints – you are automatically entered in this drawing when you post a comment or question for Father Martin.

5) Loyola Press is also offering a 35% off discount to A Nun’s Life visitors who wish to purchase My Life with the Saints. You can order at Loyola Press website or by calling Loyola Press toll-free at 800-621-1008. Please use the code 2679 to receive the 35% discount off the hardcover or paperback of My Life with the Saints. This offer is good through June 8, 2008.

My gratitude goes to Father Martin for joining us, to Loyola Press for sponsoring this, and to you readers and guests of A Nun’s Life for joining in!

We’ve already received some questions, so sit back, relax, and join in the conversation!

Welcome, Father Martin!

Welcome, Father Martin!

Father Martin: It’s great to be with everyone today on the second stop of my blog tour, or as I prefer to call it, my blog camino. I’ve long admired Sister Julie’s blog, and feel in good company with a younger religious. (For a Jesuit, anyone under 75 is young!) Anyway, I look forward to answering your questions about the saints, and, most of all, hearing what you all have to teach me!

I’ve just returned home after family and nun festivities and work in four different states. I had some time in Monroe, Michigan, home of my IHM Motherhouse. There’s absolutely nothing like being home with one’s nuns. Although I had some work to do, I feel renewed and encouraged. Community life is such an amazing bond — it is unlike any other relationship or way of being that I have ever experienced.

Now that I am home in Chicago, I am preparing myself for tomorrows Online Conversation with Father James Martin, SJ - rereading chapter 4 of his book My Life with the Saints. The chapter discusses part of his vocation story. Here’s a PDF of the chapter for you to read: My Life with the Saints: Chapter 4. It’s not necessary to have read it to participate in the conversation, but it may give you some ideas of stuff you’d like to ask Father Martin or talk with him about.

Here are some things I’d like to ask Father Martin about …

1) You write about Thomas Merton being asked by the Gethsemani monastery porter, “Have you come here to stay?” (page 57) When did you feel that this question was being posed to you as well? How did it feel to first get a glimpse that God might be calling you to religious life? How did you respond? What did you do with any feelings of uncertainty, fear, resistance, etc.?

2) “For me, Thomas Merton’s description of religious life was an invitation to new life” (page 59). Could you say more about this? How is religious life an invitation to new life? What did that mean for you?

3) You are so right about people (myself included when I was younger) thinking that a call from God is “something of an otherworldly experience”. What can religious, vocation ministers, parents, and parish leaders do to help people sense God’s call in the ordinary “language” of every day life?

4) How did you feel called to the Jesuit way of religious life? Were you attracted by any other kinds of religious communities?

5) How can the saints help people who are discerning a major life commitment? How about the “smaller” discernments in life?

6) What other saints have been your friends along your journey into and within religious life? why?

This conversation is for you so please ask your questions and engage with Father Martin. Feel free to pose your questions now or as we go along tomorrow. See you tomorrow morning!

I am pleased to announce that my blog will be hosting Fr. Jim Martin, SJ, for one day during his whirlwind blog tour!

On Tuesday, June 3, Fr. Martin will visit ANunsLife.org and discuss the saints and the role of the saints in our lives, especially in discerning one’s vocation. Fr. Martin is a Jesuit priest and the author of the book My Life with the Saints. Check out my post from a while back on My Life with the Saints.

How this works is that Fr. Martin will be checking in all day on my blog. I’ll create a special post for that day and start the conversation off with Fr. Martin by asking a few questions. He’ll respond via the comment section which is open for anyone to write in any questions/comments for Fr. Martin. He’s here to engage with you so please come and visit throughout the day. I’ve met Fr. Martin, heard him speak, and read his books and can tell you he is a delight! He’s someone who truly lives the Ignatian way of finding God in all things.

Since this is a blog about being a nun, religious life, and discerning God’s call, I’m going to ask my Brother Jesuit to begin with a reflection on his call to religious life and how the saints were part of his recognizing God’s call. I invite you to read a chapter of his book which deals one saint in particular who was instrumental in helping Fr. Martin discern his own call. Courtesy of Loyola Press, here is a PDF of My Life with the Saints: Chapter 4 called “The True Self: Thomas Merton.”

Loyola Press is also raffling an autographed copy of My Life with the Saints — everyone who joins the June 3 online discussion by writing in (via the comments section) is automatically entered into the raffle. Readers of ANunsLife.org will also be given a special discount code to order the book. Thanks, Loyola Press!

Please join the conversation on Tuesday, June 3, and bring your questions and ideas for Fr. Martin.

Fr. Martin will also be on blog tour at the following blogs …

• June 2: Some Have Hats
• June 3: A Nun’s Life
• June 4: The Dawn Patrol
• June 5: The Anchoress
• June 6: Happy Catholic

I’ve been reading a book by Jim Martin, SJ, called My Life with the Saints (Loyola Press, 2006). Growing up I always thought of the saints as superhuman (not unlike Wonder Woman or Superman) … people with an extra dose of holiness who were able to do amazing things. I never really thought of them as ordinary people. Over the years I learned otherwise and have come to appreciate the saints for who they really are.

I love the Thomas Merton quote that Jim Martin uses to open his book: “For me to be a saint means to be myself.” (Would that it was always easy to be ourselves!) The saints are people who are truly themselves, the people God created them to be … with all their craziness, holiness, foibles, and insights. Saints are truly people whom we can relate to, not ones who are so superhuman that they don’t really relate to our own lives. That’s why I like My Life with the Saints. Martin presents the saints as our companions on life’s journey. We can look to them for inspiration, encouragement or even a good laugh.

As I’ve been reading this book, I’m reminded again how we encounter God in the most ordinary ways in our lives (e.g., a sock drawer … you’ll just have to read the book to see what I mean!). Just as the saints opened themselves to experience God in all things, we too are called to that same kind of openness and willingness to meet God.

Click here to read more about My Life with the Saints as well as other stuff by or about Jim Martin.