More on My Life With the Saints

I wrote about this James Martin’s wonderful Book My Life With the Saints the other day, and I have received several emails from folks who picked it up either on my Lenten recommendation, or from Julie’s recommend at Happy Catholic, and who have loved it:

From DL: Most of all, the book really gave me a new perspective about my relationship with the saints. Merton’s discussion about being a saint-you gotta want to be one, and it’s all about being what you were born to do-was enlightening. But most of all, I used to see salvation in an individualistic sense. Now, I see it as a team sport. I’m on the field now, and I can’t let the team down. Even though I certainly don’t have the talent they had, I have to play my best, just as they all did.

From “Jeannie”: You are correct that it is a great summer book. You read a little, put it down, come back for more and it always leaves you thinking. Like you said, it sneaks up on you.

And from a little press release:

As the summer travel season heats up, motorists on Chicago’s Kennedy Expressway can look to the saints for help handling their daily commutes, thanks to a new banner campaign by Loyola Press. “Use Your Common Saints” will feature messages from St. Jude, St. Anthony, Joan of Arc and St. Joseph, reminding drivers of the virtues of patience—and good humor.

Beginning on June 26, the Catholic publisher’s banners will greet eastbound drivers (toward the Loop), from the back of St. Stanislaus Kostka Church, which abuts the Kennedy at Evergreen Street (about 1300 North, between Division and North Ave.).

First up: “St. Jude Knows an Alternate Route”; followed by
• “St. Joseph Says Construction Takes Patience” on July 10;
• “Joan of Arc Says Keep Your Cool” on July 24; and
• “St. Anthony Offers Roadside Assistance” on August 7.

“People feel like they need a little help in life, so they call upon the saints,” says James Martin, S.J., a Jesuit priest and author of the Loyola Press book My Life with the Saints. The tongue-in-cheek approach is in keeping with saintliness, he says: “The lives of the saints show that joy and laughter are sure signs of God’s presence. They encourage us to laugh at life.” Besides, he adds, “Nobody would pay attention to the saints if they were boring.”

Obviously, I can’t recommend the book enough and hope you’ll consider ordering it through my bookshelf. The small kickback from Amazon is nice, but I get enormous satisfaction out of folks writing in to say when they’ve really enjoyed a book I’ve talked about here! :-)