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

The American legal scholar and public intellectual, Professor Robert George, joins host James Martin, S.J., on “The Spiritual Life” podcast to talk about the practice of dialogue in the church and society, as well as his own rich faith journey. 

Raised in the heart of Appalachia, West Virginia, by his Syrian Antiochian Orthodox father and Italian Catholic mother, Robert’s childhood was solidly rooted in faith and inspired by the moral heroism of his father. 

In addition to his extensive professional accomplishments, including as the sixth McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence at Princeton University, Professor George has long modeled civil dialogue with his friend and fellow interlocutor, Professor Cornel West. 

Timecodes:

0:00 Building trust for challenging conversations

5:27 Robert George’s Orthodox and Catholic “mixed” religious upbringing 

9:14 The impact of a father’s relationship with God

13:45 Robert’s father’s act of heroism

22:28 What Jane Austen’s characters can teach us about God’s ways

24:30 Praying slowly with attention

35:15 How Robert’s dialogues with Dr. Cornel West began

45:20 You’ll only allow someone you trust to challenge your deeply held beliefs

48:12 Audience Question: How can we better respond to God’s calls for improving the world?

Link to Father Jim’s spiritual advice column for this episode: https://www.americamagazine.org/podcasts/2026/06/01/robert-george-james-martin-spiritual-life

Some of Robert George’s books:

Truth Matters: A Dialogue on Fruitful Disagreement in an Age of Division

In Defense of Natural Law

Making Men Moral: Civil Liberties and Public Morality

Do you have a spiritual question for Father Jim? You can write to us at: [email protected]

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As a lay minister to  L.G.B.T.Q. Catholics, a faith-based community organizer, and an immigration attorney, Yunuen Trujillo wears many hats.  And as a member of these marginalized communities herself, she knows their struggles intimately.  ”I feel that when we minister to immigrants or L.G.B.T.Q. Catholics, I'm ministering from a place of an open wound,” says Yuenen,  “But it's a good thing because when you connect with your wound, then you're able to be hospitable to the wound of other people.” Yunuen joins host Fr. James Martin, S.J., on “The Spiritual Life” podcast to share her journey of finding a loving and merciful God who walks with her in her fight for justice in many arenas. 

Timecodes:

0:00 Jesus teaches us about love through the parable of “the Good Samaritan”

3:17 Can I be gay and Catholic?

6:40 Yunuen’s intersectional vocation as an immigration attorney and lay Catholic minister

13:20 Yunuen’s spiritual resources for the daily battles

17:46 Navigating righteous anger without succumbing to rage

28:00 How Yunuen found a loving and merciful God

43:30 Being LGBTQ isn’t an ideology

46:34 Audience Question: How can you use prayer to help you look forward in life as opposed to revisiting old transgressions or wounds?

Read Fr. Martin's article reflecting on this episode here

Yunuen Trujillo’s books:

⁠ LGBTQ Catholics: A Guide for Inclusive Ministry ⁠

⁠Católicos LGBTQ: Una Guía para Pastoral Inclusiva.⁠

Yunuen is the founder of @lgbtcatholics on Instagram

Link to Father Jim’s spiritual advice article on this episode⁠: "Bringing your full (wounded) self to ministry"

Do you have a spiritual question for Father Jim? You can write to us at: [email protected]

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From country club caddy to the Catholic Worker to “The West Wing”, Martin Sheen has been on a long and fascinating spiritual journey. The Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award-winning actor and activist shares the major turning points in his faith with Fr. James Martin, S.J. on “The Spiritual Life” podcast. They talk about some of the most important influences in Sheen’s life, including the Jesuit activist Dan Berrigan and film-maker Terrence Malick, and how the Mass continues to nourish his faith. 

Timecodes:

0:00 How Martin Sheen’s faith was shaped by the Catholic Worker

2:00 Understanding the ploughshare movement

3:43 Discerning what activism our faith calls us to

6:50 Martin Sheen’s Catholic childhood

9:00 An epiphany in Paris and how Terrence Malick became a spiritual guide to Sheen

12:20 “Peacework must be as devotional as war”

22:30 Encountering community and solidarity at the Catholic Worker

32:25 Sheen is nourished by the mass

42:13 How Catholicism informed Sheen’s role of Pres. Josiah Bartlet on ‘The West Wing’

45: Audience Question: How can working people today take a personal vow of poverty or overcome a consumer culture?

Links:

Martin Sheen's podcast

Link to Father Jim’s spiritual advice article on this episode: ⁠https://www.americamagazine.org/podcasts/2026/05/18/martin-sheen-spiritual-life-james-martin

Do you have a spiritual question for Father Jim? You can write to us at: [email protected]

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If you’ve watched “The Bear” you’ve seen the incredible talent of the Emmy award-winning supporting actress, Liza Colón-Zayas, who plays Tina. But you might not know that Liza has overcome great spiritual hardship on her journey to noterirty. She joins her friend and host of “The Spiritual Life” podcast Fr. James Martin, S.J. to talk about her Catholic upbringing, how she escaped a cult, persevered through the ups and downs of the entertainment industry, and where she finds hope in her ancestral roots today.

0:00 Faith at its best reflects social justice
2:15 Liza plays a Puerto Rican Mother Teresa
5:10 How Liza persevered in Hollywood
9:20 Liza’s early struggles with faith communities
14:09 Doing away with the “parole officer” image of God
22:45 A spiritual practice of breathing meditations and gratitude
25:37 The power of discovering ancestral roots
33:00 The Catholic church and sexual abuse
34:55 Dealing with success and imposter’s syndrome
36:34 Audience Question: Taking less money for a spiritually fulfilling job?

Link to Father Jim’s spiritual advice article on this episode: ‘The Bear’ actress Liza Colón-Zayas’s spiritual journey—to agnosticism

https://www.americamagazine.org/podcasts/2026/05/11/liza-colon-zayas-spiritual-life/

Do you have a spiritual question for Father Jim? You can write to us at: [email protected]

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In this episode of The Spiritual Life with Fr. James Martin, S.J., Fr. Martin speaks with Pablo Virgilio Cardinal David, Bishop of Kalookan, Philippines. Elevated to the College of Cardinals in 2024 by Pope Francis, the ministry of Cardinal “Ambo” has been marked by a deep solidarity with those on the margins, with whom he’s established 21 urban mission stations in poor communities affected by violence.  With a doctorate in Sacred Theology from the Catholic University of Louvain, Cardinal Ambo shares his Ignatian approach of “reading between the lines of scripture,” without forgetting the very important “dots” we connect through biblical scholarship. 

Timecodes:

0:00 Prayer is necessary to survive 

2:50 What’s an Ignatian approach towards scripture?

5:19 How Cardinal Ambo received his nickname and why he prefers it to “Your Eminence”

7:28 Cardinal Ambo’s early calling to the priesthood

14:05 Biblical scholarship establishes the dots, Ignatian Contemplation helps connect them

21:30 How studying Aramaic allows Cardinal Ambo to better understand Jesus

24:50 The urban mission stations that bring hope to the poor

30:40 What characterizes Filipino-Catholic spirituality?

32:30 Audience Question: How does Jesus’ resurrection change reality?

Read Fr. Jim's article on Ignatian contemplation

Do you have a spiritual question for Fr. Jim? You can write to us at: [email protected]

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