For some years my mother has lamentedand this is not too strong a wordthe fact that I never studied Latin. Whenever she spies a phrase in Latin inscribed on a church facade, or comes across a quote in a book or article, or hears an unfamiliar Latin hymn during a Mass, and I am unable to translate it
James Martin, S.J.
The Rev. James Martin, S.J., is a Jesuit priest, author, editor at large at America and founder of Outreach.
Posted inOf Many Things
Of Many Things
One of my earliest religious memories is of learning the Act of Contrition from a Sister of St. Joseph during a C.C.D. class in our parish church in suburban Philadelphia. It was probably a Sunday morning after Mass; I must have been around seven or eight, and was most likely preparing for first hol
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Contemporary Catholics on Traditional Devotions
During the weeks of Lent, America has offered a series of articles by Catholic writers on traditional devotions. This week we conclude our eight-part series with a look at devotion to St. Joseph and to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. As some of our essayists have noted, the theological question of the
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Of Many Things
Until I entered the Jesuit novitiate at age 28, I had never attended an Easter Vigil.When I was a boy, it seemed to me that every year, at the morning Mass on Easter Sunday, we read the wrong Gospel passage. Usually the story took place a long time after the resurrection. I couldn’t figure out
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Contemporary Catholics on Traditional Devotions
This series focuses on the world of devotions in the life of contemporary believers. America asked a number of Catholics to speak about a favorite devotionits history, its place in the writer’s life and its possible role in the life of contemporary believers. In this seventh part of the series
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Of Many Things
The television coverage of the war in Iraq has been like none other. As soon as President Bush’s deadline of March 19 had passed, TV viewers were offered the opportunity to see, in real time, images from the besieged city of Baghdad. And thanks to embedded reporters, viewers could peer into th
Posted inFrom Our Archives
Contemporary Catholics on Traditional Devotions
This series focuses on the world of devotions in the life of contemporary believers. America asked a number of Catholics to speak about a favorite devotionits history, its place in the writer’s life and its possible role in the life of contemporary believers. In this sixth part of the series w
Posted inFrom Our Archives
Contemporary Catholics on Traditional Devotions
This series for Lent and Easter focuses on the world of devotions in the life of contemporary believers. America asked a number of writers, many of them younger Catholics, to speak about a favorite devotionits history, its place in the writer’s life and its possible role in the life of contemp
Posted inFrom Our Archives
Contemporary Catholics on Traditional Devotions
Traditional devotions can provoke a wide variety of reactions among contemporary Catholics. For many, the devotional life discovered during childhood has never lost its appeal. For some it has always remained on the fringes of their Catholicism. For still others it seems inconsistent with a mature f
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Of Many Things
I’m sort of a nut for the historical Jesus. Of course I’m a nut, or at least a fool, for Christ too, but as for my reading tastes, I much prefer books and articles about the Jesus of history than those on the Christ of faith. The historical (which can often read like detective stories) I