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

Can Catholics come together in deeply polarized times? Fr. James Martin is joined by Tim Busch, a businessman, philanthropist, and one of the most prominent Catholic lay leaders in the United States. He is the co-founder and chairman of The Napa Institute, which brings together clergy, scholars, business leaders, and other lay Catholics to explore the Church’s mission in contemporary culture. He’s known for his “salon dinners,” where he brings together people with different perspectives from within the church to break down walls and build friendships.

Together, Tim Busch and Fr. Jim discuss:

Reaching out and listening to people, even when we disagree ideologically

Contemplative prayer for busy people

How our spirituality can help us remain open to people who believe or practice the faith differently than we do

Chapters:

0:00 We all can be pastoral to one another

3:32 Tim’s leadership with the Eucharistic procession

4:45 Salon dinners – bringing Catholics together from diverse perspectives

11:57 The impact of Legatus on Tim Busch

17:15 Contemplative prayer for a busy person

22:32: Experiencing God in daily life

25:15 How to find God while suffering

29:45 What’s the Napa Institute?

34:40 Bridging divides in the Catholic church

41:59 Audience Question: How do I know if I’m giving enough of my time and material resources to those in need?

Read Maggi’s spiritual advice column for this episode here: https://www.americamagazine.org/podcasts/2026/10/26/tim-busch-spiritual-life-father-james-martin

Links from the show:

Lowering the temperature in Catholic culture wars—over a meal

Breaking bread and ending culture wars

Tim Busch and Jim Martin bring left and right Catholics together over dinner and wine

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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:

Why San Diego’s Catholic leaders are standing with migrants in court—against impossible odds

Pope Leo XIV, in first U.S. appointment, names San Diego’s new bishop

U.S. Catholics are facing an authoritarian threat. The church has been here before.

The U.S. bishops have made a (needed) statement on deportations. Now it’s time to act.

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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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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:

Bishop Budde showed faithful moral courage. Catholics should follow her lead.

How We Learn to Be Brave

Gathering Up the Fragments: Preaching as Spiritual Practice

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

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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

Become a subscriber today at ⁠Americamagazine.org/subscribe
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