David Brooks on finding faith later in life

Greg Boyle, S.J. on compassion and kinship

Founder of Homeboy Industries and best-selling spiritual writer, Greg Boyle, S.J., joins James Martin S.J. on the season finale of “The Spiritual Life” podcast. They talk about who inspired Greg to join the Jesuits, where he goes for spiritual direction each morning, bringing a mystical lens to reading the Bible, and how the community at Homeboy, the world’s leading gang intervention rehabilitation program, has made God’s love real to him. Timecodes:  0:00 Greg Boyle doesn’t know a bad person 5:20 How Homeboy ministries began  14:17 How joy, humor and fearlessness attracted Fr. Greg to the Jesuits 20:20 Why you need a mystical filter to know the God of Love 24:45 You want to see Jesus so you can be Jesus to others 35:55 Hate is a symptom of bad health, not a bad person 47:00 Dealing with criticism and praise 50:31 Greg’s morning spiritual practice 54:45 Audience Question: How do we know for sure if God forgives us? Take our Listener Survey here! [https://forms.gle/rksR273fS3WZ8KUs5] Read Fr. Jim’s spiritual reflection [https://www.americamagazine.org/podcasts/2026/06/29/greg-boyle-james-martin-spiritual-life/] on moral heroes Fr. Greg Boyle’s books: Tattoos on the Heart [https://shophomeboy.com/products/tattoos-on-the-heart-100-100] Barking to the Choir [https://shophomeboy.com/products/barking-to-the-choir?_pos=5&_sid=e07e25449&_ss=r] Cherished Belonging [https://shophomeboy.com/products/pre-order-father-gregs-new-book-cherished-belonging?_pos=4&_sid=e07e25449&_ss=r] Forgive Everyone Everything [https://shophomeboy.com/products/forgive-everyone-everything?_pos=2&_sid=e07e25449&_ss=r] Do you have a spiritual question for Father Jim? You can write to us at: thespirituallife@americamedia.org Become a subscriber today at Americamagazine.org/subscribe Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

Hasan Minhaj on Islam, comedy, and the spiritual life

Hasan Minhaj is “down to catch a blessing,” wherever that may be. The Emmy Award-winning comedian joins James Martin, S.J. on “The Spiritual Life” podcast to share his Muslim faith, how laughter helped to save his life, and his hopes for interreligious dialogue and prayer.  Timecodes: 0:00 How a traveling comedian looks to an ancient faith 4:11 Why laughter is important to the spiritual life 8:13 Hasan’s early childhood influences 9:35 The story of Islam  13:26 Malcolm X & Dr. Sherman Jackson on being Muslim in America 26:02 An inter-faith dialogue on Jesus and the Trinity 30:22 Dealing with negative stereotypes about Islam 33:40 The call to prayer 37:58 Encountering God through acts of virtue 41:30 Islam does not depict God through images 44:15 Audience Question: Advice for someone who hasn’t lived a religious life and has doubts,  but still feels called to faith? Hasan’s podcast episode with Fr. Jim: Hasan Minhaj Doesn't Know [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/white-jesus-whats-up-with-that-with-father-james-martin/id1756014574?i=1000771894810] Read ⁠Fr. Jim's ⁠ spiritual reflection [https://www.americamagazine.org/podcasts/2026/06/23/hasan-minhaj-james-martin-spiritual-life-islam/]⁠ on this episode Do you have a spiritual question for Father Jim? You can write to us at: thespirituallife@americamedia.org Become a subscriber today at Americamagazine.org/subscribe Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

David Brooks on finding faith later in life

David Brooks is known as one of America’s leading public intellectuals, a longtime columnist for The New York Times and now a staff writer at The Atlantic. He joins James Martin, S.J., on “The Spiritual Life” podcast to share how he went from a mostly cultural Jew, to a “Jew-y” Christian in the land of faith.   Timeline: 0:00 Traveling to the land of faith 6:20 Our social and political problems are spiritual ones 10:04 Understanding the America’s religious revival  11:46 Religious but not yet spiritual 14:05 David’s movement to faith 19:05 Dorothy Day and St. Augustine influences  28:15 Unpacking  David’s mystical experiences 34:35 A new frontier in the Christian faith 37:33 Three Jewish women that paid attention: Simone Weil, Edith Stein, Etty Hillesum 47:50 Audience Question: How do we maintain hope in bleak times? Brooks is the bestselling author of several books including:  How to Know a Person: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/652822/how-to-know-a-person-by-david-brooks/ [https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/652822/how-to-know-a-person-by-david-brooks/] The Second Mountain: The Quest for a Moral Life: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/217649/the-second-mountain-by-david-brooks/ [https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/217649/the-second-mountain-by-david-brooks/] The Road to Character: https://www.acappellabooks.com/pages/books/343956/david-brooks/the-road-to-character [https://www.acappellabooks.com/pages/books/343956/david-brooks/the-road-to-character] Bobos in Paradise https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Bobos-in-Paradise/David-Brooks/9780684853789 [https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Bobos-in-Paradise/David-Brooks/9780684853789] Read Fr. Jim's ⁠ spiritual reflection [https://www.americamagazine.org/podcasts/2026/06/16/david-brooks-james-martin-spiritual-life/] on this episode Do you have a spiritual question for Father Jim? You can write to us at: thespirituallife@americamedia.org Become a subscriber today at Americamagazine.org/subscribe Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

A spirituality of family life with Katie Prejean McGrady

Radio host and author, Katie Prejean McGrady joins host James Martin, S.J., to talk about the religious revival sweeping across America, how youth ministers can share eternal truths without falling prey to black-and-white thinking, and a spirituality of family life.  Katie is an award-winning Catholic author, speaker and host of The Katie McGrady Show on SiriusXM’s The Catholic Channel [https://www.siriusxm.com/channels/the-catholic-channel?utm_source=chatgpt.com]. She also hosts a weekly podcast, Family Mass Prep [https://hallow.com/collections/538/] on Hallow [https://hallow.com/affiliates/?_branch_match_id=1085946903036849381&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXz0jMyckv10ssKNDLyczL1s9OLMlMzU1OL0pMqQQA46Wk%2ByQAAAA%3D&referrer=katieprejeanmcgrady&utm_campaign=katieprejeanmcgrady&utm_medium=feed%20post&utm_source=Unpaid%20Promoter] with her husband Tommy.  Timecodes: 0:00 “Jesus is constantly surprising me” 5:20 Is there a religious revival happening for young people? 10:00 Avoiding the dangers of black and white thinking in youth ministry 14:22 Katie’s “big Catholic” upbringing 17:40 Making spiritual sense of suffering 22:00 Ignatian contemplation with Jesus 30:40 The spirituality of being a parent 39:12 How parents can get their kids to mass 46:06 Audience Question: How can I fully participate in the Catholic liturgy when I find myself at odds with Catholic teaching? Some of Katie’s books: Room 24: Adventures of a New Evangelist [https://www.amazon.com/Room-24-Adventures-New-Evangelist/dp/1594716498] Follow: Your Lifelong Adventure with Jesus [https://www.avemariapress.com/products/follow?srsltid=AfmBOop9cYYHrnyYw1_6nKg099xWTl-g27I_HgCkG5GXHXGmrE8ify3N] Read Fr. Jim's spiritual reflection [https://www.americamagazine.org/podcasts/2026/06/08/katie-prejean-mcgrady-james-martin-spiritual-life-family/] on this episode Do you have a spiritual question for Father Jim? You can write to us at: thespirituallife@americamedia.org Become a subscriber today at Americamagazine.org/subscribe Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

Robert George on how to disagree and remain spiritually grounded

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 [https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Truth-Matters/Robert-P-George/9798888451700] In Defense of Natural Law [https://www.amazon.com/Defense-Natural-Law-Robert-George/dp/0199242992] Making Men Moral: Civil Liberties and Public Morality [https://global.oup.com/academic/product/making-men-moral-9780198260240?cc=us&lang=en&] Do you have a spiritual question for Father Jim? You can write to us at: thespirituallife@americamedia.org Become a subscriber today at Americamagazine.org/subscribe Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]