Post

@FordhamNYC

@americamag

More from @JamesMartinSJ

James Martin, SJ

@JamesMartinSJ

Feb 13, 2025

Dear Internet: No, the Vatican is not a walled city. And yes, the Catholic Church cares for millions of refugees.
First, while there are still ancient walls (some retaining walls) surrounding parts of the Vatican, the Vatican open to everyone. Here's a photo I took in October.

See what I mean? This photo, circulating online, is an ancient retaining wall near the Vatican Museums, but people are waiting to get in, which they can just by going through a metal detector. That is, it's open.

More on the Vatican's not being a walled city in an article entitled, "No, Internet, the Vatican is not a walled city" by @MikeOLoughlin cruxnow.com/church/2016/02…

Read 8 tweets

James Martin, SJ

@JamesMartinSJ

Jan 24, 2025

I deleted a tweet linking to an article (retweeted below from @americamag) on why I am pro-life. I noted that pro-life means being pro-all-lives (including not just the unborn, but the poor, migrants, LGBTQ people, etc). This led to, believe it or not, death threats...

Catholics must find a way to speak with one another in charity, especially about caring for those some consider to be "them." Sunday's Gospel shows Jesus telling the people of Nazareth that his mission extends to everyone, not just them. This, among other things, enrages them...

The same rage that prompted the people of Nazareth to try to kill Jesus (yes, kill him, as recounted in Luke 4:29) is present today. Also, death threats (and violent language in general) from pro-life Catholics is, I would suggest, a less than effective evangelizing strategy.

Read 4 tweets

James Martin, SJ

@JamesMartinSJ

Feb 3, 2024

Croagh Patrick (meaning St. Patrick’s hill, or stack) is a mountain in County Mayo, Ireland, where, by tradition, St. Patrick spent 40 days in prayer and fasting. Often called the “Reek” (another word for rick or stack), it is not too far from Knock, where I spent a few days...

...last week with the Irish bishops, and so one afternoon, one of the bishops graciously drove me to this beautiful site, an important pilgrimage spot in Ireland. On the last Sunday of July, thousands of pilgrims, many barefoot, climb the entire mountain as an....

...act of penance and prayer. At the top of the mountain, there is an oratory dedicated to the saint (a church had been built here as early as the fifth century). Halfway up the mountain is a modest statue of St. Patrick, where the bishop and I...

Read 5 tweets

James Martin, SJ

@JamesMartinSJ

Sep 4, 2023

Gospel: Today we read a remarkable story about Jesus of Nazareth. He returns to preach in the synagogue in his hometown. Initially, people like what he has to say, which is, essentially, a proclamation of himself as the fulfillment of Scripture, as the Messiah. But when he...

...critiques them for their lack of faith, they not only reject him, they try to kill him, by throwing him off a cliff (Lk 4). There are many ways of looking at this story, usually called "The Rejection at Nazareth." The first is from the crowd's point of view. Jesus...

...was too familiar for them to see him as the Messiah. "Is this not Joseph's son?" they ask. Sometimes we miss God in front of us because God's presence comes through the overly familiar. Second, we can look at it from Jesus's point of view. He leaves Nazareth, rather than...

Read 4 tweets

James Martin, SJ

@JamesMartinSJ

Jul 21, 2023

With opposition to Pope Francis among some priests (and even bishops), it's worth remembering how some priests who found themselves at odds with their superiors reacted in the past. Pedro Arrupe, SJ, former superior general of the Society of Jesus, after suffering a stroke...

...was removed from his post in 1981 by St. John Paul II. His "vicar," or assistant, Fr. Vincent O'Keefe, SJ, an American Jesuit widely seen as Arrupe's choice for successor as superior general, was also removed from his position....

Arrupe's response? Even in his weakened state, Father Arrupe publicly declared his obedience to the Holy Father, instructed every Jesuit to be obedient and pointedly sent around this photo to every Jesuit house in the world. (It hung in my novitiate near the front door.)

Read 11 tweets

James Martin, SJ

@JamesMartinSJ

Jul 8, 2023

Gospel: Today Jesus uses the image of old wineskins and and old piece of cloth to illustrate the quality of newness of the reign of God (Mt. 9). You don't put a new patch on an old piece of cloth since the original cloth is already shrunken and, when washed, the new piece...

will pull away. Likewise, you don't put new wine in old wineskins because when the grapes ferment more, the wine will expand and burst the old skins. As C.H. Dodd said, Jesus used similes and metaphors from "nature and everyday life" to help people understand God's reign...

Here, the newness is all. God's reign is fully here, since Christ is the reign of God incarnate, but it is also not fully here, since, as we see, there is still war, violence, poverty and injustice in the world. This is the "already-not yet" quality of God's reign. But...

Read 4 tweets

Share this page!

Enter URL or ID to Unroll

James Martin, SJ

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

More from @JamesMartinSJ

James Martin, SJ

James Martin, SJ

James Martin, SJ

James Martin, SJ

James Martin, SJ

James Martin, SJ

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Don't want to be a Premium member but still want to support us?

Send Email!