"When I was covering the conclave in Rome last year, one of the first people I wanted to track down and talk to was Father James Martin. He's a prominent Jesuit priest and writer in the U.S., and he has also carved out a ministry for LGBTQ Catholics who've long felt ostracized by the Catholic Church. But before his decades-long career in the church, he was a busboy, a golf caddy, a popcorn-popper, a stock broker and an HR guy in corporate '80s America."
"My mom moved out of our house where we had lived for years and years in Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania, which is a suburb of Philly. And we were cleaning out my desk, and I found these two journals that I had kept when I was 15. I think what surprised me going back over them was kind of how shallow I was and really not particularly reflective."
A Jesuit priest and writer recounts early jobs as busboy, golf caddy, popcorn-popper, stockbroker, and HR employee, and traces how those experiences, along with teenage diaries, informed vocational calling. The account emphasizes God's activity in everyday work, showing how ordinary tasks contribute to personal growth and eventual commitment to priestly ministry and outreach to LGBTQ Catholics. The narrative combines candid recall, humor, and vulnerability, including surprise at youthful shallowness and an unmediated encounter with a younger self. The tone balances levity with reflective insights about vocation, service, and identity.
Read at www.npr.org
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