Jesuit priest, New York Times bestselling author, journalist and culture editor of America magazine, Fr. James Martin will give the 14th annual Landregan Lecture on Saturday, Dec. 1, at 7:30 p.m. in Lynch Auditorium. Martin will speak about joy and humor in spiritual life, which is the topic of his newest book, "Between Heaven and Mirth: Why Joy, Humor, and Laughter Are at the Heart of the Spiritual Life," published in October 2011.Martin is the author of several books including a best-selling memoir "My Life with the Saints", which received a 2007 Christopher Award, was named one of the "Best Books" of 2006 by Publishers Weekly and also received a first place award from the Catholic Press Association.
After working for years at the General Electric Co., Martin entered the Society of Jesus in 1988, and was ordained as a Catholic priest in 1999. During his service with the Jesuits, he worked in a hospice for the sick and dying with the Missionaries of Charity in Kingston, Jamaica, as part of an outreach program with street gang members in inner city Chicago and with the Jesuit Refugee Service in Nairobi, Kenya, where he helped East African refugees start small businesses.
"We're happy to have Fr. Martin speaking at this year's Landregan Lecture," said Mark Goodwin, interim dean of the School of Ministry and theology professor. "In the Year of Faith, his book, 'Between Heaven and Mirth,' is an important reminder that joy and laughter are a part of the Catholic spiritual life."
The University of Dallas Landregan Lecture honors Steven T. Landregan, an archivist, author and former editor of The Texas Catholic newspaper.
For more details visit, udallas.edu/landregan.
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