A higher calling

In the right hands, coming-of-age memoirs are delightful, especially when authored by accomplished and introspective individuals. Examples include Stephen King’s On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft from 2001, Bill Gates’ Source Code: My Beginnings which was released last year (with two more planned volumes) and now James Martin’s engaging yet exhaustingly titled Work in Progress: Confessions of a Busboy, Dishwasher, Caddy, Usher, Factory Worker, Bank Teller, Corporate Tool, and Priest.

James Martin, SJ, is an American Jesuit priest. The Jesuits, otherwise known as the “Society of Jesus” (hence the suffix “SJ”), originated with St. Ignatius of Loyola, who founded the Jesuit order in 1540. They are known for running high-quality schools, promoting social justice and seeking to “find God in all things.”

The 65-year-old Martin is an editor of the Jesuit magazine America and a prolific author on topics relating to faith and Christianity. Widely read by Catholics and non-Catholics alike, his works often appear on the New York Times bestseller list, including Jesus: A Pilgrimage, Learning to Pray, My Life with the Saints and The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything.

Often thought-provoking, Martin enjoys the public eye. This includes multiple appearances on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. His favourite topics have dovetailed with the teachings of Pope Francis and, more recently, Pope Leo. He has lectured and written extensively on the need for the Church and its institutions to be more welcoming, including for those identifying as LGBTTQ+. He focused on this theme in 2017 with Building a Bridge: How the Catholic Church and the LGBT Community Can Enter into a Relationship of Respect, Compassion, and Sensitivity. Unsurprisingly, it was not received well among many conservative Catholics.

In contrast to many of his past works, Work in Progress focuses on Martin’s own story as a teenager and young adulthood, and not the many weighty issues of modern Catholicism.

The author was raised in the Pennsylvania township of Plymouth Meeting by attentive, church-going parents who believed in the value of hard work. Like many middle-class baby boomers of his generation, Martin spent his summers working to save money for school, followed by university. As indicated by the book’s subtitle, this was not high-status work, ranging from washing dishes and clearing restaurant tables, hauling heavy golf bags around golf courses on hot days, doing mind-numbing assembly-line work and being an entry-level bank teller.

These temporary jobs brought the young Martin into contact with less fortunate individuals who needed these jobs to pay their bills, without the option of moving on to other occupations or post-secondary studies. His jobs also exposed him to authority figures, including a few heartless supervisors and unpleasant customers. He soon learned our society is better when others show compassion for the defenceless.

After graduating with a degree from the University of Pennsylvania’s prestigious Wharton School of Business, Martin set off on a lucrative career in corporate finance. Although he was not deeply religious, he knew something was missing in his life. It was after watching a documentary about the well-respected Trappist monk, Thomas Merton, and reading his Seven Storey Mountain, that Martin came to see his own life as progressing along a meaningless and directionless path. From there he set out to become a Jesuit priest. Many of Martin’s close friends were surprised with this decision, knowing him as a fun-loving adolescent who enjoyed late-night parties. It is at this point that the memoir nears its end.

Martin, who lost his mother this past February (after the book was finished), concludes with gratitude for being raised by nurturing parents, and gaining many life lessons while working in dead-end jobs. Many readers belonging to the baby boomer generation who were fortunate enough to go on to advanced studies will easily recall their own summer work experiences.

Spending the summer months dispensing ice cream, cleaning up messes and dealing with mean-spirited customers wasn’t all bad; close friendships also developed, with many fulfilling experiences.

James Martin’s delightful volume shows he wouldn’t have it any other way. He concludes Work in Progress with: “As we Jesuits would say, the lessons I learned helped to ‘form’ me.”

Christopher Adams is a political scientist and the rector of St. Paul’s College at the University of Manitoba.