Last July, Father Joe made a few suggestions for summer reading in his weekly bulletin column, “Of Many Things.” Among the books he mentioned was one by James Martin, SJ, entitled Becoming Who You Are. Actually, at the urging of Anne Sharkey, our Coordinator of Faith Formation, I had picked it up during the latter part of Lent. I am glad I did.

This is a thoroughly engaging little volume, and James Martin is a lively and gifted writer. An associate editor of America magazine, he has a flair for choosing the right metaphor or the most telling incidents of human experience, including his own. With disarming openness, he details just enough of his experience of searching for his own authentic sense of self, inspired and enlightened by people who figured prominently in his spiritual pilgrimage. Any tendency to self-absorption is off-set by humor and self-deprecation. He is a real person.

Real, too, are those people whom he admires and whose lives serve to provide insights for his own. Thomas Merton is the first person on whom Father Martin focuses. A complex individual who went through many transformations in his own spiritual development, Merton does not fit into any tidy categories, yet his steps and his struggles serve as impetus for the author’s own efforts.

Similarly, with Henri Nouwen, whom Father Martin met on one occasion, and whose written works provided enlightenment. The author writes about both men, …Merton and Nouwen share many qualities that make them appealing to contemporary believers. First, they always tried to be honest. Second, they were not afraid to admit their sinfulness. Third, they were open-hearted seekers. And fourth, they tried to love.

And that brings us to the pivotal discovery in Father Martin’s search for the “true self.” Our efforts should not be directed toward imitating, - being just like, - the one we admire; rather, it is to seek to discover in these remarkable individuals those aspects of authenticity, grasped through living struggles, which can shed light on our own journey to become who we truly are, - who God intends us to be. Not surprisingly, the author draws these two men into the circle surrounding his own developing relationship with the Lord Jesus whom he is coming to know through his study of Sacred Scripture.

Scattered toward the end of his presentation, (these chapters initially came from a lecture series,) are vivid descriptions of other personalities, any one of whom might serve to illustrate what it means to be truly human and truly holy. And should we be inclined to go further in our own search, Father Martin has given us, not a bibliography, but a descriptive and attractive list of related reading to keep us going.