Our human desire for God, with the Augustine scholar James K.A. Smith

About this episode

Fr. James Martin discusses the human desire for God with Augustine scholar James K.A. Smith.

James Martin, S.J., is joined by James K.A. Smith on the “The Spiritual Life” podcast. Jamie is a leading scholar of St. Augustine, and a professor of philosophy at Calvin University. He’s written several books—including Desiring the Kingdom, You Are What You Love, On the Road with Saint Augustine, and his latest, Make Your Home in This Luminous Dark: Mysticism, Art, and the Path of Unknowing. Together, they chart the contours of St. Augustine’s life, spirituality, and theological patrimony in the Church, along with Jamie’s own spiritual life. Timecodes: 0:00 Adopting a refugee spirituality 1:40 Introducing James K.A. Smith and Augustinian spirituality 6:39 Jamie meets God through his wife’s family 11:00 How St. Augustine became a spiritual lifeline for Jamie 13:30 A thumbnail sketch of St. Augustine’s life 19:10 “Everybody’s got a hungry heart” 30:40 Praying with the German mystic Meister Eckhart 33:46 Tracking your desires in the spiritual life 36:10 The relationship between Pope Leo XIV, the Augustianians, and Augustine45:15 Audience Question: How can we reconcile the "two churches" of today: a church that follows Jesus and a more "worldy church"? Do you have a spiritual…

People in this episode

Host: James Martin, S.J.

Guest: James K.A. Smith

Topics covered

• Augustinian spirituality
• spiritual life
• theology
• mysticism
• desire for God

Keywords

• spirituality
• Augustine
• philosophy
• mysticism
• desire

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Calvin University

Books & works: Desiring the Kingdom, You Are What You Love, On the Road with Saint Augustine, Make Your Home in This Luminous Dark: Mysticism, Art, and the Path of Unknowing

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