'The Six Paths' By James Martin

Before I get into the core of the argument here, I believe it worthy to preface this paper with an explanation of who I was. In this way it is easier to understand who I am today and why that is. Since moving away to attend Creighton University, I have become the laughingstock of my family. Firstly, because I live in a place where corn is the most exciting thing happening. Secondly, because I seem to have become the caroler of Jesuit values. This is especially amusing to my friends and family back home for they knew me before I made the transition to Creighton life; they knew the “old” me. As deep as that may sound, I have truly taken these values to heart and seem to lose myself in conversation every time they come up; hence the “caroler”
To better understand what I am talking about, I find it worthy to discuss some of the key points made by James Martin, SJ in the chapter titled “The Six Paths”. There, he outlines several pathways in which an individual may seek God. Prior to embarking on my college transition, I belonged to “the path of disbelief”. According to Martin, this is where one “rejects the theistic worldview completely”(Martin, 35). It is not that religion was particularly bad to me, nor did I believe that God had some personal vendetta against me where he made my life difficult. Frankly, I had a good life, I still do. I was just skeptical. I quickly grew tired of hypocrisy, lazy answers, and excuses made on “God’s” behave; I had a “religious baloney-detector”(Martin, 35). Too often I witnessed people using God’s name to right their wrongs, to avoid taking responsibility, and I was sick of it. Since then, I have come a long way and believe I am on “the path of exploration”. Creighton rooted in its’ Catholic beliefs, taught me that God does not give you an excuse, rather a
Cura Personalis implies that we are all unique in nature. We are each equipped with our very own background that makes us who we are, that makes us an individual among the masses. Which brings me to my next point, the relationship between vocation and one’s “true self”(Martin, 342). Vocation is mentioned in two distinct lights: to become who you are and to be who you hope to become. We do not necessarily have to discover our purpose, rather have it revealed to us by God. Whom we hope to become is everblooming, but who we were meant to be is everlasting in the eyes of our Father. A vocation goes deeper than work, a job, a career, it is a fulfillment of your purpose here on Earth. By committing myself to truly discerning what my purpose here is, I will be enacting this Jesuit value. It is fairly easy to realize that this value requires that we respect our brothers and sisters; we often forget the we must also respect ourselves as children of God. Perhaps respecting others is not the issue, rather respecting yourself is the most difficult task of