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Searching for God at Ground Zero
In response to the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, James Martin dropped everything to minister to those in need at Ground Zero. In this extraordinary journal, Jim recounts the days working with the firefighters, police officers, and rescue workers laboring in the ruins. Expecting to find only discouragement and despair, Father Martin instead encounters charity, hope, and above all, grace. Searching for God at Ground Zero leads readers into a world not only traumatized by the attacks of September 11, 2001, but also galvanized by an overwhelming love and solidarity. Father Martin introduces us to individuals of enormous courage and generosity - the firefighter working in the shadow of the grave of his "buddies," the police officer struggling to make sense of suffering, the sanitation worker asking questions about God and faith. In the process he speaks candidly about his own joys, fears, and struggles as he both ministers in the name of God and searches for God's presence alongside his brother Jesuits. This book is a profound meditation on faith in the presence of death, charity in the face of suffering, and God in the midst of humanity.
112 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 2002
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About the author
James Martin
53 books1,079 followersJames Martin, SJ is a Jesuit priest, writer, editor at large of the Jesuit magazine America, and consultor to the Vatican's Secretariat for Communication.
Fr. Martin grew up in Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania, United States, and attended Plymouth-Whitemarsh High School. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business in 1982 and worked in corporate finance at General Electric for six years. Dissatisfied with the corporate world, he entered the Society of Jesus (more commonly known as the Jesuits) in 1988, and after completing his Jesuit training (which included studies in philosophy and theology, as well as full time-ministry) was ordained a priest in 1999. He received his Master's in Divinity (M.Div.) and Master's in Theology (Th.M.) from the Weston Jesuit School of Theology (now part of Boston College).
During his Jesuit training, Martin worked in a hospital for the seriously ill and a homeless shelter in Boston, with Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity in Jamaica, with street-gang members in Chicago, in a prison in Boston, and for two years with East African refugees in Nairobi, Kenya, with the Jesuit Refugee Service. In addition to his work at America magazine, Fr. Martin has written or edited more than 15 books, most of which are about spirituality and religion. He is a frequent commentator on religion and spirituality and has appeared on all the major networks, served as an expert commentator for ABC for the papal conclave that elected Pope Francis, and has written for many outlets, including the New York Times and The Wall Street Journal.
Father Martin's best known books The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything (2010) and Jesus: A Pilgrimage were both New York Times bestsellers; My Life with the Saints was named a Publishers Weekly Best Book; and all three were winners of the Christopher Award.
He has received over 15 honorary degrees from Catholic colleges and universities, and in 2017 Pope Francis appointed him as consultor to the Vatican's Secretariat for Communication.
Fr. Martin grew up in Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania, United States, and attended Plymouth-Whitemarsh High School. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business in 1982 and worked in corporate finance at General Electric for six years. Dissatisfied with the corporate world, he entered the Society of Jesus (more commonly known as the Jesuits) in 1988, and after completing his Jesuit training (which included studies in philosophy and theology, as well as full time-ministry) was ordained a priest in 1999. He received his Master's in Divinity (M.Div.) and Master's in Theology (Th.M.) from the Weston Jesuit School of Theology (now part of Boston College).
During his Jesuit training, Martin worked in a hospital for the seriously ill and a homeless shelter in Boston, with Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity in Jamaica, with street-gang members in Chicago, in a prison in Boston, and for two years with East African refugees in Nairobi, Kenya, with the Jesuit Refugee Service. In addition to his work at America magazine, Fr. Martin has written or edited more than 15 books, most of which are about spirituality and religion. He is a frequent commentator on religion and spirituality and has appeared on all the major networks, served as an expert commentator for ABC for the papal conclave that elected Pope Francis, and has written for many outlets, including the New York Times and The Wall Street Journal.
Father Martin's best known books The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything (2010) and Jesus: A Pilgrimage were both New York Times bestsellers; My Life with the Saints was named a Publishers Weekly Best Book; and all three were winners of the Christopher Award.
He has received over 15 honorary degrees from Catholic colleges and universities, and in 2017 Pope Francis appointed him as consultor to the Vatican's Secretariat for Communication.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
June 6, 2017
This is a slim book, and one of the author's earlier books, but well worth searching for. It covers his time visiting the site of WTC 9/11 terrorist attack in New York, from 2 days after until start of October (he didn't go every day, partly to be able to do his job as a Catholic magazine editor and also to have some mental breaks I'm sure).
What he found was not so much discoragement and despair - though sad moments happen - but more moments of charity, hope and grace - God's presence through Holy Spirit. He worked among rescue workers as a priest, taking often some other priests with him there (fellow Jesuits and others). The spirit of the place was found in people's charity, generosity; the volunteers, the people who had come from other places, the drawings of children, the food and other things given to workers... a sense of community working for the common good, of peace. Not something the hijackers had, no matter what their mouths repeated in their last moments; just chaos.
There's many striking moments: the togetherness felt when having a noonday meal on a boat; the Gospel said during one Mass which talked of the Lost Sheep and the Lost Coin parables - the searching God, the searching workers, those who ran into the towers to rescue; the humility hidden in the 'not doing enough' feeling many had though they were doing quite a lot; then there's the pig ribs: one worker had found them among the debris - fell down from (and with) the Windows Of The World restaurant!
Eventually things change: chaos becomes more organised as things like plans for what will be done to fix some savabale buildings, the cleaning, the taking away of the building remains like beams happen. Things will be fixed and cleaned, new people will do that, and life will go on. So the time for the author to be needed, to be there, is also over. But it has been a good experience for him, and makes a good reading for us.
He thinks of his father who had died of cancer 2 months before this event - when he sees groups of relatives coming to visit the place where their loved one(s) perished - and he remembers the pain yet also the grace that was then, and now here. The question of 'why God allows suffering?' comes up, and the author thinks of the Passion, and how through Jesus God really does know what's it's like to be a suffering human. The question may not have a clear answer on this side of death, but the hope and comfort and people who care are here, and through them, God.
A dove is one day seen briefly resting on the rubble. A white one; even flying away, it can be a sign, a symbol of the Holy Spirit present, even in a place which shows the reality of evil. There is death, but there is and will be LIFE too.
What he found was not so much discoragement and despair - though sad moments happen - but more moments of charity, hope and grace - God's presence through Holy Spirit. He worked among rescue workers as a priest, taking often some other priests with him there (fellow Jesuits and others). The spirit of the place was found in people's charity, generosity; the volunteers, the people who had come from other places, the drawings of children, the food and other things given to workers... a sense of community working for the common good, of peace. Not something the hijackers had, no matter what their mouths repeated in their last moments; just chaos.
There's many striking moments: the togetherness felt when having a noonday meal on a boat; the Gospel said during one Mass which talked of the Lost Sheep and the Lost Coin parables - the searching God, the searching workers, those who ran into the towers to rescue; the humility hidden in the 'not doing enough' feeling many had though they were doing quite a lot; then there's the pig ribs: one worker had found them among the debris - fell down from (and with) the Windows Of The World restaurant!
Eventually things change: chaos becomes more organised as things like plans for what will be done to fix some savabale buildings, the cleaning, the taking away of the building remains like beams happen. Things will be fixed and cleaned, new people will do that, and life will go on. So the time for the author to be needed, to be there, is also over. But it has been a good experience for him, and makes a good reading for us.
He thinks of his father who had died of cancer 2 months before this event - when he sees groups of relatives coming to visit the place where their loved one(s) perished - and he remembers the pain yet also the grace that was then, and now here. The question of 'why God allows suffering?' comes up, and the author thinks of the Passion, and how through Jesus God really does know what's it's like to be a suffering human. The question may not have a clear answer on this side of death, but the hope and comfort and people who care are here, and through them, God.
A dove is one day seen briefly resting on the rubble. A white one; even flying away, it can be a sign, a symbol of the Holy Spirit present, even in a place which shows the reality of evil. There is death, but there is and will be LIFE too.
August 2, 2015
Father James Martin's reflections of his time with the rescue workers at the World Trade Center for about four weeks after 9/11. Very moving.
July 5, 2022
A Jesuit priest shares stories of faith, hope and love in the midst of the rubble of the World Trade Center after the attacks on 9/11.
November 10, 2025
Short, rather moving memoir recounting the author's visits to the site of the 9/11 attacks (he doesn't like the term "Ground Zero", even if that's on the cover) as a Jesuit priest offering spiritual guidance to the rescue workers.
Religiously, book was okay, even if I don't share his beliefs. I liked that he didn't proselytise (unlike the Scientologists apparently). He describes (over and over) the feeling of grace from all the people working together for something other than themselves. There is a brief discussion of the problem of evil (no solution of course). Personally, as I read this, my overwhelming feeling was: all of this goodwill was wasted and is now gone. Do we need another tragedy to get any of it back? (I hope not.)
Practical advice from a psychologist: "Just let them talk...If they become hysterical, get them to focus on the everyday things in their life. Ask them what they've had for breakfast, where they're from, and how long it's been since they've slept."
Most affecting part: when a policewoman whose friend jumped from the tower asks whether her friend effectively committed suicide. Says another priest: "No, [t]hey weren't trying to die, they were trying to live. They wanted to live. That's not suicide."
Religiously, book was okay, even if I don't share his beliefs. I liked that he didn't proselytise (unlike the Scientologists apparently). He describes (over and over) the feeling of grace from all the people working together for something other than themselves. There is a brief discussion of the problem of evil (no solution of course). Personally, as I read this, my overwhelming feeling was: all of this goodwill was wasted and is now gone. Do we need another tragedy to get any of it back? (I hope not.)
Practical advice from a psychologist: "Just let them talk...If they become hysterical, get them to focus on the everyday things in their life. Ask them what they've had for breakfast, where they're from, and how long it's been since they've slept."
Most affecting part: when a policewoman whose friend jumped from the tower asks whether her friend effectively committed suicide. Says another priest: "No, [t]hey weren't trying to die, they were trying to live. They wanted to live. That's not suicide."
April 30, 2022
Easy to read and short book. It's a journal from a priest who went to ground zero and ministered to people. He did a good job explaining how the site had changed from day one to the fourth week after.
April 22, 2025
This was so interesting - God Self, and Society
January 2, 2026
Great book. Short enough to read in one sitting. It's a very powerful personal impact story from a difficult time in history.
February 6, 2011
It doesn't matter what religion you are, you need to read this personal guide of life at Ground Zero from the day it happened until about 1 month later. Beautifully written. Only about 100 pages long ~ easy to read & you'll whip through it. Definitely read.
January 28, 2015
So interesting to read after so many years. Fr. Martin is an educated, compassionate man who is humbled by what he sees and reflects on the contrast of good and evil that surrounds him. Worth the read.
February 13, 2019
As others have said in their reviews this is a short book I found it to be full of inspiration and hope. This is a day we will always remember. A day of pain for all who were lost but also a day of remarkable bravery and dedication by those who ran to the scene to help in so many ways. I loved it.
October 29, 2013
Short book in diary format written by Father Martin about his ministry at Ground Zero during the month of September, 2001. Brought to mind much of the emotion of those early days.
March 21, 2015
....a tragic accounts of the 9-11 attacks... But Fr. James Martin, SJ highlights the most important thing... The hope, the love and the good he saw and experienced after the tragic event...
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews