Joseph Martin (speaker)

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name = Joseph C. Martin, S.S.


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birth_place = Baltimore, MD U.S. flagicon|USA
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residence = Aberdeen, MD U.S.
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known_for = Lecturer/educator on alcoholism
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occupation = Catholic priest
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religion = Roman Catholicism
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Joseph C. Martin is a Roman Catholic priest, recovering alcoholic and renowned speaker/educator on the issues of alcoholism and drug addiction.

Background

Martin attended St. Thomas Aquinas elementary school from 1930 to 1938, then completed four years of secondary education at Loyola high school. He then went on to Loyola College and graduated in 1944. Martin entered St. Mary's Seminary in Baltimore, Maryland in 1944, where he studied philosophy and theology. On May 22, 1948, at the age of 24, Father Joseph C. Martin was ordained as a priest for the Archdiocese of Baltimore. Father Martin's first assignment was to St. Joseph's College, a preparatory seminary serving the Archdiocese of San Francisco. In 1951, Father Martin completed the rigorous training required to become a Sulpician. His next assignment was at the Sulpician Seminary St. Charles College in Catonsville, Maryland.

During this time, Father Martin's began drinking excessively and his behaviour became more and more erratic. Despite repeated warnings, he was unable to get his drinking under control. Finally, the Archdiocese was forced to take action and send Father Martin for intervention and treatment.

Treatment at Guest House

On June 15, 1958, Father Martin entered Guest House in Lake Orion, Michigan, a treatment facility for the clergy that was founded and operated by Austin Ripley.

While drinking himself, Austin Ripley came across a copy of the "Saturday Evening Post" and discovered an article featuring Alcoholics Anonymous. The article described how this young organization helped alcoholics achieve and maintain sobriety. It also talked about their “"Big Book"” which had been in print for some time. As a result of this article, Austin Ripley began his journey of recovery through Alcoholics Anonymous, devoting a good deal of the ensuing year in conversations with Bill W. and Dr. Bob, the founders of AA.

Father Martin met Austin Ripley on the first day of his stay at The Guest House. He also was introduced to Dr. Walter Green, another recovering alcoholic. Dr. Green was the first to talk to Father Martin about the manner in which drugs and alcohol cause the emotions to over-rule the intellect.

Father Martin deeply admired Austin Ripley, and was so impressed with Dr. Green's lectures that he saved his notes from his conversations with them for over 14 years. They became the basis of his famous “Chalk Talks,” a series of lectures that have been heard by hundreds of thousands of people around the world. Father Martin has always credited both men for teaching him everything he knows about alcoholism.

Career after treatment

After Father Martin achieved sobriety and learned all he could from Austin Ripley and Dr. Green, he embarked on a campaign of spreading his message of experience and hope. He attended and completed the Rutgers Summer School of Alcohol Studies during the summer of 1971.cite web | title =Father Joseph Martin | publisher =Recovery-World.com | url =http://www.recovery-world.com/FATHERJOSEPHMARTIN.html | accessdate =2007-11-20 ] He then worked as a lecturer and educator in the Division of Alcoholism Control for the State of Maryland and as a as a freelance consultant on alcoholism, a position he has maintained since the fall of 1973. In 1972, Father Martin first put his lecture "Chalk Talk on Alcohol" on film for the US Navy. He and Mrs. Mae Abraham started Kelly Productions, Inc. to produce and distribute this and other lectures on various media. "Chalk Talk" would eventually become his signature lecture and would be widely utilized in most branches of the US Federal Government (especially the armed services), business and industry presentations, hospitals, rehabilitation centers, and many state alcohol programs. He has made many other films, tapes, CDs and DVDs on various aspects of the disease of addiction and recovery from it. He is the author of a several publications including “No Laughing Matter,” published by Harper & Row in 1982. In 1983 Father Martin and Mrs. Mae Abraham founded Father Martin’s Ashley, a non-profit center dedicated to the treatment of the chemically addicted, located in Havre de Grace, Maryland.Father Martin also continued to work within the church and participated in the International Conference on Drugs and Alcohol sponsored by the Vatican in 1991.

References

elected Works

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ee also

* Alcoholism
* E. Morton Jellinek
* Disease theory of alcoholism
* Alcoholics Anonymous

External links

* [http://www.kellyproductions.com Kelly Productions.com The Home of Father Martin's films, audio CDs and books]
* [http://www.fathermartin.com Father Martin.com]
* [http://www.fathermartinsashley.org/index.htm Father Martin's Ashley]