Fr. John Bartunek, LC

Fr. John Bartunek, LC, S.Th.D, received his BA in History from Stanford University in 1990. He comes from an evangelical Christian background and became a member of the Catholic Church in 1991. After college, he worked as a high school history teacher, drama director, and baseball coach. He then spent a year as a professional actor in Chicago before entering the religious Congregation of the Legionaries of Christ in 1993. He was ordained a Catholic priest in 2003 and earned his doctorate in moral theology in 2010. He provided spiritual support on the set of Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of the Christ” while researching the 2005 Catholic best seller, “Inside the Passion”–the only authorized, behind-the-scene explanation of the film. Fr. John has contributed news commentary regarding religious issues on NBC, CNN, Fox, and the BBC. He also served as the English-language press liaison for the Vatican’s 2005 Synod of Bishops on the Eucharist. His most widely known book is called: “The Better Part: A Christ-Centered Resource for Personal Prayer”. His most recent books are “Spring Meditations”, “Seeking First the Kingdom: 30 Meditations on How to Love God with All Your Heart, Soul, Mind and Strength”, and “Answers: Catholic Advice for Your Spiritual Questions”. Fr. John currently splits his time between Michigan (where he continues his writing apostolate and serves as a confessor and spiritual director at the Queen of the Family Retreat Center) and Rome, where he teaches theology at Regina Apostolorum. His online, do-it-yourself retreats are available at RCSpirituality.org, and he answers questions about the spiritual life at SpiritualDirection.com.

Articles By Fr. John Bartunek, LC

Changing Spiritual Directors

What is the proper etiquette for changing one’s spiritual director? Find out when Father John Bartunek answers a reader’s question about this concern which may come up during various periods of one’s spiritual life.

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Does the Holy Spirit Work with Those Outside of the Church?

 Editor’s note:  This post was originally published on 7/27/2009. Dear Father John, I thought I understood, more or less, how the Holy Spirit works in our lives. But in a recent faith sharing group, a question came up that made me wonder. Someone asked if the Holy Spirit would or would not be with un-baptized

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How do I Find and Select a Spiritual Director?

*This post was originally published 6/26/2009. Dear Father John, what is the best way to find a Spiritual Director? Should it be your pastor? A friend? Or someone whom you do not know when you begin? Finding a spiritual director usually follows four steps: First, you need to remember what spiritual direction is all about.

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Spiritual Directors

What are the Key Characteristics of Good Spiritual Direction?

*This post was originally published on 7/2/2009.   Dear Father John, What are the key characteristics of good spiritual direction? There are three ways to answer this question, depending on the point of view. From the point of view of the person receiving it, spiritual direction is an extremely useful (many would say essential) help

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I Want to Pray but Struggle with My Schedule – What do I do?

*This post first published 9/14/2009   Dear Father John, I am a busy executive and struggle to make time for prayer. What should I do? I do want to improve my prayer life but I just struggle with time. The desire to improve your prayer life is a sign of God’s presence and action in

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