“If you are having trouble finding a spiritual director, you don’t need to worry about it. If you are making a reasonable effort to look for one, God will honor that.” – Fr. John Bartunek
“If the motivation is Christian and not selfish (you may need the help of a spiritual director to discern this), then take some initial steps to find out how you can go in that direction without neglecting your primary vocation.” – Fr. John Bartunek
“Why do you carve time out of your busy schedule to pray and worship God the Father through Jesus Christ in union with the Holy Spirit?” – Fr. John Bartunek
“Here we can enter a gray area between venial sin, for which we are in some way directly responsible, and what spiritual writers call “imperfections,” for which we are only remotely responsible, if at all.” – Fr. John Bartunek
“At the earlier stages of the spiritual life, the emphasis falls on weeding out the sinful and self-centered habits that are constricting the action of God’s grace in our lives. As we grow, the emphasis changes.” – Fr. John Bartunek
“Confession and spiritual direction are like partially overlapping circles: they share some common characteristics, but their centers, their essences, are distinct.” – Fr. John Bartunek
“Christ’s resurrection (Easter Sunday) is the unbreakable and undying promise that God’s omnipotence and wisdom are never trumped by the apparent triumphs of evil and suffering (Good Friday).” – Father John Bartunek
“God’s indicative will always flows from his wisdom and his love. In other words, whatever he wants us to do is for our greatest good.” – Fr. John Bartunek
“The mortification is never an end in itself, but a means by which we become better followers of Christ.” -Fr. John Bartunek
“In our tradition of Catholic spirituality, these types of practices are referred to as memento mori, a Latin phrase that means “remembrance of death” or “remembrance of mortality.” The practice of receiving ashes on Ash Wednesday is one of these.” – Fr. John Bartunek