“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
“When we do prepare for our spiritual direction time, we honor our commitment to grow in our spiritual life.” – Deanna Bartalini
“I have no doubt God called me to become a spiritual director. But he wanted me to be a certain person, a specific Deanna, before I began.” – Deanna Bartalini
“From this perspective, the liturgical celebrations of Holy Week live at the very heart of spiritual direction and unveil the ecclesial dimension of this ‘art of arts.’.” – Dr. Anthony Lilles
“For most of my life, people would share private things and ask me what I thought. They didn’t ask what I knew. They asked what I thought.” – Debra Black
“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
“There may be other reasons too, subjective ones, maybe deeper ones. Sometimes we have some subconscious fears or issues, specific to our own personality and upbringing, that can add to the apprehension.” – Fr. John Bartunek
“Every saint received their faith and their formation in the faith from God, through the mediation of others.” – Fr. John Bartunek
