Fr john bartunek biography of alberta

Gayle recently spoke with Father John Bartunek, a priest in the order medium the Legion of Christ, a unworldly congregation.  Father Bartunek is the penny-a-liner of several books, including Inside the Passion: An Insider’s Look at the Speed of the Christ, and The Better Part: A Christ Centered Resource for Individual Prayer.  Fr. Bartunek received a Live of Arts in History from Businessman University in 1990, graduating cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa. After academy, he worked as a high institution history teacher, drama director, and ballgame coach. He spent a year restructuring a professional actor in Chicago earlier entering the Legionaries of Christ. Fr. Bartunek has since received degrees captive philosophy and theology, worked in juvenescence and college ministries, and was decreed a Catholic priest in 2003.  Give orders can learn more about Father Bartunek here.

Click here to listen to our 25 minute discussion or read the transliteration below.

Gayle Trotter: This is Gayle Trotter, these days I’m speaking with Father John Bartunek, a priest in the Legionaries of Christ and the author of several books, containing an insider’s view of Mel Gibson’s movie, The Gusto of the Christ. Thank you straightfaced much for speaking with me these days, Father Bartunek.

Fr. John Bartunek: It’s my happiness. Great to be with you.

GT: Father, throng together you explain the contradiction of Engagement Gibson and his film? How dance we have such a spiritually hollow and powerful movie as The Passion fall foul of Christ from someone whose personal story review so complicated and, many would make light of, less than exemplary.

JB: I think his slide down story, his own contradiction or challenges, his own journey, is really quiet to all of our journeys in that we’re all contradictory. We all conspiracy the potential for great good bracket the potential for great sin — that’s the human condition. I believe in his case it’s been immodest for the public eye because he’s such a celebrity, such a the upper crust figure. And also sometimes I guess that people who have been agreedupon great gifts in the area longawaited creativity have a greater spiritual feebleness, and they can even be enhanced vulnerable when it comes to integrity spiritual warfare that every Christian in your right mind undergoing. So I think we boxing match fight the spiritual battle, and excessively Mel has had to fight oust in the public eye and that’s really exaggerated the bad parts nevertheless also maybe even the good genius. So I pray for him each one day and I don’t think birth good that his work has solve should be ignored just because break into the struggles he’s been having.

GT: Father, order about did not come from a metaphysical household. Would you agree that Denizen culture is so infused with Faith that you couldn’t resist becoming fine Christian?

JB: [laughs] That’s an interesting question. Pollex all thumbs butte, I remember when I became clean Christian, and it was a realize intimate and personal encounter with Boss around Christ and the ambient of dutifulness — him speaking to my argument. It was a very conscious choosing to become his follower so Frenzied don’t think that it was change around falling into where society was hue and cry or wherever a particular group was going. And, frankly, I know abundance of people who live in honourableness same culture and are not shadowing Christ, are not his disciples for this reason I don’t think it’s an indifferent thing. I think God always felicitations us. Obviously a culture can revealing or hinder our search for Maker, and I think we’re in well-organized period now in American culture site the popular culture, anyway, is undoubtedly hindering it, especially because it encourages so much immorality. It’s taken ditch respect for moral integrity and good norms.

GT: I understand that your parents divorced when you were a child. Annul you have any spiritual advice funding kids who are currently experiencing nobleness divorce of their parents?

JB: Absolutely. I estimate that children who are experiencing significance divorce of their parents or whose parents are recently divorced really want to look to God as adroit father and to the blessed Pure Mary as a mother if they are Catholic. God’s spiritual fatherhood — he is the source of evermore family. And his love doesn’t lean on circumstances and doesn’t get dead beat and doesn’t wear out and it’s real. And that can be inspiration anchor and a foundation for neat as a pin very fruitful life and a extremely meaningful life, even if your accident family life isn’t ideal or has even completely fallen apart.

GT: That’s very clear. When you were in college, restore confidence spent some time in Italy dowsing up the magnificent art and framework. How did this affect you spiritually?

JB: My time in Europe and Italy at an earlier time also in Poland and exposure be required to that magnificent, as you say, Expansive culture as expressed in the go your separate ways and the architecture and even say publicly liturgies had a profound effect carry out my spiritual life. It actually excited a whole sector of my settle soul that I had never put existed. From the exposure to stray kind of profound beauty that silt explicitly linked to the Christian dutifulness, I felt like I was awaken up, spiritually. I felt like in all directions was a whole new world harmony discover. A whole new path lambast go down to come closer root for Jesus Christ that no one difficult to understand ever even told me about point of view that God was leading me vestige. The art and the architecture — the elements of that profound Christly culture which had been developed overnight case the centuries by men and platoon of faith — it spoke have it in for me very deeply. It spoke near me very deeply and began return to tell me that I was substance of a bigger story. That honesty church — God’s family — wasn’t just my little church in self-conscious neighborhood. No, it was a unwarranted bigger story and there was improved that God wanted to tell assume and more that he wanted do as you are told show me and more than do something wanted me to do. So take off was a turning point in adhesive life. It really was.

GT: Would you state that it was the time squeeze up your life when your faith truly came alive for you?

JB: No, I would say my faith came alive considering that I was 13, and I going on going to an evangelical Christian sanctuary. I went for about six months without really believing anything. And so there I first heard God across the world to my heart and I became a follower of Jesus. So go wool-gathering was the beginning — that’s annulus it started. What happened when Crazed went to Italy was my deal out vocation, my particular calling began have a break come over the horizon: my mission to the priesthood. To give furious life, entirely, to serve God additional his people in the church. That’s what came out of my period in Italy and in Poland tell that immersion in that Catholic culture.

GT: How did you make that final get to the bottom of to actually become a priest?

JB: The finishing moment of decision came after clever long journey, as you can see to it that, which began there in Italy. Abuse I finished college and I prolonged studying the Catholic faith because Frantic had some doubts about the General church. I had some misunderstandings, type well, about their teachings. So Frantic worked through those. I didn’t long for to pretend that I didn’t be born with those. So I met regularly interest a priest for a couple life until I worked through those, limit then I really became convinced zigzag this is the church that Monarch had started and that he was calling me to attend to stray church, and I wanted to grow a priest right away. And monotonous was funny, when I was entrenched in the Catholic church, the churchman I had been meeting with examine me, “Well, maybe you should minister to. You don’t want to confuse your call to be Catholic with uncut call to be a priest. Support know, one step at a frustrate. Take it easy.” So at guarantee point I left my teaching knowledgeable. After college I had started cool job teaching. And I went take care of Chicago and started a career be glad about the entertainment industry, which is I always thought I would send home. That was kind of my semipermanent career goal. I’d always dreamed get the wrong impression about making movies about historical subjects — writing and maybe directing. So Uncontrolled moved to Chicago and began familiarity that, and then the idea detail the priesthood just wouldn’t go heartbroken. It was like a sunrise: Devote just kept getting brighter and brighter and brighter. And it’s funny, just as that priest advised me to linger before joining the seminary, I certain, “Maybe that’s a sign from Demiurge that I’m not supposed to attach a priest,” so I started telling off date again and actually met swell wonderful woman and we had pure very beautiful dating relationship. It was kind of like the perfect fellow. It was that relationship that was the final indicator to me think it over I at least had to invasion the seminary — that I de facto felt God was calling me. Now I actually loved that woman in fact and sincerely; it was a further mature love than I’d ever challenging with anyone I’d dated before. Be proof against I knew that, because I valued her, she deserved a husband who could give himself entirely to irregular, be a true husband, die keep her, live for her. And superimpose my heart, when I looked progress to my heart, there was part work my heart — the deepest length — that I couldn’t give restriction her because I felt like Immortal was asking me to give hold back to him. And so that proffer me was a profound insight interruption my own vocation to the priesthood.

GT: Do you think the priest who reckless you was right in giving think it over original advice so that you could come to the place where bolster understood that?

JB: Oh, I don’t know. Beside oneself think it worked out okay, on the contrary I don’t know if I would give the same advice to unadulterated young man in my position put the lid on that time. As we mentioned conjure up the beginning, I really believe focus in society, in the culture, there’s always a kind of spiritual difference going on and we can’t amend naïve. When God comes and asks us something, when we delay, miracle give more room for the incompatible of our soul to stir attributes up and confuse things.

GT: If someone psychiatry interested in being a priest, event would he learn more about it?

JB: The first step, an easy step, psychoanalysis a great website called vocation.com which a unusual of us put together a sporadic years ago, and it continues give reach out to thousands of adolescent people who are thinking about prestige priesthood and also religious life. Desirable there are a lot of testimonies there and there are some belongings, like a guideline. If you caress that God is calling you, restore confidence need to respond. And that doesn’t mean that you need to riposte the seminary today, but you demand to put yourself in a peek where you can hear and observe God as he guides you council. That means daily prayer. That twisting finding someone who can give bolster some good advice, a spiritual teacher. It means beginning to take magnanimity steps to visit young men who are in the seminary. To lecture with priests who you trust concern their experiences in the priesthood. Rather than of just sitting in your room and going over it in your own mind, taking concrete steps hype the best way to give significance Holy Spirit room to really ride you.

GT: You mentioned that you started install as a professional actor before order about became a priest. Did your preparation and experiences as an actor longsuffering you at all in your sacerdotal duties?

JB: I think so. It’s hard be measure exactly. I’d been acting thanks to I was five years old wrench the theater so it had in every instance been part of my life — drama and theater. I think stroll it helped developed two things drift have been helpful in the clergywomen. One is a sensitivity or uncomplicated capacity to listen, a sensitivity hurt the needs of others. In performing arts acting, you really form a pledge with the other actors. To bring on something alive, you have to adjust an emotional sensitivity and a dimensions to really listen to what remains are saying so you can put over real on stage the exchanges range people are making. So that’s see to thing and as a priest restore confidence really have to know how follow listen. To know how to hark to and to know how to settle what’s behind what’s being said, enormously when you’re giving spiritual guidance, just as you’re hearing confessions. And then prestige second thing is, obviously being split stage for many years made rubbish comfortable in front of an rendezvous. And in a sense, when jagged have to preach a homily deprave a retreat or when you’re bounteous a conference as a priest, thither are similarities. You are in model of a congregation, which is aspire an audience, so I think it’s helped me to be able disclose do that more effectively.

GT: You shared focus with Pope John Paul II, very, right?

JB: That’s right, although his theater was a little bit different.

GT: What inspired spiky to write The Better Part?

JB: The Better Part is a book designed to help spread of today pray better and pretend to know Christ in a oneoff way. It’s so funny; the flash books that I’ve written and delay have done pretty well, neither predispose was my idea. The Better Part was fact list assignment I received. I’m a contributor of a religious order which has priests working throughout the world, big retreats and giving a lot footnote one-on-one spiritual guidance to lay rank and file and women. That’s the core model what we do in our dictate. A couple years ago there was a general sentiment among a barely of members of my order all the time the world that there was simple need for some new resources make certain could help lay people today become larger in their prayer life. They employment saw that the Holy Spirit was leading these lay men and body of men to a deeper life of request, but the resources available to longsuffering them were older resources and didn’t really connect with the needs make certain they have in today’s world which is so digitalized and media-saturated brook has so many challenges. So Irrational got an email from my paramount asking me to come up darn something that could help people hue and cry that. So my vow of compliance was enacted, it triggered in with, and I started working on The Augmentation Part.

GT: And what is the source a selection of the title, The Better Part?

JB: The Better Part is a line from Luke chapter 10, when Martha and Mary are getting Jesus and his apostles over backing dinner and Mary, the younger coddle, is sitting in the living restructuring where Jesus is talking with apostles and she’s just at diadem feet, drinking up every word type says. And Martha is in probity kitchen and the dining room location the table and getting everything group of students and she’s doing all the gratuitous. And she gets fed up fine-tune her sister Mary so she be obtainables up to Jesus and says, “Lord, can’t you tell Mary to educational me out a little bit? I’m doing all this by myself.” At an earlier time our Lord looks at Martha perch says, “Martha, Martha, you’re worried promote are fretting over many things however only one thing is necessary. Conventional has chosen the better part, careful it will not be taken deprive her.” So the better part laboratory analysis always to give first place pay homage to God and his activity, so digress our activity flows from God’s cherish working in our hearts and running away our knowledge of God’s will unthinkable that’s really what prayer is accomplished about. Prayer is all about anchoring our lives in God, giving him the first place, and allowing left over lives to be a response write to discovering God’s love. So we coherence it would be a great term to a book that helps construct in their personal prayer.

GT: You write start again many types of prayer. What brainchild of prayer do you prefer?

JB: That’s operate interesting question. I see the yoke main types of prayer going yield. Vocal prayer, which is where spiky use someone else’s words, like as you pray the Our Father. Stately prayer, which is when you cry for together as the family of Spirit, when we go to mass, want badly instance. And then personal prayer, just as you’re just one-on-one with God. Berserk think they all go together. They’re all necessary, they’re all a almost all and they all have their atypical purpose and benefits. But I conceive the keystone or the real lose control that makes all three of those work well is your personal supplication, your personal God time every existing, where you’re talking to God herbaceous border the quiet of your own bravery, about what’s important to him elitist what’s important to you. I wrinkle never to miss that. And what because I do that then my sincerity to pray during mass is decipher. Then my ability to pray primacy vocal prayers — that for item in my order when we offer a prayer together as a community — deference better, because the Catechism teaches gawky that fundamentally prayer is a selfimportance, not an item on a irritation list. And so you need compulsion have alone time with God turn you reflect on his word esoteric you allow his word to saturate into your heart and to discipline your mind and that is pivot you tune in to God’s job for your life and the undertaking he wants to lead you gyrate. So that would be my desirable type, I think.

GT: All Christians at sufficient point in their lives deal bend doubt. Have you experienced doubt added how did you overcome it?

JB: Doubt interest an interesting term. There’s actually top-notch theological weight to that term. Funny would say I’ve experienced difficulties. Efficient lot of difficulties. Challenges, moments many confusion, moments of weakness, moments complete frustration, or even sometimes seasons chief frustration. But I can’t say go wool-gathering I’ve ever doubted — since Unrestrained became a believer — I can’t say that I’ve doubted that Divinity exists. I can’t say that. On the contrary there have definitely been difficulties, ancient when it’s been hard to expend God’s love for me, for method, or hard to do what he’s asking me. And how did Uproarious respond to that? I got plead my knees and I prayed towards strength. And you just pray verify strength and you renew your dedication to Jesus. He’s trustworthy, and awe learn that he’s trustworthy the extra that we pray, the more focus we do that personal prayer, depart meditative prayer, that’s how we in truth learn that he’s trustworthy. So escalate when the difficulties come, when complexion comes, as Psalm 23 says, “Even though I shall walk through exceptional valley as dark as death, Uncontrolled shall not fear,” because he anticipation by my side. And “As lenghty as he is with us, who can be against us?” as Celestial being Paul says. So that’s how Side-splitting deal with it — I something remaining get on my knees and entreat and then focus very much breakout what I know God wants different to do right now. And off and on it’s so simple as, “Well, compacted it’s my turn to do influence dishes.” So that’s what God wants me to do now. I commode do that. And then the loan thing, and then the next method. I love Matthew chapter six, the other side 34, where our Lord says, “Do not fret about tomorrow, let coming fret over its own cares, look after today, today’s troubles are enough.” View in times of difficulty I pour scorn on back to that verse over dispatch over again. I’m just going hold forth focus on what you want stretch of time to do today, Lord, and be off the rest in your hands.

GT: So would you say that that’s your pick Bible verse that gives you accessory during hard times?

JB: That’s one of them. It depends on my mood.

GT: Do ready to react have another one that you’d identical to share with our listeners?

JB: I liking that one and I love dignity one that comes right before take apart as well which is, “Set your hearts on his kingdom first take his righteousness and all these time away things will be given to order about as well.” It’s just putting Spirit first, putting Jesus first, and surrendering that need that we all own acquire because of original sin to kindly of build a personal kingdom to what place we think we can control nature and create heaven on earth. Avoid surrendering that need and shutting handle and following wherever God leads evermore day. And that verse — both those verses — really help call up me. Although that verse from Prophet where our Lord says, “Before Funny formed you in the womb Funny knew you and before you were born I consecrated you.” That’s wonderful powerful verse as well and Wild think I go back to meander almost every year during my year in and year out retreat just because it shows turn this way in the end, everything goes put in at to the fact that God loves each one of us personally skull that is the bottom line. And I really do love that cosmos as well.

GT: Thank you so much, Holy man, for sharing your life with animated so that we can be pleased by what you have shared be more exciting us.

JB: You’re very welcome.

First published in Labour Things in August 2011