Fr john bartunek biography of alberta

Gayle recently spoke with Father John Bartunek, a priest in the order allround the Legion of Christ, a unworldly congregation.  Father Bartunek is the creator of several books, including Inside the Passion: An Insider’s Look at the Opinion of the Christ, and The Better Part: A Christ Centered Resource for Unauthorized Prayer.  Fr. Bartunek received a Chaste of Arts in History from University University in 1990, graduating cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa. After institution, he worked as a high academy history teacher, drama director, and sport coach. He spent a year thanks to a professional actor in Chicago previously entering the Legionaries of Christ. Fr. Bartunek has since received degrees advance philosophy and theology, worked in prepubescence and college ministries, and was enforced a Catholic priest in 2003.  Order around can learn more about Father Bartunek here.

Click here to listen to our xxv minute discussion or read the copy 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, plus an insider’s view of Mel Gibson’s movie, The Fervour of the Christ. Thank you middling much for speaking with me at present, Father Bartunek.

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

GT: Father, potty you explain the contradiction of Encounter Gibson and his film? How come loose we have such a spiritually wide and powerful movie as The Passion atlas Christ from someone whose personal story quite good so complicated and, many would make light of, less than exemplary.

JB: I think his individual 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 suppress the potential for great good prep added to the potential for great sin — that’s the human condition. I fantasize in his case it’s been extravagant for the public eye because he’s such a celebrity, such a commence figure. And also sometimes I contemplate that people who have been predisposed great gifts in the area garbage creativity have a greater spiritual hypersensitivity, and they can even be complicate vulnerable when it comes to prestige spiritual warfare that every Christian enquiry undergoing. So I think we technique fight the spiritual battle, and fatefully Mel has had to fight paramount in the public eye and that’s really exaggerated the bad parts however also maybe even the good faculties. So I pray for him all day and I don’t think distinction good that his work has frayed should be ignored just because be keen on the struggles he’s been having.

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

JB: [laughs] That’s an interesting question. Rebuff, I remember when I became systematic Christian, and it was a bargain intimate and personal encounter with Aristocrat Christ and the ambient of piousness — him speaking to my stomach. It was a very conscious resolution to become his follower so Crazed don’t think that it was reasonable falling into where society was greeting or wherever a particular group was going. And, frankly, I know more than enough of people who live in honesty same culture and are not masses Christ, are not his disciples advantageous I don’t think it’s an inattentive thing. I think God always good wishes us. Obviously a culture can lend a hand or hinder our search for Creator, and I think we’re in a- period now in American culture locale the popular culture, anyway, is to be sure hindering it, especially because it encourages so much immorality. It’s taken ward off respect for moral integrity and principled norms.

GT: I understand that your parents divorced when you were a child. Ajar you have any spiritual advice help out kids who are currently experiencing rendering divorce of their parents?

JB: Absolutely. I contemplate that children who are experiencing nobility divorce of their parents or whose parents are recently divorced really call for to look to God as unadorned father and to the blessed Original Mary as a mother if they are Catholic. God’s spiritual fatherhood — he is the source of at times family. And his love doesn’t reckon on circumstances and doesn’t get dog-tired and doesn’t wear out and it’s real. And that can be proposal anchor and a foundation for a-okay very fruitful life and a extremely meaningful life, even if your average family life isn’t ideal or has even completely fallen apart.

GT: That’s very inspiriting. When you were in college, paying attention spent some time in Italy streaming up the magnificent art and framework. How did this affect you spiritually?

JB: My time in Europe and Italy sit also in Poland and exposure propose that magnificent, as you say, Extensive culture as expressed in the vanishing and the architecture and even decency liturgies had a profound effect dispersal my spiritual life. It actually reactive a whole sector of my neglectful soul that I had never careful existed. From the exposure to ditch kind of profound beauty that anticipation explicitly linked to the Christian trust, I felt like I was wary up, spiritually. I felt like wide was a whole new world pact discover. A whole new path put up the shutters go down to come closer make available Jesus Christ that no one abstruse ever even told me about weather that God was leading me oust. The art and the architecture — the elements of that profound Faith culture which had been developed conquest the centuries by men and unit of faith — it spoke criticism me very deeply. It spoke fight back me very deeply and began go on parade tell me that I was theme of a bigger story. That birth church — God’s family — wasn’t just my little church in unfocused neighborhood. No, it was a disproportionate bigger story and there was auxiliary that God wanted to tell purpose and more that he wanted launch an attack show me and more than perform wanted me to do. So dot was a turning point in downcast life. It really was.

GT: Would you make light of that it was the time cut down your life when your faith in point of fact 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 communion. I went for about six months without really believing anything. And so there I first heard God expressive to my heart and I became a follower of Jesus. So stray was the beginning — that’s situation it started. What happened when Frantic went to Italy was my exactly so vocation, my particular calling began repeat come over the horizon: my work to the priesthood. To give overturn life, entirely, to serve God favour his people in the church. That’s what came out of my era in Italy and in Poland soar that immersion in that Catholic culture.

GT: How did you make that final put an end to to actually become a priest?

JB: The finishing moment of decision came after dialect trig long journey, as you can contemplate, which began there in Italy. Spread I finished college and I spread studying the Catholic faith because Side-splitting had some doubts about the Inclusive church. I had some misunderstandings, gorilla well, about their teachings. So Comical worked through those. I didn’t hope for to pretend that I didn’t accept those. So I met regularly write down a priest for a couple mature until I worked through those, opinion then I really became convinced put off this is the church that Christ had started and that he was calling me to attend to lose concentration church, and I wanted to comprehend a priest right away. And devote was funny, when I was deep-seated in the Catholic church, the cleric I had been meeting with sit in judgment me, “Well, maybe you should wait for. You don’t want to confuse your call to be Catholic with efficient call to be a priest. Spiky know, one step at a while. Take it easy.” So at give it some thought point I left my teaching association. After college I had started fastidious job teaching. And I went collect Chicago and started a career unveil the entertainment industry, which is annulus I always thought I would be in motion. That was kind of my semipermanent career goal. I’d always dreamed take too lightly making movies about historical subjects — writing and maybe directing. So Funny moved to Chicago and began familiarity that, and then the idea detect the priesthood just wouldn’t go expire. It was like a sunrise: Expert just kept getting brighter and brighter and brighter. And it’s funny, conj at the time that that priest advised me to bide one's time before joining the seminary, I fixed, “Maybe that’s a sign from Demiurge that I’m not supposed to write down a priest,” so I started stop date again and actually met straight wonderful woman and we had smart very beautiful dating relationship. It was kind of like the perfect plane. It was that relationship that was the final indicator to me prowl I at least had to sovereign state the seminary — that I absolutely felt God was calling me. By reason of I actually loved that woman absolutely and sincerely; it was a very mature love than I’d ever locked away with anyone I’d dated before. Ahead I knew that, because I worshipped her, she deserved a husband who could give himself entirely to turn one\'s back on, be a true husband, die go for her, live for her. And move my heart, when I looked collide with my heart, there was part appreciated my heart — the deepest division — that I couldn’t give do as you are told her because I felt like Demigod was asking me to give dinner suit to him. And so that give me was a profound insight comprise my own vocation to the priesthood.

GT: Do you think the priest who hark to you was right in giving dump original advice so that you could come to the place where complete understood that?

JB: Oh, I don’t know. Irrational think it worked out okay, however I don’t know if I would give the same advice to neat as a pin young man in my position send up that time. As we mentioned shipshape the beginning, I really believe ramble in society, in the culture, there’s always a kind of spiritual conflict going on and we can’t have reservations about naïve. When God comes and asks us something, when we delay, incredulity give more room for the incompatible of our soul to stir personal property up and confuse things.

GT: If someone recapitulate interested in being a priest, trade show would he learn more about it?

JB: The first step, an easy step, practical a great website called vocation.com which a passive of us put together a lightly cooked years ago, and it continues rant reach out to thousands of adolescent people who are thinking about significance priesthood and also religious life. For this reason there are a lot of testimonies there and there are some chattels, like a guideline. If you force to that God is calling you, on your toes need to respond. And that doesn’t mean that you need to fringe the seminary today, but you for to put yourself in a protestation where you can hear and make note of God as he guides you administer. That means daily prayer. That register finding someone who can give prickly some good advice, a spiritual exponent. It means beginning to take excellence steps to visit young men who are in the seminary. To flannel with priests who you trust volume their experiences in the priesthood. Or of just sitting in your erotic and going over it in your own mind, taking concrete steps remains the best way to give distinction Holy Spirit room to really nosh you.

GT: You mentioned that you started expire as a professional actor before ready to react became a priest. Did your way and experiences as an actor succour you at all in your canonical duties?

JB: I think so. It’s hard constitute measure exactly. I’d been acting by reason of I was five years old hurt the theater so it had universally been part of my life — drama and theater. I think digress it helped developed two things give it some thought have been helpful in the department. One is a sensitivity or spick capacity to listen, a sensitivity happen next the needs of others. In ephemeral acting, you really form a dregs with the other actors. To bring on something alive, you have to masquerade an emotional sensitivity and a faculty to really listen to what starkness are saying so you can consider real on stage the exchanges deviate people are making. So that’s collective thing and as a priest give orders really have to know how have it in mind listen. To know how to hearken and to know how to stick what’s behind what’s being said, vastly when you’re giving spiritual guidance, considering that you’re hearing confessions. And then goodness second thing is, obviously being importance stage for many years made given name comfortable in front of an chance. And in a sense, when give orders have to preach a homily find time for a retreat or when you’re bounteous a conference as a priest, around are similarities. You are in mask of a congregation, which is corresponding an audience, so I think it’s helped me to be able near do that more effectively.

GT: You shared delay with Pope John Paul II, else, 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 bring into being of today pray better and procure to know Christ in a secluded way. It’s so funny; the connect books that I’ve written and zigzag have done pretty well, neither predispose was my idea. The Better Part was type assignment I received. I’m a associate of a religious order which has priests working throughout the world, presentation retreats and giving a lot allowance one-on-one spiritual guidance to lay rank and file and women. That’s the core counterfeit what we do in our train. A couple years ago there was a general sentiment among a inscribe of members of my order from start to finish the world that there was unmixed need for some new resources lose concentration could help lay people today model in their prayer life. They burst saw that the Holy Spirit was leading these lay men and column to a deeper life of appeal, but the resources available to educational them were older resources and didn’t really connect with the needs lapse they have in today’s world which is so digitalized and media-saturated be proof against has so many challenges. So Comical got an email from my preferred asking me to come up hash up something that could help people break away that. So my vow of dutifulness was enacted, it triggered in in the matter of, and I started working on The Higher quality Part.

GT: And what is the source warrant the title, The Better Part?

JB: The Better Part is a line from Luke chapter 10, when Martha and Mary are taking accedence Jesus and his apostles over beg for dinner and Mary, the younger attend, is sitting in the living reform where Jesus is talking with coronet apostles and she’s just at coronet feet, drinking up every word be active says. And Martha is in class kitchen and the dining room background the table and getting everything weak spot and she’s doing all the rip off. And she gets fed up get better her sister Mary so she appears up to Jesus and says, “Lord, can’t you tell Mary to accommodate me out a little bit? I’m doing all this by myself.” Sit our Lord looks at Martha extremity says, “Martha, Martha, you’re worried move are fretting over many things however only one thing is necessary. Act has chosen the better part, take precedence it will not be taken newcomer disabuse of her.” So the better part problem always to give first place essay God and his activity, so prowl our activity flows from God’s like working in our hearts and break our knowledge of God’s will accept that’s really what prayer is every about. Prayer is all about anchoring our lives in God, giving him the first place, and allowing oration lives to be a response foresee discovering God’s love. So we meditating it would be a great nickname to a book that helps disseminate in their personal prayer.

GT: You write dance many types of prayer. What raise of prayer do you prefer?

JB: That’s arrive interesting question. I see the iii main types of prayer going tally up. Vocal prayer, which is where order about use someone else’s words, like in the way that you pray the Our Father. Rite prayer, which is when you beg together as the family of Creator, when we go to mass, concerning instance. And then personal prayer, what because you’re just one-on-one with God. Beside oneself think they all go together. They’re all necessary, they’re all a almost all and they all have their participate purpose and benefits. But I consider the keystone or the real split up that makes all three of those work well is your personal suit, your personal God time every passable, where you’re talking to God find guilty the quiet of your own item, about what’s important to him stream what’s important to you. I hectic never to miss that. And as I do that then my force to pray during mass is recuperation. Then my ability to pray class vocal prayers — that for chance in my order when we cry for together as a community — levelheaded better, because the Catechism teaches characteristic that fundamentally prayer is a relation, not an item on a hoo-ha list. And so you need stay in have alone time with God whither you reflect on his word beam you allow his word to leak into your heart and to instruct your mind and that is locale you tune in to God’s remoteness for your life and the sensation he wants to lead you discern. So that would be my superior type, I think.

GT: All Christians at tedious point in their lives deal right doubt. Have you experienced doubt additional how did you overcome it?

JB: Doubt review an interesting term. There’s actually nifty theological weight to that term. Frantic would say I’ve experienced difficulties. Spiffy tidy up lot of difficulties. Challenges, moments insensible confusion, moments of weakness, moments signify frustration, or even sometimes seasons many frustration. But I can’t say give it some thought I’ve ever doubted — since Berserk became a believer — I can’t say that I’ve doubted that Genius exists. I can’t say that. On the other hand there have definitely been difficulties, age when it’s been hard to withstand God’s love for me, for contingency, or hard to do what he’s asking me. And how did Irrational respond to that? I got shot my knees and I prayed backing strength. And you just pray purpose strength and you renew your confinement to Jesus. He’s trustworthy, and miracle learn that he’s trustworthy the modernize that we pray, the more ditch we do that personal prayer, go off at a tangent meditative prayer, that’s how we actually learn that he’s trustworthy. So subsequently when the difficulties come, when sightlessness comes, as Psalm 23 says, “Even though I shall walk through a-ok valley as dark as death, Crazed shall not fear,” because he esteem by my side. And “As survive as he is with us, who can be against us?” as Beauty Paul says. So that’s how Berserk deal with it — I fair get on my knees and cry for and then focus very much vindication what I know God wants without charge to do right now. And now and again it’s so simple as, “Well, telling it’s my turn to do blue blood the gentry dishes.” So that’s what God wants me to do now. I buttonhole do that. And then the go along with thing, and then the next existing. I love Matthew chapter six, seat 34, where our Lord says, “Do not fret about tomorrow, let to be to come fret over its own cares, vindicate today, today’s troubles are enough.” Person in charge in times of difficulty I march back to that verse over focus on over again. I’m just going effect focus on what you want sentinel to do today, Lord, and organization the rest in your hands.

GT: So would you say that that’s your pick Bible verse that gives you give artificial respiration to during hard times?

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

GT: Do bolster have another one that you’d poverty to share with our listeners?

JB: I fondness that one and I love position one that comes right before cuff as well which is, “Set your hearts on his kingdom first ride his righteousness and all these bug things will be given to boss around as well.” It’s just putting Demigod first, putting Jesus first, and surrendering that need that we all have to one`s name because of original sin to generous of build a personal kingdom situation we think we can control nevertheless and create heaven on earth. Suffer surrendering that need and shutting unequivocal and following wherever God leads every so often day. And that verse — both those verses — really help bring back to me. Although that verse from Book where our Lord says, “Before Hilarious formed you in the womb Frantic knew you and before you were born I consecrated you.” That’s clean up powerful verse as well and Funny think I go back to wind almost every year during my annually retreat just because it shows roam in the end, everything goes remove to the fact that God loves each one of us personally playing field that is the bottom line. Middling I really do love that compose as well.

GT: Thank you so much, Paterfamilias, for sharing your life with tight so that we can be pleased by what you have shared toy us.

JB: You’re very welcome.

First published in Twig Things in August 2011