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-scenes 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 books are The Better Part: A Christ-Centered Resource for Personal Prayer and 60 Days to Becoming a Missionary Disciple.
His most recent book is Spiritual But Not Religious: The Search for Meaning in a Material World.
Fr. John resides in Atlanta and serves as Territorial Vicar for the Legionaries of Christ.
Dear Crystal, Every time I write your name (even though it is quite beautiful, don’t get me wrong) I have flashbacks to your mother’s early days, when she and my
Dear Martha, I was heartened to receive your note asking for some pointers on prayer; it clearly showed that you have made that most auspicious of activities a priority in
Dear Chelsea, My dear and misguided young niece, I do not wish to sound callous, but the simple truth is that you are wasting your tears. When our Lord said,
Dear Leo, I can tell that you are more interested in being popular than in being happy (they are not, by any stretch of the imagination, the same thing). You
Dear Joe, Well, once again you have proved that you’re no angel – thanks be to God. If you did act like an angel, I’d be worried. As it is,
Dear Jaime, I am not surprised that you lost another job (of course, I considered your caddying job a bit of a pansy position anyway – attractive just because of
Dear Kristen, Your last note edified me terrifically. An internship in the high-brow professional sector has a lot of perks, and frankly, I thought you might be seduced by the
Dear Birgitta, As you say, following Christ is onerous indeed (that’s why so few people do it), especially in the middle of the summer when you have spent the last
Dear Max, Feeling frazzled and overworked again? Stressed out? Can’t seem to manage your time well? Funny that that should start happening in the summer as well as during the
Alex Kucera has lived in Atlanta, GA, for the last 46 years. He is one of 9 children, married to his wife Karmen, and has 3 girls, one grandson, and a granddaughter on the way. Alex joined Regnum Christi in 2007. Out of the gate, he joined the Helping Hands Medical Missions apostolate and is still participating today with the Ghana Friendship Mission.
In 2009, Alex was asked to be the Atlanta RC Renewal Coordinator for the Atlanta Locality to help the RC members with the RC renewal process. Alex became a Group Leader in 2012 for four of the Atlanta Men’s Section Teams and continues today. Running in parallel, in 2013, Alex became a Team Leader and shepherded a large team of good men.
Alex was honored to be the Atlanta Mission Coordinator between 2010 to 2022 (12 years), coordinating 5-8 Holy Week Mission teams across Georgia. He also created and coordinated missions at a parish in Athens, GA, for 9 years. Alex continues to coordinate Holy Week Missions, Advent Missions, and Monthly missions at Good Shepherd Catholic Church in Cumming, GA.
From 2016 to 2022, Alex also served as the Men’s Section Assistant in Atlanta. He loved working with the Men’s Section Director, the Legionaries, Consecrated, and Women’s Section leadership teams.
Alex is exceptionally grateful to the Legionaries, Consecrated, and many RC members who he’s journeyed shoulder to shoulder, growing his relationship with Christ and others along the way. He knows that there is only one way, that’s Christ’s Way, with others!
