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.
A deep crisis in our post-Christian culture is the loss of a sense of our identity, a kind of cultural and religious amnesia. To overcome that crisis, we need to
Advent is a liturgical season meant to be lived with deep spiritual anticipation. It is a time of year in which the Church invites us to look forward to spiritual
Sickness and death were not part of God’s original plan for the human family; they were consequences of original sin. But now, in this fallen world, no one escapes them.
Nothing compares with what Mary had to go through during our Lord’s passion: She stood by, helpless, watching Jesus being condemned unjustly, mocked, scourged and tortured, crowned with thorns, and
God’s plan for the human family was disrupted by eating. When Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit, they betrayed their friendship with God, losing the only source of lasting
Why does the Church canonize saints? It doesn’t help them; after all, they are already in heaven. It’s meant to help us! The saints’ amazing spiritual maturity reminds us of where we are going,
Life in this fallen world is a battle. And as Christians, we are not only called to engage courageously in the fight, but we are also equipped to do so.
If there existed a deep, rushing river whose waters gave eternal wisdom to anyone who drank them, wouldn’t you want to seek it out? Well, such a river does exist:
This Retreat Guide, “The Tomb and the Pearl,” is designed to help you “go forward towards the light”, as the Holy Father recently put it, so that the glorious Easter
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!
