{"id":163848,"date":"2025-04-02T01:00:22","date_gmt":"2025-04-02T05:00:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/?p=163848"},"modified":"2025-03-20T22:33:11","modified_gmt":"2025-03-21T02:33:11","slug":"lent-2025-day-29-who-is-your-neighbor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/lent-2025-day-29-who-is-your-neighbor\/","title":{"rendered":"Lent 2025 &#8211; Day 29 &#8211; Who is Your Neighbor?"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"163848\" class=\"elementor elementor-163848\" data-elementor-post-type=\"post\">\n\t\t\t\t<div data-particle_enable=\"false\" data-particle-mobile-disabled=\"false\" class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-cbf6437 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"cbf6437\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-3f7ffaf elementor-widget elementor-widget-html\" data-id=\"3f7ffaf\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"html.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<iframe class=\"lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/embed\/episode\/1rSpTH9xPZ38SgaJCjLXHt?utm_source=generator\" style=\"border-radius:12px\"  width=\"100%\" height=\"152\" frameBorder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"\" allow=\"autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture\" loading=\"lazy\"><\/iframe>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-bee7262 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"bee7262\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><b>Day 29\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n<p><b>Who Is Your Neighbor?<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Lord himself renews his invitation to all the lay faithful to come closer to him every day. And with the recognition that what is his is also their own, they ought to associate themselves with him in his saving mission. Once again he sends them into every town and place where he himself is to come.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u2014 St. John Paul II, Christifideles Laici, 2<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Jesus wants his grace to touch every human heart. He wants to lead every person out of the darkness of sin and frustration and into the spiritual light and fulfillment of his kingdom. God \u201cwills everyone to be saved and to come to knowledge of the truth\u201d (1 Timothy 2:4).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Preparing Hearts for the Lord<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Only his grace can work that redemption and pour the Holy Spirit into human hearts. Yet Jesus wants us to be the heralds who announce the Good News of his salvation and so open hearts to receive that grace. This is how he arranged things during his own earthly ministry, and that set the pattern for the rest of human history: \u201cAfter this the Lord appointed seventy-two others whom he sent ahead of him in pairs to every town and place he intended to visit\u201d (Luke 10:1).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Jesus intends to visit \u201cevery town and place\u201d himself. He truly is the Savior, and unless he enters a heart, his kingdom cannot come there. Unless his presence in a heart deepens and expands, his kingdom cannot grow there. But he sends his disciples \u201cahead of him\u201d to prepare the way, to be messengers of his kingdom and channels of his saving and sanctifying grace. When he commands us to \u201clove your neighbor as yourself,\u201d he points out which \u201ctown and place\u201d he wants us to go and prepare for him: all the hearts that are within our own actual and potential circles of influence.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Bonum Est Diffusivum Sui<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Have you ever noticed that evil is contagious? As the old saying goes, one bad apple spoils the bunch. Sociological studies have explored the influence of \u201cbad apples\u201d in the workplace, finding statistical evidence that even one employee with a habitually sour attitude has a disproportionately negative effect on the entire workplace atmosphere. If you have children, you are keenly aware of the destructive effects that can flow from them hanging out with the wrong kind of peers. Even St. Paul identifies and applies this principle, quoting an ancient proverb: \u201cDo not be led astray: \u2018Bad company corrupts good morals\u2019\u201d (1 Corinthians 15:33).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But the contrary is also true; goodness is also contagious. An old Latin saying puts it concisely: Bonum est diffusivum sui (\u201cGoodness always tends to spread\u201d). If you are a teacher or a coach, you always want students or players who work hard and build up the rest of the class or team. If you are a parent, you want your children to spend time with good kids, knowing this will have a good influence on them.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Jesus\u2019s famous images of what a Christian is called to be, which we have already reflected on, invoke this principle. He tells his followers they are \u201cthe salt of the earth\u201d and \u201cthe light of the world\u201d (Matthew 5:13\u201314). A little bit of salt flavors a whole plate of food and preserves a much larger cut of meat. One small candle or one small lightbulb can illuminate an entire room and be seen through a window from far away. The goodness and grace that we receive from Christ always tends to spread out and touch those around us \u2014 bonum est diffusivum sui.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The neighbors we are commanded to love, therefore, are first of all every person we come into contact with. Wherever God\u2019s providence sends us, whatever lives we touch, we can season them with love, being a blessing to them in small ways or big ways. In this sense, before reflecting on the specific forms of apostolic activity, it is worthwhile to reflect on the circles of influence that every Christian can inject with gospel goodness.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Our Circles of Influence<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The circle closest to our own heart is our family, and most especially our immediate family. Then comes the circle of our friends, the people we lean on and the ones who lean on us to make life bearable, enjoyable, and meaningful. The next circle is all of our colleagues and acquaintances, those brought together with us not by our own intention, but through outside circumstances \u2014 we go to the same school, we work at the same company, we live in the same neighborhood, we go to the same parish, and so on.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Moving further out, we reach the circle of strangers, those we come into contact with only once and may never meet again, or those we only hear about or know about abstractly \u2014 the flight attendant on the plane, the help desk representative we speak to on the phone, the person who reads an article we write, the people affected by a law we help pass, the citizens of a city far away who are suffering from a recent earthquake.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Finally, our circles of influence also include our enemies \u2014 those who are actively working against what we are working for, those who are actively obstructing what we are legitimately pursuing.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These circles of influence often overlap, and their borders are porous, so that a stranger can become a friend, for example, or a family member can become an enemy. And any effect we have on any single person in any of those circles of influence will in turn affect that person\u2019s interaction with his or her various circles of influence. And as we grow and engage in the activities of life, our circles can also expand and contract.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Beyond Math<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Identifying these circles is not meant to turn our lives into some kind of mathematical diagram where we try to categorize and control everyone we meet. Rather, the point is simply to pause and reflect on the truly vast field of influence every human being exerts. Our actions and decisions are like stones being thrown into a quiet lake; their repercussions spread like ripples on the water all the way to the shore.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We don\u2019t have to go very far to identify our neighbor. To obey the Lord\u2019s command, to find our first and finest field of Christian mission, we only have to seek to treat those within our circles of influence as God would have us, spreading his goodness wherever we go and readying hearts to receive him ever more fully.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Questions for Personal Reflection or Group Discussion<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What idea in this reflection struck you most and why?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Make a drawing that illustrates your different circles of influence. Think about all the people whose lives are touched, directly or indirectly, by your life. How does it make you feel?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Which of your circles of influence receives its fair share of your attention? Which one, if any, have you been neglecting, and why?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The closer circles of influence deserve our greater attention. Just think, for example, of the busy husband and dad who spends so much time at work that he neglects his wife and children. He has lost his center, and eventually even the good he is doing in the outer circles will suffer because of it. This is an especially important principle of discernment to keep in mind in our digital age. It\u2019s so easy now to stay connected \u2014 at least apparently \u2014 with hundreds of people. It can lead to a dispersion of attention and a distracting fascination with merely superficial experiences and interactions. Living only on the surface of things, however, impoverishes the soul.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What will you do today to keep superficial things in their proper place?<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I will fast from my favorite social media interaction for a day.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I will refrain from reading the latest headlines for a day.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I will enjoy a lovely experience, and instead of taking a photo of it, I will simply let it seep into my soul and enrich me.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(Write your own resolution) I will<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Concluding Prayer<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I leave you now with this prayer: that the Lord Jesus will reveal himself to each one of you, that he will give you the strength to go out and profess that you are Christian, that he will show you that he alone can fill your hearts. Accept his freedom and embrace his truth, and be messengers of the certainty that you have been truly liberated through the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus. This will be the new experience, the powerful experience, that will generate, through you, a more just society and a better world. God bless you and may the joy of Jesus be always with you!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u2014 St. John Paul II<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Day 29\u00a0 Who Is Your Neighbor? The Lord himself renews his invitation to all the lay faithful to come closer to him every day. And with the recognition that what [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":359,"featured_media":163118,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"default","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[6893],"tags":[2965],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-163848","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lent-2025","tag-lent"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"","pp_force_visibility":null,"pp_subpost_visibility":null,"pp_inherited_force_visibility":null,"pp_inherited_subpost_visibility":null,"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v28.8 (Yoast SEO v28.8) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Lent 2025 - Day 29 - Who is Your Neighbor? - Regnum Christi<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/lent-2025-day-29-who-is-your-neighbor\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Lent 2025 - Day 29 - Who is Your Neighbor?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Day 29\u00a0 Who Is Your Neighbor? The Lord himself renews his invitation to all the lay faithful to come closer to him every day. And with the recognition that what [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/lent-2025-day-29-who-is-your-neighbor\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Regnum Christi\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/RegnumChristiEn\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-04-02T05:00:22+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Daily-Header-Image-29.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"3750\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"2500\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Fr. John Bartunek, LC\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@RegnumChristiEn\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@RegnumChristiEn\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Fr. John Bartunek, LC\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.regnumchristi.com\\\/en\\\/lent-2025-day-29-who-is-your-neighbor\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.regnumchristi.com\\\/en\\\/lent-2025-day-29-who-is-your-neighbor\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Fr. John Bartunek, LC\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.regnumchristi.com\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/15ab18dea0e6ff1adb91fda8e59961cd\"},\"headline\":\"Lent 2025 &#8211; Day 29 &#8211; Who is Your Neighbor?\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-04-02T05:00:22+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.regnumchristi.com\\\/en\\\/lent-2025-day-29-who-is-your-neighbor\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1471,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.regnumchristi.com\\\/en\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.regnumchristi.com\\\/en\\\/lent-2025-day-29-who-is-your-neighbor\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.regnumchristi.com\\\/en\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/03\\\/Daily-Header-Image-29.png\",\"keywords\":[\"Lent\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Lent 2025\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.regnumchristi.com\\\/en\\\/lent-2025-day-29-who-is-your-neighbor\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.regnumchristi.com\\\/en\\\/lent-2025-day-29-who-is-your-neighbor\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.regnumchristi.com\\\/en\\\/lent-2025-day-29-who-is-your-neighbor\\\/\",\"name\":\"Lent 2025 - Day 29 - Who is Your Neighbor? - Regnum Christi\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.regnumchristi.com\\\/en\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.regnumchristi.com\\\/en\\\/lent-2025-day-29-who-is-your-neighbor\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.regnumchristi.com\\\/en\\\/lent-2025-day-29-who-is-your-neighbor\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.regnumchristi.com\\\/en\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/03\\\/Daily-Header-Image-29.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-04-02T05:00:22+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.regnumchristi.com\\\/en\\\/lent-2025-day-29-who-is-your-neighbor\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.regnumchristi.com\\\/en\\\/lent-2025-day-29-who-is-your-neighbor\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.regnumchristi.com\\\/en\\\/lent-2025-day-29-who-is-your-neighbor\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.regnumchristi.com\\\/en\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/03\\\/Daily-Header-Image-29.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.regnumchristi.com\\\/en\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/03\\\/Daily-Header-Image-29.png\",\"width\":3750,\"height\":2500},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.regnumchristi.com\\\/en\\\/lent-2025-day-29-who-is-your-neighbor\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Portada\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.regnumchristi.com\\\/en\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Lent 2025 &#8211; Day 29 &#8211; Who is Your Neighbor?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.regnumchristi.com\\\/en\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.regnumchristi.com\\\/en\\\/\",\"name\":\"RegnumChristi.com\",\"description\":\"Regnum Christi is a Catholic Community of Apostles including lay people, consecrated men and women, and the priestly order of the Legionaries of Christ\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.regnumchristi.com\\\/en\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.regnumchristi.com\\\/en\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.regnumchristi.com\\\/en\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"RegnumChristi.com\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.regnumchristi.com\\\/en\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.regnumchristi.com\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.regnumchristi.com\\\/en\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/07\\\/open-1.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.regnumchristi.com\\\/en\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/07\\\/open-1.png\",\"width\":900,\"height\":600,\"caption\":\"RegnumChristi.com\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.regnumchristi.com\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/RegnumChristiEn\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/RegnumChristiEn\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/regnumchristi_english\\\/\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.regnumchristi.com\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/15ab18dea0e6ff1adb91fda8e59961cd\",\"name\":\"Fr. John Bartunek, LC\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/622fd36594e05daecbf3cb6f50d7151c3066ae3991815fa200dc7c1865bc6a7e?s=96&d=blank&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/622fd36594e05daecbf3cb6f50d7151c3066ae3991815fa200dc7c1865bc6a7e?s=96&d=blank&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/622fd36594e05daecbf3cb6f50d7151c3066ae3991815fa200dc7c1865bc6a7e?s=96&d=blank&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Fr. John Bartunek, LC\"},\"description\":\"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\u2019s\u00a0The Passion of the Christ\u00a0while researching the 2005 Catholic best seller,\u00a0Inside 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\u2019s 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\u00a0Spiritual 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. See all books, Regnum Christi Essays, Retreat Guides, posts, and online classes from Fr. John Bartunek, LC.\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.regnumchristi.com\\\/en\\\/author\\\/jbartunek\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Lent 2025 - Day 29 - Who is Your Neighbor? - Regnum Christi","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/lent-2025-day-29-who-is-your-neighbor\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Lent 2025 - Day 29 - Who is Your Neighbor?","og_description":"Day 29\u00a0 Who Is Your Neighbor? The Lord himself renews his invitation to all the lay faithful to come closer to him every day. And with the recognition that what [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/lent-2025-day-29-who-is-your-neighbor\/","og_site_name":"Regnum Christi","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/RegnumChristiEn","article_published_time":"2025-04-02T05:00:22+00:00","og_image":[{"width":3750,"height":2500,"url":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Daily-Header-Image-29.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Fr. John Bartunek, LC","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@RegnumChristiEn","twitter_site":"@RegnumChristiEn","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Fr. John Bartunek, LC","Est. reading time":"7 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/lent-2025-day-29-who-is-your-neighbor\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/lent-2025-day-29-who-is-your-neighbor\/"},"author":{"name":"Fr. John Bartunek, LC","@id":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/15ab18dea0e6ff1adb91fda8e59961cd"},"headline":"Lent 2025 &#8211; Day 29 &#8211; Who is Your Neighbor?","datePublished":"2025-04-02T05:00:22+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/lent-2025-day-29-who-is-your-neighbor\/"},"wordCount":1471,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/lent-2025-day-29-who-is-your-neighbor\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Daily-Header-Image-29.png","keywords":["Lent"],"articleSection":["Lent 2025"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/lent-2025-day-29-who-is-your-neighbor\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/lent-2025-day-29-who-is-your-neighbor\/","url":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/lent-2025-day-29-who-is-your-neighbor\/","name":"Lent 2025 - Day 29 - Who is Your Neighbor? - Regnum Christi","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/lent-2025-day-29-who-is-your-neighbor\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/lent-2025-day-29-who-is-your-neighbor\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Daily-Header-Image-29.png","datePublished":"2025-04-02T05:00:22+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/lent-2025-day-29-who-is-your-neighbor\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/lent-2025-day-29-who-is-your-neighbor\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/lent-2025-day-29-who-is-your-neighbor\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Daily-Header-Image-29.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Daily-Header-Image-29.png","width":3750,"height":2500},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/lent-2025-day-29-who-is-your-neighbor\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Portada","item":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Lent 2025 &#8211; Day 29 &#8211; Who is Your Neighbor?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/","name":"RegnumChristi.com","description":"Regnum Christi is a Catholic Community of Apostles including lay people, consecrated men and women, and the priestly order of the Legionaries of Christ","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/#organization","name":"RegnumChristi.com","url":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/open-1.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/open-1.png","width":900,"height":600,"caption":"RegnumChristi.com"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/RegnumChristiEn","https:\/\/x.com\/RegnumChristiEn","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/regnumchristi_english\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/15ab18dea0e6ff1adb91fda8e59961cd","name":"Fr. John Bartunek, LC","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/622fd36594e05daecbf3cb6f50d7151c3066ae3991815fa200dc7c1865bc6a7e?s=96&d=blank&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/622fd36594e05daecbf3cb6f50d7151c3066ae3991815fa200dc7c1865bc6a7e?s=96&d=blank&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/622fd36594e05daecbf3cb6f50d7151c3066ae3991815fa200dc7c1865bc6a7e?s=96&d=blank&r=g","caption":"Fr. John Bartunek, LC"},"description":"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\u2019s\u00a0The Passion of the Christ\u00a0while researching the 2005 Catholic best seller,\u00a0Inside 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\u2019s 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\u00a0Spiritual 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. See all books, Regnum Christi Essays, Retreat Guides, posts, and online classes from Fr. John Bartunek, LC.","url":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/author\/jbartunek\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/163848","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/359"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=163848"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/163848\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/163118"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=163848"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=163848"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=163848"},{"taxonomy":"post_folder","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post_folder?post=163848"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}