The Better Part: A Christ-Centered Resource for Personal Prayer by Fr. John Bartunek, LC This book should be declared a national treasure! We lead tremendously busy lives, with 1,001 things to do. Even so, every saint and renowned spiritual director through the ages has said the same thing: If we desire to become saints, we must spend time daily in meditation. With this book (which sold out of its first printing), Fr. Bartunek has created an extensive, Christ-centered resource to serve as a daily meditation companion. It is a Bible study on the four Gospels, a survey of saints' writings, a guide to prayer, and a fresh introduction to Jesus rolled into one. The Better Part enables us to read, meditate, absorb and apply the Gospels to our lives, and it serves as a catalyst to personalize times of prayer, enabling us to follow the Holy Spirit's lead into holiness. Sections for each Gospel on Christ as Lord, Christ as Teacher, Christ as Friend, and Christ in my Life.
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41 of 41 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Simply the Best of the Better,
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This review is from: The Better Part: A Christ-Centered Resource for Personal Prayer (Paperback)
The path to holiness is not a primrose path. It is a daily battle, a daily carrying of the cross. Prayer, especially in the form of intimate daily conversations with Christ is sadly one of the most neglected weapons available to us in this battle.
The Better Part equips Christians with the resources they need to, "set of into the deep" to enter into a personal, intimate conversation with Christ. Father Bartunek Begins his book with a short prayer primer, an exposition of the basics of Christian prayer that is worth the price of the book by itself. The rest of the book contains guided meditations on the Gospels with a liberal sprinkling of quotes from the Doctors and Fathers of the Church. The book contains the entire text off all four Gospels taken from the Jerusalem Bible (an excellent and very approachable translation). Each unit is meant as a stepping off point. While reading and reflecting on each unit would be of great benefit to anyone, using them as a starting point for your own conversation with Christ is the ultimate goal. These meditations are not of the fluffy, vague, feel-good variety that has sadly become too common these days. Father Bartunek offers deep and meaningful meditations from four aspects of our relationship with Christ: Christ the Lord, Christ the Teacher, Christ the Friend, and Christ in my life. By using the principles of concentration, consideration, conversation and commitment, each meditation should lead one to an experience of Christ's presence and a firm, concrete commitment to better imitate him. The price of the book is not cheap, but neither is the book itself. The paper and binding is of the highest quality, meant to stand up to daily handling for years. The font is easy on the eyes and a quality ribbon is sewn into the binding so you never have to lose your place. Father Bartunek has rendered an invaluable service to Christians everywhere. If I could have only one book (other than the Bible and Catechism) this would be it without question.
24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Daily Teacher of Prayer,
By
This review is from: The Better Part: A Christ-Centered Resource for Personal Prayer (Paperback)
Written in Fr. Bartunek's practical, readable style, The Better Part brings the practice of mental prayer within reach in two ways: first, introducing the reader to a simple step-by-step methodology for meditating on the Gospel; and second, by providing a total of 303 meditations based on distinct Gospel passages.
In other words, Father Bartunek teaches us how to fish and then gives us the fishing rod and the bait, all in one book. Each meditation is about three pages long and looks at a specific Gospel passage from four points of view: Christ the Lord, Christ the Teacher, Christ the Friend, and Christ in My Life. Each subsection has its own specific purpose: * The "Christ the Lord" sections help the reader to see Christ as the Lord and Master, and as a model for our own attitudes and actions. * The "Christ the Teacher" sections give solid Catholic doctrine to enlighten the mind with lessons drawn from the Gospel passage at hand. * The "Christ the Friend" sections give a more intimate, affective perspective on Christ, looking at him not through the mind or will alone, but through the heart. * The subsections entitled "Christ in My Life" take
19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
skeptical at first, now I use this daily,
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This review is from: The Better Part: A Christ-Centered Resource for Personal Prayer (Paperback)
I had lots of excuses as to why I wasn't going to like this. (why list them all?)
After reading the introduction on *how* to do a meditation, and after learning that a meditation is NOT spiritual reading, I decided to give it a try. Not only are the meditation guides among the best (if not THE best) I've ever come across, the book is laid out in very helpful ways. Gospel readings are numbered and a handy table helps you find the gospel reading of the day. Verse numbers are omitted (again, I thought I wouldn't like that, but I do). Ribbon bookmark is included (and hard to lose). Flaps open up to help with the outline for a meditation (concentrate, consider, converse, commit) So- what more can I say? I've used this every week now for 4 weeks and I see myself continuing to use it every day- indefinitely.
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