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The Better Part: A Christ-Centered Resource for Personal Prayer

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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.

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

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.

Fr. John Bartunek once again steps to the plate and knocks it out of the park! This book "The Better Part" is a tremendous resource for individual or group study.

Have you ever been stumped by something you read in the Gospels? If so, this book will clear up the matter and breaks it down into several easy to comprehend sections and viewpoints.

Highly recommended !!

This book is great for anyone who wants to either move their prayer up to a new level or give their prayer life a jump-start. The 4 sections of Christ the Lord, Christ the Teacher, Christ the Friend, and Christ in my Life are great for giving very different perspectives to the Gospel readings. These sections all focus on the one passage, yet bring out how Christ relates to you personally in 4 different ways.

In addition, you can focus your study either in order of the Gospel passages as they fall in the Bible, or follow the readings through a specific theme or read them according to the Liturgical Calendar.

There are 19 specific themes or topics of study that you can use to focus your study and prayer life.

I am glad that I ordered this book. I am working through specific topics with a friend and we are using it as a Bible Study. You can use it as spiratual meditation and reflection on your own as easy as you can use it with a group or a friend for Bible Study. The only thing I wish it had was an Old Testament reflection also.

This is probably the best investment that I have ever made in regard to a book. The author's knowledge of history and the old testament give fresh insight into the gospels.

I was unsure about what to expect from it but now I don't know how I ever prayed without it. I have used The Better Part almost every day since I got it in January! It is a book that I can see myself using everyday for years to come.

A great book in which to help you really get honest about your relationship with the Good Lord. An endless source of good Catholic reflection on scriptures, a valuable book for any library.

Fr. John's gospel reflections are GREAT!!! This book goes through all four gospels and detailed meditations and reflections to really give you an encounter with Christ. Highly recommended to boost your prayer life!

This is a book of what is called structured meditation. Even more, I believe it is written in the style of what is called "Lectio Divina." Over and above all the other benefits you will find within, it is a book to help us to pray--to pray well--to pray with Sacred Scripture. It is easily summarized by citing St. Gregory the Great, that the objective of this practice is "to know the heart of God through the word of God." If you have never done it, this book is a great place to start.

About this type of prayer, Pope Benedict XVI, mentioned it in his September 16, 2005 address, saying, "I would like in particular to recall and recommend the ancient tradition of Lectio Divina: the diligent reading of Sacred Scripture accompanied by prayer brings about that intimate dialogue in which the person reading hears God who is speaking, and in praying, responds to him with trusting openness of heart (cf. Dei Verbum, n. 25). If it is effectively promoted, this practice will bring to the Church--I am convinced of it--a new spiritual springtime."

Later, writing about St, Ambrose, Bishop of Milan, Pope Benedict said, "Ambrose ... learned to study and comment on the Bible from the works of Origen, the undisputed master of the school of Alexandria. In this way, Ambrose brought to the Latin environment the practice of meditating on Scriptures initiated by Origen, beginning the practice of "lectio divina" in the West.

Another Archbishop of Milan, the late Carlo Cardinal Maria Martini taught and wrote about the specific characteristics or dimensions of this practice of Christian prayer, basically: 1) The lectio consists in reading and rereading a selection from Scripture, placing in prominence its significant elements (advising reading with pen in hand, underlining the words that are striking, or calling attention with graphic symbols to words, actions, subjects, sentiments expressed, or the key word). 2) The meditatio is reflection on the lasting values in the text. Here the question comes up: What is this saying to me? In reference to our day what message from the passage is conclusively pro-posed as the living word of God? How am I motivated by the permanent values that lie behind the actions, the words, the subjects? 3) Contemplatio is adoration, praise, silence in the presence of him who is the ultimate object of my prayer, Christ the Lord, conqueror of death, the revealer of the Father, the absolute mediator of salvation, the giver of the joy of the gospel.

Although he describes only three steps, he claims it is possible to have eight progressive steps in this method of prayer: lectio, meditatio, oratio, contemplatio, consolatio, discretio, deliberatio, actio.

In this book, Father Bartunek does some of this work for us, not that we cannot be prompted by the Sacred Word to reflect elsewhere. Nevertheless, each meditation turns and looks at a Gospel passage from four different aspects: Christ the Lord, Christ the Teacher, Christ the Friend, and Christ in My Life. These approximate the meditatio step mentioned above, but can also bring us through some of the other steps mentioned.

Overall, this is a prayer that is learned primarily by doing. Hopefully, Father Bartunek's book will prompt many to begin or continue this practice.

I find the book extremely helpful to aid in everyday spirituality. Just starting the day, reading one segment helps me to focus and attempt to be a better person. I have found it to be the "BEST" part of my day.