Seeking First the Kingdom: 30 Meditations on How to Love God with All Your Heart, Soul, Mind, and Strength

by John Bartunek

Seeking First the Kingdom is full of practical examples and down-to-earth wisdom which will show you how to bring Christ into each facet of your life. In these 30 meditations, you'll how to bring every dimension of your being into your relationship with God, how to handle the emotional roller coaster of everyday life, how to overcome spiritual obstacles and roadblocks, and ways to develop virtue and grow in holiness. Along the way, you'll discover how to cultivate a deep and joy-filled friendship with Christ an adventure that begins today, here on earth, and continues for all eternity.

Genres: Religion, Catholic

186 pages, Paperback

First published August 15, 2014

About the author

Fr. John Bartunek, LC, S.Th.D, received his BA in History from Stanford University in 1990 and became a member of the Catholic Church in 1991.

After college, he 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-scene 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.

Reviews

[Doug Venne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book! Easy to understand. Read a chapter a day which gave me time to reflect and make changes in my life. Highly recommend to use as a group study or use as an individual in a 30 day challenge format.

[Timothy Prentiss II · Rating 5 out of 5]

Life Changing Daily Read

So inspirational and easy to follow. Just cuts to the heart of what our lives are meant to be. I read it continually.

[Paula Yerke · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good Lent read.

[Andrea · Rating 2 out of 5]

I took part in a 6 week book study where we read this book. I liked how the book was broken down into sections containing short chapters with questions to go along. It helped with moving our meetings along and everyone was prepared to share based on the questions. My issue with the book was the content. I was totally confused with many of the authors examples and explanations and couldn't figure out where he was trying to go. Beginning with chapter 1 I brought up my frustration and that I didn't know what he was talking about and I didn't get it. Once our group discussed it more, they said that it didn't apply to me. On the plus side, I was happy with the many references to the Catechism and quotes by JP2 which I could understand and relate to. I will say that this was just my opinion of the book and many of the people in my group really enjoyed it and got a lot out of it. I think I just need to stick with authors who are more straight forward and practical since that seems to be how my brain works. I have since moved to Peter Kreeft and Aquinas and that seems to be going much better for me.