What do you think?
Rate this book
The Better Part: A Christ-Centered Resource for Personal Prayer
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 If we desire to become saints, we must spend time daily in meditation. With this book (which is in its fourth printing!), Father Bartunek has created an extensive, Christ-centered resource to serve as a daily meditation companion. Part I is an incredibly practical explanation of Christian meditation (along with a cheat-sheet!). Part II contains material to use during your meditations. The resource 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. It serves as a catalyst to personalize times of prayer, enabling us to follow the Holy Spirit's lead along the path of holiness. The portable resource has a ribbon to mark your place and contains detailed indices to help you meditate either on the liturgical seasons or the virtues you feel most in need of developing. All four Gospels are included inside the resource, divided into 303 sections, with each section divided into six 1. the Gospel text, 2. Christ the Lord, 3. Christ the Teacher, 4. Christ the Friend, 5. Christ in My Life, and 6. questions for small group discussion. There are quotes from saints and popes at the beginning of each section and references to the Catechism following the discussion questions. Each section is about 4 pages long, totaling 1024 pages.
1019 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 2007
259 people are currently reading
396 people want to read
About the author
John Bartunek
43 books22 followersFr. 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.
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.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
September 22, 2019
September 22, 2019: 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Luke 16:1-13, the Parable of the Dishonest Steward; this book is invaluable whether I hear a good homily, bad one or none. In this book, Fr. Bartunek reflects on Christ's words, from four perspectives, first from our relationship to Him as Our LORD, then from our relationship to Him as Our Teacher, then as Our Friend and finally in our own life. Each successive reflection brings the Gospel message closer and more personal, more meaningful and for me more helpful, thus it has become the book I run to whenever I encounter something in the Gospel I really want to understand. I don't care what the experts say, or where the controversies are anymore. I just want the Gospel message to be brought down to what it means for me, in my life, in my relationship with Jesus and others. That is His Will and it is enough.
April 4, 2019: Reclassified this as a book-i-will-be-reading-until-i-die because the Gospels go year round and this is a great reference for every week, liturgical season, Sunday or week-day, year-in and year-out.
January 5, 2019: Read entry on the Gospel account of the Magi visit. Took away that we all have Herod in our heart as well as the Magi (Kings). So which wins the battle for our heart? Will we be angry skeptics like Herod who do not want to acknowledge Jesus as our True King, LORD, the God-Man? Or shall we travel the long way, like the kings, coming humbly bearing our gifts, of no value to Him-Who-Is-All and has all, yet affirming Who He IS, by what we bring Him. Beautiful!
Jan 1, 2019: I have been SO excited to start this book, which I bought weeks ago but wanted to begin today. Fr. John Bartunek is a popular writer featured in the daily reflections of Spiritual Direction. Finding myself disappointed when his writings weren’t there every day, I decided it was time to make sure they were ... at least for me.
Even though I plan to use it as a daily reflection, doubt I’ll finish it in a year (or even 2?) as it is 1007 pages of very small print! Not sure how I’m going to read it either, whether to follow the Lectionary and read the Gospel of Luke first, or follow the structure of the book — information about prayer, followed by the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Whichever, it looks like a wonderful way to get to immerse myself in the New Testament!
April 4, 2019: Reclassified this as a book-i-will-be-reading-until-i-die because the Gospels go year round and this is a great reference for every week, liturgical season, Sunday or week-day, year-in and year-out.
January 5, 2019: Read entry on the Gospel account of the Magi visit. Took away that we all have Herod in our heart as well as the Magi (Kings). So which wins the battle for our heart? Will we be angry skeptics like Herod who do not want to acknowledge Jesus as our True King, LORD, the God-Man? Or shall we travel the long way, like the kings, coming humbly bearing our gifts, of no value to Him-Who-Is-All and has all, yet affirming Who He IS, by what we bring Him. Beautiful!
Jan 1, 2019: I have been SO excited to start this book, which I bought weeks ago but wanted to begin today. Fr. John Bartunek is a popular writer featured in the daily reflections of Spiritual Direction. Finding myself disappointed when his writings weren’t there every day, I decided it was time to make sure they were ... at least for me.
Even though I plan to use it as a daily reflection, doubt I’ll finish it in a year (or even 2?) as it is 1007 pages of very small print! Not sure how I’m going to read it either, whether to follow the Lectionary and read the Gospel of Luke first, or follow the structure of the book — information about prayer, followed by the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Whichever, it looks like a wonderful way to get to immerse myself in the New Testament!
September 6, 2020
I have been going through this book over the last year. It uses the four Gospels to provide a series of spiritual reflections. It goes through all the Gospels taking a paragraph or so and then given a series of topical reflections on the specific topic. The topics each time are:
- Christ the Lord
- Christ the Teacher
- Christ the Friend
- Christ in My Life
There are references to the Catechism along with quotes from the Church Fathers and others along with some small group discussion questions. Gospel texts are taken from the 1966 version of The Jerusalem Bible.
These commentaries are broadly spiritual reflections using the various senses of Scripture. They are pretty much jargon-free and not scripture scholar deep-dives. Some of the mediations use Ignatian techniques of imaging the various scenes and presenting these points of view.
Overall I can recommend this as a good daily read to go through and think about the Gospels.
- Christ the Lord
- Christ the Teacher
- Christ the Friend
- Christ in My Life
There are references to the Catechism along with quotes from the Church Fathers and others along with some small group discussion questions. Gospel texts are taken from the 1966 version of The Jerusalem Bible.
These commentaries are broadly spiritual reflections using the various senses of Scripture. They are pretty much jargon-free and not scripture scholar deep-dives. Some of the mediations use Ignatian techniques of imaging the various scenes and presenting these points of view.
Overall I can recommend this as a good daily read to go through and think about the Gospels.
October 11, 2017
THE BEST MEDITATION BOOK I HAVE EVER FOUND! I use this every day in prayer, and find that the reflections are always inspiring, sometimes to the point where it seems God uses the wisdom of Fr. Bartunek to speak directly to me. Amazing book. Wouldn't ever want to be without it. In fact, I have it on my Kindle for when I travel.
August 8, 2019
This has become a dear and inspiring resource for me. The best defense is a good offense, Bartunek reminds us in the front section on prayer, which includes a comprehensive 4-step section to structure your meditation. He encourages readers by pointing out which steps will be a challenge for us in the media age and that "the soul needs extended exposure to the light of Christ in order for God's grace to purify, enliven and heal it." This section also includes "Difficulties in Prayer" which helps us see how we chafe at the crossection of our relationship with Christ where He requires docility. "This divergence of wills makes prayer a constant battle."
The remainder of the book gives us deep drinks of wise teaching on each of the gospel readings from the Mass for the three liturgical cycles of the Church, including special readings for feast days. At times when a homily leaves you wanting, this resource may satisfy your thirsty soul.
The structure of each begins with an inspirational quote from a saint or Pope, the actual gospel passage of the day, then three approaches titled Christ the Lord, Christ the Teacher, and Christ the Friend. In this latter "Friend" section, Bartunek often includes a colloquy or "as if" piece, written as if Jesus or Simon's mother-in-law, or some other Gospel figure spoke directly to you. These are brilliant at granting the reader insights into the Scripture page. A few paragraphs conclude with a personalized prayer and small group discussion questions.
This is a daily read book with a ribbon to mark your place. It opens the living Word of God in Scripture like nothing else I've read. I've learned so much from it and I've read over 100 spiritual books. I recommend it highly.
The remainder of the book gives us deep drinks of wise teaching on each of the gospel readings from the Mass for the three liturgical cycles of the Church, including special readings for feast days. At times when a homily leaves you wanting, this resource may satisfy your thirsty soul.
The structure of each begins with an inspirational quote from a saint or Pope, the actual gospel passage of the day, then three approaches titled Christ the Lord, Christ the Teacher, and Christ the Friend. In this latter "Friend" section, Bartunek often includes a colloquy or "as if" piece, written as if Jesus or Simon's mother-in-law, or some other Gospel figure spoke directly to you. These are brilliant at granting the reader insights into the Scripture page. A few paragraphs conclude with a personalized prayer and small group discussion questions.
This is a daily read book with a ribbon to mark your place. It opens the living Word of God in Scripture like nothing else I've read. I've learned so much from it and I've read over 100 spiritual books. I recommend it highly.
March 9, 2013
I started to read this during prayer last week and I can't stop using it for everything! I've used it in school ministry, youth ministry at my parish, personal prayer time, and to explain what I was thinking to my spiritual director! Its an awesome book and I have a feeling I will be using it for a long time to come!! I highly recommend it.
December 7, 2015
This is an amazing daily devotional/spiritual book. I am truly inspired and aided in my daily walk with Christ every time I read it. It is not a read front to back book, but corresponds to the Catholic Church's daily Gospel reading. I highly recommend this book!
March 7, 2024
Mental Prayer. This is how you have a persona relationship with Christ. This is the One Thing Necessary. This is the prayer you need to practice daily to become holy.
October 27, 2012
I good devotional resource. I have been using this book to aid my morning devotions for over a year and have been blessed. Fr. Bartunek breaks each passage down into four areas: Christ the Lord, Christ the Teacher, Christ the Friend, and Christ in My Life. Taking a look at a passage from these various points of view help to bring out the depth of the Scriptures. I would recommend this resource for anyone who wants to deepen their devotional time spent with the Lord.
August 22, 2008
This book is great for growing in the Catholic faith one step at a time. The first part walks the reader through how to pray and meditate. The main body of the book takes passages from the gospel and then explains it and helps apply the message to everyday life. I read it nearly every day and am so thankful I've found it!
July 10, 2018
This is a great book to go deeper with the gospels. It doesn’t replace your meditation but helped me put myself into the scenes and open to what God is speaking to me as I read and spend time with his Word.
January 18, 2009
Great for everyday use.
September 8, 2016
One of the best books on prayer I have ever read..and will continue to read, it takes the faithful through the gospels on a daily, devotional basis.
October 11, 2012
Wonderful prayer guide. Powerful and profound.
February 2, 2013
A daily companion.
June 11, 2013
Beautiful book, it explains the Gospels and enlightens my life with Christ the teacher and Christ the friend!!!! Amazing!
January 11, 2015
Wonderful book explaining the gospels and guiding your prayer. I highly recommend it!
September 26, 2015
LOVE, love, love this amazing book! It's a great way to jump into the gospels!!!
February 17, 2022
This is a great spiritual study for those who are more advanced in their faith. At times, it can be a little dry and there are a lot of things to read at once in each chapter. The reflection questions are excellent. Some of the paragraphs where Jesus or a Biblical figure speaks a little dialogue to the reader is very thoughtful and moving. This is a great resource for religious figures and Catholics who want to go more in depth with their New Testament. I would not recommend this book for beginners starting out with their faith.
February 21, 2025
This is the best series of Gospel meditations I have encountered. It’s not going to ever make it to the bookshelf because I will not put it down. It’s tapping into Life itself through the most useful words ever written, and teaching how to converse and experience and be with the Word who IS the Way, the Truth, and the Life. It is continual daily spiritual direction par excellence.
November 16, 2013
Exceptional guide and aproach for daily reading of the New Testament Gospels and contemplative prayer
January 2, 2022
The best guide for christian meditation.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews