Fruit of the Spirit

Some months ago a small group of women got together at a local wine seller to share some appetizers and have a joy-filled evening of conversation, friendship, and wine.

That night we inaugurated Wine with a Joyful Heart to celebrate an evening of spiritual friendship. Because most of us are busy with our families, work, and various ministries, we decided to meet quarterly, share a teaching for our spiritual growth, and enjoy each other’s company as we get to know each other.

In just two meetings we’ve doubled the size of the group and we look forward to bringing new friends along for the next meeting. It is, indeed, with a joyful heart that we gather, with Christ in our midst, to encourage and uplift each other. Pray for us!

5 things I learned at a women’s conference

I spent the weekend with some extraordinary women at the first EVER national WINE: Women In the New Evangelization conference in Pennsylvania. The day was filled with music, liturgy, speakers, and of course, a diverse group of women. The conference was held at the National Shrine of Our Lady of Czestachowa. Beautiful.

So here’s what I learned:

  1. Smiles are the best ice-breakers.
  2. We need each other.
  3. God loves us.
  4. Mary is our Mama and…
  5. You’re never too old for a pajama party.

 

Star Wars: The Last Jedi Trailer #2 Premieres

Are you excited about Star Wars: The Last Jedi? Christmas will come a little early for me, as the film premieres on December 15th! Tonight, we’ll see the premiere of the second trailer during half-time of Monday Night Football’s match-up between the Minnesota Vikings and the Chicago Bears.

I’ll be watching. There was a time when I was a big fan of the Purple Gang, probably because I had a crush on Donny Osmond and his favorite color was purple. Eventually, though, I had a bigger crush on Han Solo. And an even bigger fascination with the Star Wars saga. It was inevitable that I would write about characters that have influenced me or moved me in some way. So much so, that I feature Rey, the heroine of these last films, in Super Girls and Halos.

Stars Wars’ appeal to me, after the cool special effects, is in the story-telling. I love to see the epic battle of Good vs. Evil play out on the big screen. Although Lucas was often criticized for bad dialogue — as a kid I never noticed. As an adult, I didn’t care — the story is greater than a few cheesy lines here and there.

In The Force Awakens, we meet Rey and are treated to an update on our favorite characters from the first trilogy. I immediately loved Rey. She was fearless and daring, everything exciting about a heroine. Rey’s sense of justice prevails, and she is drawn into the Resistance to fight the evil of the First Order.

The enduring theme of the Star Wars films is the triumph of good over evil, the eternal battle of the light versus the dark sides of the Force on a galactic scale. The films also explore this theme on the smaller though no less epic scale of the individual human person. As Christians, we’re reminded that we must act, whether singly or in concert with others, according to God’s plan for salvation in our lives. (Super Girls and Halos p. 32)

Super GirlsRey represents, for me, the ultimate fictional heroine. Her commitment to justice in the galaxy drives her in The Force Awakens, and I have great hope for how she will use The Force in The Last Jedi through her training, and ultimately, in the battle against the evil in the First Order.

In Super Girls and Halos, I share my love of the saints and how they are excellent models of virtue. The Saints lived lives of heroic virtue, too. I pair Rey with St. Clare of Assisi as a beacon of strength and light, as I discuss the same virtue of justice in a canonized saint and heroine in her own right.

Check back here to see the new trailer.

 

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