Catholic Jedi

Since I was 7 years old, I've been captivated by Star Wars. What first caught my attention, most likely, was the flashing lights and cool lightsabers, and the beeps, and blasters, etc, etc. But quickly into my ipper elementary and middle school years, I realized through the wonderfully expanisive collection of Star Wars novels that indeed, an entirely galaxy of depth existed beneath the flashing lightsabers and cool special effects of the epic films.

In the series of novels, most to my liking between the 1st and 3rd movies, I was swept away by the great tradition of the Jedi order. I loved their mental and physical discipline, devotion to fighting evil, their connection with the deeper force beneath all life, and their school of practical wisdom for everyday life.

I liked how they were entwined with the sci-fi politics of the republic; they were not concerned with running the government, but they knew that their wisdom and intuneness with the force gave them the responsibility to offer the senators and chancellors wisdom and help.

I loved the uniquely intimate relationship between the young padawans and their teachers, and also of the coherence of all the Jedi order in their system of younglings, padawans, jedi knights, jedi masters, and then those who held the most wisdom and led all as members of the high jedi council.

And it all just seemed so fun and exciting, saving the galaxy from the dark sentients who always had greedly plots to destroy the balance of peace.

Recently, I discovered how very much my Catholic faith resembles the Jedi order. And even more recently, I've discovered that, more accurately, the Jedi order resembles my Catholic faith. In each of the ways that the Jedi world has always captivated me, I will show how the Catholic faith holds just as much; in our world.

The tradition of Roman Catholicism is near 2,000 years old, and completely stuffed with incredible wisdom that even an entire life of study would not be able to contain.

The mental and physical discipline urged to be prayed for and practiced to refrain from sin and fight temptation is immense, and truly, we can only gain it through supernatural means; and so many of us have, as Peter did, walked on water through faith, and gained these very impossible traits of discipline. In a world where succumbing to all sorts of temptation is accepted as normal or healthy and often encouraged, the radical call to discipline truly characterizes the Catholic faith.

In our society today, Catholic organizations make up undoubtedly the greatest force for global good. Everyday we fight hunger, thirst, nutrition, ignorance, and we daily call the world to peace when dark greedy sentients fight horrible wars.

The very central purpose of Catholicism is unity with the one whose body the Church is a sacrament of: Jesus. And the spirit of Jesus is thus our common spirit, and it is this spirit that is the force beneath all life. Yet this spirit is more than just a force; he is a father, a brother, a teacher, a shepherd, and a very best friend to all who answer His call. Here is where Catholicism clearly supercedes the world of Star Wars; while their force is very cool and powerful, our God is not only powerful, but cloaked in unchanging unconditional love, and always beholding us with acceptance and a smile.

While the Jedi gather in their Temple to hear the sometimes abstract mantras related to their daily living through the proverbs of the great Jedi teachers, we Catholics gather in our different Church buildings to hear the Scriptures opened to us by the Pastors who relate the abstracts to our daily lives. And in these Church buildings, the Pastors God gives us speak to us from their pulpits with the sincere love of the shepherd, and all in our buildings is there a community of love.

The Church's role in politics is not by any means a bigots grab for power; it comes from the responsibility that we have, bearing the awesome tradition that we do, to share what we can see due to our organic connection to God the Son. It would be irresponsibility not to advocate what we see, as the Spirit has helped us to see, what is best for human society as a whole.

The uniquely intimate relationship between the young padawans and their masters is something that is certainly available to all Catholics, young and old. I really believe that it is through frequent visits to the confessional that priests can offer us the advice that we need for our daily lives, and also become the mentors that we need in our spiritual lives. As well as the intimacy we can have with our confessors, the great tradition of finding a spiritual director certainly offers us all a unique intimacy with an ordained, endowed Priest, transformed as a representative of Christ for us, for exactly this universal need.

The coherence of the Jedi order was certainly through its hierarchy, and the Jedi's all in humility understood that certain additional graces of wisdom were gathered through much study, prayer, and simply days of life. This same sort of idea, though more uniquely personal for each man ordained, is the idea behind the hierarchy of the Catholic Church. Through the college of Bishops, beneath the endowed and very graced men of the Magisterium, the Holy Spirit offers us all direction through men who have lived their entire lives in intimacy with Him. How do we know they're fit for the job? They were chosen by men that were. How do we know those men were fit to pick? The same reason. This goes back and back to the apostles, who were picked by...yep, Jesus Christ himself. This is the idea of Apostolic Succession, and there's a reason its important; it keeps the massive billion member Church all of one faith, beneath one Pope, beneath the God who ordained and endowed Him with the grace to lead.

In a perfect world, we wouldn't need the hierarchy. Can any say that we live in such a world? Certainly Christians wouldn't, it goes against our most core belief. And for all the Christian sects who have attempted to establish themselves devoid of hierarchy, thousands of further sects have ended up the result; the teachings that we believe need to come from men of supernatural grace and wisdom, or else we all falsely come up with our own stuff, and unqualified people take to the pulpit and preach Christianity that is more theirs than Christ's.

This is not to say that the teachings of the Magisterium should not become our own. We must own these truths in our very own heart, not just submit to them. We must come to know for ourselves their beauty. Likewise it is necessairy to have an intensely personal relationship with Christ in our very own hearts as well. But for wisdom and guidance, we should rather look to those servants of God, those children of God, who have walked with God far longer than have we than we should try to muddle through it on our own. We are one body, afterall; those endowed with knowledge are given it for their own nourishment and also so they can teach it to the Church (us all).

Let us be taught. Let us draw closer to the force, to living and loving Father God! Let us be humble and thankful for the very grace-filled and wise Magisterium (college of Bishops) of the Church.

Finally, there is nothing more exciting than living as a Catholic; living atop millenia of tradition of serving God, in union -friendship- with Him and with all of our brothers and sisters of faith, helping him to fight armies of darkness in our world through prayer and fasting and charitable works.

The Jedi only carry lightsabers because they are needed to fight the Sith; the fallen Jedi who are consumed by fleshy passions and desires and let them govern their lives.

We Catholics have no need for lightsabers as we set out to fight the wicked demons who through pride prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls. What we need, instead, is ever renewed and refreshed pools of love inside of us, and mercy every to dispense to the poor souls torchered by darkness and hate. With prayer we find our strength, and with love and mercy we set the world free.