Comic-Con Recaps

If you follow me on social media, you know that I have been privileged to have been able to attend two different Comic-Cons in the region this past month.  They have been a blast to attend because I love these kind of events, and even though I’m a priest, I am no less called to joyfully embrace my humanity in the way God created me by enjoying the various gifts and hobbies that I have, even if they aren’t explicitly religious in nature (coffee anyone?).  Holiness does not mean we must separate from our humanity to be holy or that our human flesh is evil, those would fall into forms of the heresies of Gnosticism and Manichaeism, but true holiness is seen in the authentic union and integration of ourselves, both in our spirit/soul and in our bodies on our journey in intimate relationship with God; Jesus accomplished this perfectly in His Incarnation, when God took on flesh and dwelt among us and brought us back to God the Father through the Paschal Mystery.  This means that what fulfills us and brings us joy on a human level is not bad, but is something that we can participate in with God as we strive for sanctity.  As a priest friend of mine put it in a homily once: “As long as you’re not sinning, God delights in what you delight in,” (and he was referring to watching K-State sports on TV!).  In attending these kinds of events I get to be myself as priest, but also a geek, and I absolutely love it! Read more

Why I Love Star Wars So Much

“Why do you love Star Wars so much?”

I was asked this question recently and have been pondering whether my answer adequately spoke to the depth of how much Star Wars truly does mean to me.  Many people would respond to this question in a generic, superficial, pop-culture sort of way.  Star Wars is popular now more than ever (if the Box Office records The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi broke are any indication).  It is definitely a fun and engaging galaxy to like and enjoy and to love, where the characters are rich and real, the story is deep and emotional, and the nature of human life and love it explores is just as good as many of the great sagas of our day (Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, and dare I say Star Trek ;), etc.)  Now I could also answer in that same sort of generic way, namely that Star Wars is a fun (lightsaber battles and The Force!), deep (Anakin’s fall to the dark side and subsequent redemption by his son, Luke), and an emotional (Han and Leia’s son Ben’s fall to the dark side as Kylo Ren, who kills his dad) story that I find appealing, and indeed it is, but that is not why I love it so much.  Let me explain… and I know this may seem a bit strange, but bear with me. Read more