Here are your weekend must reads. An NCR commentator says she sees her own spiritual journey acted out in a character in "The Clone Wars." Join Dan Schutte for the second week of Advent reflections, reminding us to call upon the name of Jesus.
A Catholic woman and a diehard science-fiction/fantasy fan, Jennifer Vosters says she is used to feeling underrepresented. But in "The Clone Wars," she found a familiar spiritual journey in Ahsoka, a young woman Jedi.
When Ahsoka is framed for a crime she didn't commit, the Jedi Council sides with her accusers and ejects her from the Order. After her name is cleared, the Jedi offer a non-apology — "You have become a greater Jedi than you would have otherwise" —and a chance to return to the Order.
Ahsoka chooses to walk away.
"I watched in shock as a familiar kind of deconstruction unfolded onscreen: A young woman realizing that the institution she loved did not love her back," Vosters writes. "That the leaders she trusted failed to preserve the core principles of their creed and would continue, again and again, to ally with the powerful. That she must choose between her faith — her connection to the Divine and to herself — and the very community that taught her."
You can read more of Vosters' commentary here.
"This Advent season will be different from all the others we've experienced," writes composer and NCR board member Dan Schutte. "Those familiar Advent themes of longing for God and waiting in hope take on a special meaning for us in the midst of the storm that surrounds us. As always, God is perhaps giving us a special opportunity this year to grow deeper in hope and stronger in the embrace of God's love."
Join Schutte for a weekly Advent Reflection with an introduction by Schutte himself.
The video for the second week of Advent focuses on reminding us to call upon the name of Jesus, as did the early Christians.
You can read more and watch the video here.
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Weekend wrap-up
Read a review of former NCR columnist Nicole Sotelo's book, Pray Your Way Through Forgiveness: Reflections, Prayers and Actions for Healing, a meditation on the purpose and nature of forgiveness and a guide to prayerfully incorporating it into daily spiritual practice. NCR reviews a new book each week. You can sign up for our weekly NCR book club email here.
See you next weekend,
Stephanie Yeagle
NCR Production/Online Editor
[email protected]
Twitter: @ncrSLY
