Had to share this blog post from HogwartsProfessor.com as it brilliantly explains what (and how) the huge reveal at the end of the Crimes of Grindelwald is possible. From my lowly perspective of having being a Rowling fan since her first book was published in 1998, and also intentionally studied her writing style under the tutelage of the Hogwarts Professor himself, John Granger, this theory rings as true to me now as the reality that the original Harry Potter series was a Christian morality tale almost twenty years ago. Only time will tell if I am correct this time around […]
christina.semmens
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So, I went and saw the latest movie installment of the Fantastic Beasts series: Crimes of Grindelwald, AND then I proceeded to also devour the screenplay. Once again, Jo Rowling has conjured up a brilliant and satisfying tale that will be enjoyed by fans both new to the Wizarding World along with bona fide Potterheads. Crimes of Grindelwald is a fast paced story that contains plenty of revelations, but it still leaves you wanting more, so although there’s another 2 year wait for Fantastic Beasts #3, I think it’ll be well worth it if the next ride is as magical […]
This last weekend, a new book, The Smoke of Satan: How Corrupt and Cowardly Bishops Betrayed Christ, His Church, and the Faithful…And What Can Be Done About It by Philip Lawler, was released that I wanted to highlight for everyone, but especially for Roman Catholics. This book is an excellent and thought provoking assessment of the current state of affairs within the Catholic Church hierarchy For those who are not Catholic, I invite you to read it so you can be well-informed as to the issues within the Church rather than relying upon secular journalists and media outlets. I can attest […]
A few days ago, I wrote about how much I love November, and how this is a truly special time in the life of the Catholic Church. Particularly because it is a month when we celebrate the fullness of the Communion of Saints. We begin by celebrating all who have completed their journey and are in heaven with God on All Saints Day, and then we commemorate all the holy souls who have gone before us on All Souls Day, before spending the remainder of the month praying for those same souls. I have to admit, with the shortening of […]
I absolutely ADORE the end of October and the month of November. Probably not for the reasons that you might expect though, as my reasons have not much to do with the usual ghosts or goblins or spooky graveyards, but everything to do with the Communion of Saints. What is the Communion of Saints, you ask? Well, simplest explanation is that it’s everybody–the best, the better and the trying to be holy men and women. The best are the Saints. These are people who are in union with God and have allowed their love for God and God’s love for […]
Many times when people hear stories about people who are saints, like Mother Teresa of Calcutta, Pope John Paul II, or Maximillian Kolbe, the response tends to be, “Well, that’s great, but I could never be like them.” The reality is actually quite the opposite, as all the people throughout history who eventually became saints share 7 common characteristics that we can incorporate and practice in our own lives, too. Practice #1 Daily Prayer and Meditation “A soulthat does not practice the exercise of prayer is very like a paralyzed body which, though posessing feet and hands, makes no use of […]
Recently, I was sharing with a friend my excitement about the upcoming November 16th release of Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald. His response was very subdued, and when I queried him as to why, he responded, “I’m just not interested in seeing the whole Dumbledore-Grindelwald love story on screen.” I quickly assured him that I highly doubted that such a thing would happen, particularly since J.K. Rowling is the one writing the screenplay. Although my comments seemed to mollify my friend enough that he was willing to go see the movie, his reaction caused me to reflect that perhaps […]
Am currently traveling back from the V National Encuentro (which is taking far longer than I expected since my flight got cancelled and I was rerouted!), but it’s given me the opportunity to reflect and process on these last 4 days in which I was privileged to accompany 3,000 others from across the United States. For those of you who might be unaware, the Encuentro “process” was initiated more than 2 years ago by the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops when they requested that the Hispano/Latino Catholic communities gather together to reflect, discuss, compile and then present the needs […]
Today is the conclusion of my series inspired by a conversation with Everett Fritz, author of the recently released book, The Art of Forming Young Disciples: Why Youth Ministries Aren’t Working And What To Do About It. Everett had just shared with me the methodology of “think small, to grow big” and although I understood why, I was wondering whether this process has proven to be effective. Instead of responding with a yes or no, Everett shared with me the story of Jan Tyranowski. Jan was a tailor in Poland in the beginning of the twentieth century. As a young […]
Today I continue sharing insights from a conversation that I recently had with Everett Fritz, author of the recently released book, The Art of Forming Young Disciples: Why Youth Ministries Aren’t Working And What To Do About It. After our discussion about the realities present in ministry today, how the current models of youth ministry in the Church are not meeting the needs of youth, and the shift in mentality necessary in order to be open to doing things differently, my next question to Everett was “What’s the first step if you decide you want to try and change how […]