Wait, There's More

Another thing to consider about the Star Wars story is the number of good people who participated in the making of Darth Vader.  I mentioned Qui-Gon but how about Obi-Wan Kenobi?  It is clear that he has reservations about his master's decision to go against the council.  Personally, he is not sure about Anakin but he is swayed by Qui-Gon's passionate dying plea to go against his own best judgement and train Anakin anyway.  

Then there's Queen Amidala.  She seems to be a virtuous woman as well as a caring leader, willing to sacrifice for her people.   What would have happened if she had refused to marry Anakin and instead encouraged him to honor the promises he had made to the Jedi?  Well, of course, there wouldn't have been a story--but the same thing is played out over and over again in real life.  Padmé could never have imagined that her story would end with her giving birth alone to twins she would never hold, in sorrow because she had lost the love of her life to the dark side.  That was certainly not her intention but she cooperated with Anakin in putting their love above his promises, duty and the law and the results were disastrous.

I could give personal examples of how these sorts of decisions--both big and small have had the same results in my life but again, this isn't confession and I'm sure you can think of examples of your own.  It is because of God's great mercy that He gave us both Law and The Church, not because He is a big spoilsport wanting to take away everything that might make us happy.  We can either learn this lesson through painful experience or trust Him and obey.

"There are things I cannot do.  I cannot watch my people suffer.  I cannot sit when something must be done.  I cannot judge those who are different.  There are things I cannot do.  Run.  Hide.  Ignore.  These are things I cannot do.  But there are certainly things I can do."  Padmé Amidala