"I fell in love with the Blessed Sacrament from the beginning and by the mercy of God never have fallen out again."
(He, along with the writings of GK Chesterton was instrumental in the conversion of CS Lewis)
"Tolkien acknowledged that his Catholic sensibilities unconsciously inspired characters and objects in his imaginative world. In a 1952 letter to Rev. Robert Murray (grandson of the founder of the Oxford English Dictionary and a family friend), he readily admitted that the Virgin Mary forms the basis for all of his "small perception of beauty both in majesty and simplicity." It is not surprising, he admits, that the character of Galadriel—a created being endowed with radiant beauty, impeccable virtue, and powers of healing—resonates with the character of our Blessed Mother.
Nor could Tolkien deny that the Holy Eucharist appears in The Lord of the Rings as the waybread (lembas), given by the elves to the hobbits to eat on their journey. The lembas reinforces the hobbits’ wills and provides them with physical sustenance in the dark and barren lands on the way to Mount Doom. As the Church teaches, while the Eucharist still tastes and looks like bread and wine, our sensations shroud a deeper mystery: The Eucharist is truly Christ’s body and blood. So in The Lord of the Rings the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Eucharist appear shrouded in the mysterious elements of Middle-earth. The best way to understand this is to see such examples of Catholic symbolism as literary "accidents." To leave them out would have diminished the story; they are parts of Tolkien’s effort to make his world complete, true for all times and places" (Jason Bofetti, Crisis Magazine 2001)
He loved the Eucharist and smoked a pipe. I'm voting him for sainthood or at least Blessed.
ReplyDeleteI was wondering how many folks see Tolkien with a pipe and question his salvation, or at least stop watching the trilogy DVD's.
ReplyDeleteTolkien rules! Notice how Gollum, in the movie, goes right for the lembas, to destroy it and sunder the hobbits from hope and each other. Sam, in a rather Petrine moment, is decending the stair after leaving Frodo, finds the lembas, and rediscovers his determination to help Frodo. Deep stuff.
ReplyDelete我现在和猫有不共戴天之仇！ 我家那只有着绿色眼睛的黑猫前天偷偷摸摸溜进我房间堂而皇之躺在我枕头上用带着不知道多少只跳蚤的黑毛蹭着我干净的床单和枕套看见我进了门以后还很不屑一顾地瞟我一眼继续躺着不动而不是乖乖的跳下床……主人教育无方啊，这只从来藐视权威 吃饭挑食 小心眼儿爱报复的猫怎么专门跟我过不去？！朽木不可雕 贱猫不可养
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