It is well known that J.R.R. Tolkien, the celebrated fantasy writer who gave us The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, was a Catholic. He was not a writer who just happened to be also a Catholic; he was a writer whose Catholicism permeated his work.
Although there are those who object to a world of goblins, elves, and dwarves as an escapism that is not Catholic or wholesome, Tolkien’s Middle Earth was a very “sacramental” place which at times only thinly veils its author’s Catholic world view, and this we know by his own testimony. Tolkien’s Catholic principles impregnate his writings, particularly the Rings trilogy. I would include in these principles his monarchism, respect for hierarchy, fascination with matter as a conduit to unseen spiritual realities, deep sense of chivalry, respect for the principle of subsidiarity in government, high regard for virtue as a means to happiness, and a penetrating sense of the redeeming value of suffering.
Tolkien’s world is a fallen world where evil lurks, but where good is more powerful. Reading the The Lord of the Rings trilogy, one has an ever-present sense of Divine Providence. Unlike the morally ambiguous realms we enter in so much modern fiction, in Tolkien’s world, good is beautiful and evil is ugly (although, at times, it has a powerful allure that is difficult to resist).
One of my favorite Catholic things about the trilogy is the date when the Ring is finally destroyed in the Cracks of Doom. This cataclysmic and salutary achievement, which begins a new age for Middle Earth, took place on March 25. Catholics recognize this as both the Feast of the Annunciation and the date traditionally assigned to the Crucifixion of Our Lord.
The lembas bread is another example of Tolkien’s Catholicism. It is manifestly a literary type of the Eucharist. For the unfamiliar, lembas is bread made by the Elves. Literally, the word means “journey bread” or “waybread” in Elven, a language of Tolkien’s own invention. (Professor Tolkien was a linguist and philologist by profession.) The Elven etymology of lembas was doubtless, at least in part, a reference to the Eucharist as viaticum.
Now, viaticum itself contains a very powerful imagery since the word (from the Latin via = “way”) comes from the ancient world and connotes a meal taken in preparation for a journey. It was “baptized” by Catholics and came to signify the Eucharist received on one’s deathbed, in order to strengthen him for his journey into eternity. The Roman Ritual has a special rite for administering Holy Communion as viaticum.
But the Eucharist does not only strengthen us in the end. It strengthens us throughout the journey of our life. It is the “bread of the strong,” the “bread of life,” and the “food of the elect.” As a sacrament, it is a means of grace, so it increases sanctifying grace and carries with it a pledge of all the actual graces we need to be strong in resisting sin. Theologians, poets, and preachers have long waxed eloquent on the Eucharist possessing spiritually all the qualities that food has materially: It fortifies, heals, satiates, and refreshes the one who partakes of It.
There is, of course, much more to be said of the Blessed Eucharist, but let’s get back to Tolkien and one of his many descriptions of lembas in the trilogy. In this passage, the Hobbits Frodo and Sam are near the dreaded Mount Doom, the fiery mountain which is the only place where the Ring can be destroyed. They are in terrible physical danger because they are well into the enemy camp. They also lack water and have had nothing to eat other than the lembas.
“As for himself, though weary and under a shadow of fear, [Sam] still had some strength left. The lembas had a virtue without which they would long ago have lain down to die. It did not satisfy desire, and at times Sam’s mind was filled with the memories of food, and the longing for simple bread and meats. And yet this waybread of the Elves had a potency that increased as travelers relied on it alone and did not mingle it with other foods. It fed the will, and it gave strength to endure, and to master sinew and limb beyond the measure of mortal kind.” (Return of the King, 262)
Indeed, Tolkein’s lembas provides the fantasy reader with some very Catholic literary food for thought!
For more on Tolkien’s Catholicism, see The Lord of the Rings — a Catholic View, by Charles A. Coulombe, K.C.St.S.
The Once & Future Christendom is another article with much to recommend it concerning a Tolkienish world view that is essentially Christian, though I would like to point out that the author is a bit off on the principle cuius regio, eius religio (it’s not a “classical political maxim,” but, rather, a pragmatic invention concocted in the maelstrom of Reformation political chaos). Too, he does not seem to realize that the “Council of the West” he calls for is impossible without Catholic unity. For all that, what the author cleverly calls “the Shire Strategy” gives us something to ponder in these days of creeping globalism and governmental obesity.
The Wikipedia article on Tolkien is very favorable to his Catholicism (at least in that article’s present form in September of 2007).
6 responses so far ↓
1 Travis // Oct 5, 2007 at 10:12 am
Brother Andre,
I love your work on the Lord of the Rings, and in general– very inspiring and spiritually helpful. I also like the links to other relevant stories you give us, and I would like your opinion on the author’s opinion of the state of Israel in “The Once and Future Christendom.” Speaking strictly in terms of faith (and faith, of course, is what everything comes down to), why should the state of Israel be seen as the ‘friend’ of true Christianity (Catholicism)? Concerning this dilemma, I keep hearing these words of our Lord ringing in my ears: “Fear not that which can kill the body (Islamic terrorism), but rather that which can kill the soul (our own modernism, including embracing Israel as if there were no difference between Catholicism and Judaism, especially modern Judaism).”
I just don’t see why, because Islam is our enemy, we MUST view Israel as our friends.
2 Brother André Marie, M.I.C.M. // Oct 5, 2007 at 10:48 am
Travis,
Thank you for your comments. You make a good point. That is one of the problems I had with Mr. Pinkerton’s article. The idea of an unconverted Jewish nation being assimilated into a renewed Christendom is an oxymoron if ever there was one. (Of course, when the Jews, on the whole, convert, that is another story.)
As far as “allies in the region” go, we would better consider Lebanon, the most Catholic Arab nation and one long enamored of French Catholicism, to be the Asiatic extension of Christendom along the rim of the Mediterranean. As recently as 1898, that nation sent a saint to heaven: Saint Charbel Makhlouf. His teacher, Blessed Nematallah Hardini is a beatus, and Saint Rafka Er-Ryiess, canonized in 2001, died even closer to our day: 1914. There is still a vibrant faith among the Marnoites there and some of them are even making converts among the Moslems, their historical enemies.
On the subject or Israel, considered both politically and religiously, I can make no better recommendation than to direct readers to the works of the late Father Denis Fahey. (See an article on him here: http://www.catholicism.org/catholic-world-of-fahey.html — get books by him at http://www.fromthehousetops.com)
To have to choose between two different forms of rejection of Christ — Moslem and Jewish — is an evident and dangerous false dialectic. Yet it is exactly the choice that is expected Americans will make in the very shallow and vacuous political atmosphere in which we live.
I would also recommend, on the related subject of Christian Zionism, the following article:
http://www.catholicism.org/false-prophets.html
God bless you and may Our Lady watch over you!
3 Travis // Oct 6, 2007 at 10:46 pm
I have a question that’s been bothering me, Brother, and I would appreciate any help you could give me (though it’s unrelated to this blog topic). What is the nature of the “excommunication” of the SSPX? No matter how much I read about the society I can’t seem to get a handle on their status. Are their bishops valid? Are their priests valid? Should the faithful not attend their masses? Should a young man with a desire to serve God as a traditional priest be discouraged from the SSPX? And if so, is there anywhere to to fulfill the desire of serving God as a traditional priest? I highly value your knowledge and opinions and would appreciate any help you could give me on this subject.
4 Iva J. Scheidemantel // Nov 28, 2007 at 1:34 am
Dear Travis,
I hope & pray that you check back frequently to this site for responses. First of all, the Society of St. Pius X, SSPX, was never excommunicated. But if you are serious to learn the facts, please go onto the Society’s website, http://www.sspx.org, & click on the “Apologetic Materials” link. On this link, you will find the “New to Tradition Kit: Its available for FREE.” There are free pamphlets and books that address any & all questions you have about SSPX, its founder, Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, its priests, why the Socity is not in schism, the alleged excommunications, the validity of its Masses, etc. On this site you will also find out about the Society’s ongoing negotiations with the Vatican.
Also, few Catholics are aware that for years the SSPX has been communicating with the Pope & the Vatican to allow every priest his God-given right to celebrate the Mass of All Times, St. Pius V’s Tridentine Latin Mass , & not be prohibited & punished for celebrating or wanting to celebrate it, by their Bishops.
Then, last November (2006) the SSPX presented The Holy See a 2.5 million Rosary Bouquet from its numerous traditional followers, prayed for the sole purpose that he would allow all priests who wanted, to celebrate the Tridentine Mass, which was never abrogated, but for 40 years has been denied them! That is, 2.5 million rosaries were prayed for this specific purpose. He could not refuse our Blessed Virgin Mother.
So, Dear Travis, please take this opportunity to discover the truth about what has transpired during the last 40 years regarding Catholic Tradition & Doctrine & those who have continued to keep it alive. Ave Maria Gratia Plena, Iva Joyce
5 Iva J. Scheidemantel // Nov 28, 2007 at 1:44 am
Travis, the SSPX link I just gave you doesn’t work, as “this” site we are presently on, has erroneosly included the comma after the .org. The full URL is:
http://www.sspx.org
6 Catholicism.org » Blog Archive » «Ad Rem» N° 47 (10/4/2007): The Shire not the Borg // Jul 30, 2008 at 6:27 pm
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