Telling Tales like Tolkien: Catholic Storytelling by Writing Theme Last

Guest post by: Justin Orr


Was JRR Tolkien a hypocrite?

When JRR Tolkien set out to write The Lord of the Rings, he included in the foreword of The Fellowship of the Ring a line about his detestation of allegory. He stated “I cordially dislike allegory in all its manifestations, and always have done so since I grew old and wary enough to detect its presence.”

And yet, Tolkien has also stated about the trilogy that it is “a fundamentally religious and Catholic work; unconsciously so at first, but consciously in the revision.”

Is the greatest fantasy author of all time trying to pull the rug out from under us? How can these two seemingly opposite ideas about storytelling, specifically about his own storytelling, be true?

Tolkien
Continue reading
Thank you for sharing!

United in the Spirit: Living the Love of God from Heart to Heart

Guest Post by: David Tonaszuck

Reflection on the Gospel of John 14:15-21

Dear Friends in Christ,

There’s a story from the streets of Calcutta that I think about often. It’s the story of a woman so small in stature you could miss her in a crowd, but whose spirit somehow filled entire cities. Mother Teresa, now Saint Teresa of Calcutta, walked into the slums with little more than her faith and the conviction that the Holy Spirit was alive within her.

She once wrote, “I am a little pencil in the hand of a writing God who is sending a love letter to the world.” Through her, God’s love was not just spoken, but lived—heart to heart, hand to hand, life to life. Mother Teresa allowed the Spirit of God to flow through her, reaching the most forgotten souls and building up, out of dust and poverty, the Kingdom of God.

Continue reading
Thank you for sharing!

Led by the Shepherd: Finding Abundant Life and Bringing Others Home

Guest Post by: David Tonaszuck

A reflection on the Gospel of John 10:1-10

Dear friends in Christ,

There was a man named John who, for much of his life, felt lost. He grew up in a small town, knew the routines of daily life, but a shadow seemed always to hover at the edge of his spirit. John tried to fill the emptiness with work, with distractions, even with the approval of others. None of it lasted. He wandered, like a sheep without a shepherd, never feeling truly at home, never truly at peace. One day, in a moment of quiet desperation, John found himself sitting alone in a church, staring at the crucifix. He whispered a prayer he wasn’t sure he believed: “Jesus, if you’re real, help me.”

Something shifted. Over the next days, John felt drawn back to the church, to Scripture, and to prayer. He met a priest who listened, who encouraged him to read the Gospels, to come to Mass, to let Jesus lead him. John gradually realized that Jesus was not a distant figure, but a Shepherd who knew him by name, who had been calling him all along. As John learned to trust Jesus and follow Him, his life changed. He found hope where before there was only emptiness. And, slowly, almost without realizing it, he began reaching out to others who felt lost as he once did. He listened, he prayed with them, he invited them to experience the same peace he’d found. John became a shepherd of souls, leading others to the Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ.

Good Shepherd
Continue reading
Thank you for sharing!