Status Updates From A Closer Look at "The Lord ...

“Many great tales have a major character who is a Christ-figure…The Lord of the Rings has many: Tom Bombadil, who breaks down the walls of the Barrel to set the captives free; Gandalf, who dies and rises again; Aragorn, who descends to the dead and emerges as a king with the power to heal; Frodo, who takes sin upon himself and casts it into the fire; and Sam, the servant of all…”

Love is the goal and object of every other virtue. It consists, at the most basic level, simply in knowing another person, place or thing, in rejoicing in their existence, in attempting to know them fully and intimately, with no thought of possession but rather of an immersion that borders on self-forgetting. In its highest form, love of other supersedes love of self, and sacrifice thereby becomes possible.

None of us, neither human being nor Hobbit, can in good conscience take it upon ourselves to pronounce doom where God has chosen to show mercy.

The lords of the free wish freedom for all, just as the lords of the slaves desire slavery for all.

Sam only wore the Ring a short time, but that is enough to offer him a glimpse into Gollum‘s tortured soul, and that glimpse is enough to stir a pity in his heart…

Celebration involves singing and dancing, eating and drinking, but at its heart it is about remembrance…At its best, celebration is a vision of eternity glimpsed through the cloud-wrack of our sorrows… If friends are needed in the dangerous quest, they are all the more necessary for the celebration. We may occasionally be able to accomplish perilous deeds alone, but it is a cold celebration that is lonely.

“Discipline needs to be exercised. It is not a virtue that comes full-formed; it requires focus and attention. In the most desperate ventures, when all hope fails, there is still a choice to be made between stubborn perseverance and the despair that guarantees failure… The greatest weapon in the struggle to not give up and die is cheerfulness.”