Sunday Meditation: Turning Catastrophes in our Lives into Eucatastrophes

                                                                                               

Those who visit here regularly know that I'm a big fan of the Epoch Times. I especially appreciate their Life and Tradition section and always read it carefully. I often clip articles for a grandchild or a friend to tuck into a letter. So much joy overflows those pages and I learn a lot as well.

A few days ago I was catching up on back issues and found a wonderful quote from an article by Jeff Minick who lives in my own neck of the woods. One day I'd love to meet him. The article was titled The Boons and Blessings of Eucatastrophe.

If you're like me, you've never heard that word before. It was invented by J.R.R. Tolkien and described in his essay On Fairy Stories. Tolkien defined eucatastrophe as "the joy of the happy ending: or more correctly of the good catastrophe, the sudden joyous 'turn.'" He called the Resurrection the greatest eucatastrophe possible!

Are you on the Battlefield or Hiding in the Tall Grass?

“I do not love the sword for its sharpness, nor the arrow for its swiftness, nor the warrior for his glory. I love only that which they defend…”

–  J.R.R. Tolkien, The Two Towers

Are you in the fight or hiding in the tall grass?

Pope or Anti-Pope? Frankly, Friends, I'm with Rhett Butler -- "I don't give a damn."

Peter or Judas? Who is Pope Francis?

The Lord is in charge of handling the "damn" part!

I'm writing this because of a rather acrimonious discussion on my friend and colleague Susan's post the other day about whether Francis is the pope or an anti-pope.

I don't agree or disagree with Susan. I just don't know and have decided to set that particular fight aside because it doesn't change anything for me.

All I have to do is live according to the teachings of the Church as handed down from the apostles and the magisterium throughout the millennia.

It's that simple!

So I study doctrine. I read the Scripture. I pray and receive the sacraments. I talk to my spiritual director. And I resolve to be among the sheep rather than the goats. And...I fight for the true faith.

Do You Love Tolkien? Watch This!

What are hobbits? Saints in the making protecting hearth and home and willing to go on a "crusade" to protect it! Next time you read Lord of the Rings consider these themes: home as the domestic church, suffering and sacrifice for others, forgiveness, missionary journey, friendship and charity, resisting evil, assistance from "guardian angels" (or other creatures with wings or branches). Yes, there's much to reflect on in Lord of the Rings. Tolkien created a rich environment with spiritual themes and implications for our own journey toward holiness. And we certainly live in the time of many evil Saurons determined to destroy all that is good in a quest for power. We may be small and weak like hobbits, but united with the Lord we can take on the world, the flesh, and the devil with courage. If God is for us, who can be against us?

Do You Love Hobbits?

How would you life to live in a little hobbit house? I thought this was absolutely charming. This "hobbit house" is in Chester County near Philadelphia. See more here. 

The Wonder of Fairy Tales: Read Them to Your Children

I'm thinking about fairy tales this morning because of a novel I'm reading by an author recommended in Fr. John Hardon's Catholic Lifetime Reading Plan. The heroine is called Beauty and the story reminds me somewhat of Beauty and the Beast since there is a beastly man in it.

But I digress. Have you ever noticed how moral fairy tales are?