Today is the Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus and the Octave Day of St John the Apostle, which means it is J.R.R Tolkien's 118th birthday!!! I went to the church this morning and brought along my 70th anniversary edition of The Hobbit, and enthroned it (I put it on the gold Missal stand and placed two candles beside it - I didn't light them). I insisted on being MC today too. Before Mass, I asked Fr Finigan whether we might put it on the Altar as a sort of ''relic'' and cense it along with the Altar Crucifix but, alas, nothing came of it.
As a way to mark the day, I'd like to share an interesting letter from The Letters of J.R.R Tolkien. On 2nd January 1969, Tolkien wrote this to Amy Ronald:
''Now, my dear, as to my name. It is John: a name much used and loved by Christians, and since I was born on the Octave of St John the Evangelist, I take him as my patron - though neither my father, nor my mother at that time, would have thought of anything so Romish as giving me a name because it was a saint's. I was called John because it was the custom for the eldest son of the eldest son to be called John in my family...'' (The Letters of J.R.R Tolkien, no. 309).
This letter is of interest because by implication Tolkien seems still to have observed the ''suppressed'' Octave as late as 1969! Anyway, I must perforce get back to domestic duties, so a very happy J.R.R Tolkien's birthday to you all. Sorry if I disappointed anyone in the parish club this morning though...
The above photo is of a young Undergraduate Tolkien even before the Great War, in 1911, when he was 19. I have chosen this photo because I haven't used it yet.
What a wonderful photo, Patricius! It's no surprise, really, that Tolkien remained a traditional Catholic to the very end of his life: he was not alone in that, and he is an inspiration to those of us who continue to keep the traditions despite being labelled the odd ones out, as your earlier post so poignantly related. Thank you for sharing Tolkien's letter re: Saint John; this saint has always been very dear to me, and he will be even moreso now. You have honored Tolkien, this great man whom I pray is seeing this day from Heaven.
ReplyDeleteWelcome to the Catholic Blogger Directory. I'd like to invite you to join us for Sunday Snippets--A Catholic Carnival, a place where a bunch of Catholic bloggers share their weekly best with each other. This week's edition is at http://rannthisthat.blogspot.com/2010/01/happy-new-year-to-another-edition-of.html
ReplyDeleteBit too much idolatry there to incense a novel!
ReplyDeleteThe Hobbit (and The Lord of the Rings) is not a ''novel'' but an ''heroic romance,'' a much older and quite different variety of literature. See The Letters of J.R.R Tolkien, no. 329.
ReplyDeleteDash it all, I missed his birthday. Happy belated birthday to J.R.R.T.!
ReplyDelete