"never-ceasing silent appeal of the Tabernacle"

In him and through faith in him we may approach God

with freedom and confidence. – Ephesians 3:12

 

St Joseph Catholic Church ~ Bonne Terre, MO ~ USA (Photo credit:  Mark Abeln)

J.R.R. Tolkien's personal piety was simple:

Confession before Mass, Mass everyday and Rosary before bed. The sole ultimate focus of his devotion was the Blessed Sacrament.

Here is the conclusion of a very moving letter he wrote to his son Michael in 1941:

''Out of the darkness of my life, so much frustrated, I put before you the one great thing to love on earth: the Blessed Sacrament... There you will find romance, glory, honour, fidelity, and the true way of all your loves upon earth... (The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, no. 43)

In another moving letter, written 22 years later to the same son, Tolkien writes:

''But I fell in love with the Blessed Sacrament from the beginning - and by the mercy of God never have fallen out again: but alas! I indeed did not live up to it...Out of wickedness and sloth I almost ceased to practice my religion - especially at Leeds, and at 22 Northmoor Road. Not for me the Hound of Heaven, but the never-ceasing silent appeal of the Tabernacle, and the sense of starving hunger. I regret those days bitterly (and suffer for them with such patience as I can be given); most of all because I failed as a father.

Now I pray for you all, unceasingly, that the Healer (the Hælend as the Saviour was usually called in Old English) shall heal my defects, and that none of you shall ever cease to cry Benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini.'' (Ibid. no. 250).

JRR Tolkien