Looking for a good book for the Year of Mercy? Read Lord of the Rings

Catholic World Report ^ | April 26, 2016 | Elizabeth Anderson

[miss marmelstein]

Not a comparison - just a prediction of what this Pope is capable of!!!

[Larry Lucido]

great sign in the heavens will happen September 23-24, 2017.

Or not.

Probably not.

Given the end-timers' God-awful prophecy track record, more likely not than so.

And if it's so (for once), not much you can do about it other than accepting Christ. It's not like it's a black tie affair. It's pretty much come as you are.

Meantime, it's nice to have a good book to read.

[Larry Lucido]

If I was feeling mischievous, I’d suggest Harry Potter.

But I’m not, so I won’t. :-0

[SubMareener]

[pax_et_bonum]

I’ve never been drawn to read fantasy but recently began “The Fellowship of the Ring”.

It’s fantastic!

Tolkien is one of the very best writers I’ve read.

[Larry Lucido]

And I’m sure on September 24th you’ll go on to your next prophecy.

[smaug6]

My mother rarely took me to church. But she read The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings to me at an early age. My mind was ablaze with the story. I have loved it more than any work of fiction I have ever read. Later in life, after reading it several times, I realized how Tolkien was teaching the necessity of grace and trying to give a feeling for how even the most foul person needs and deserves it with the right attitude *repentance”. The author of this piece misses the most important moment of the Frodo, Gollum, Sam dynamic. I will let you discover it for yourself.

[Mrs. Don-o]

Well, Free Republic isn’t “needed” either, but we still hope it will be an avenue of grace for some. Or else what are we doing here?

[Mrs. Don-o]

I think this is based on an astrological interpretation and thus discountenanced in terms of Christian faith. Christ recommended neither speculation about exactly when "the End" would some, nor astrology.

We are indeed in the End Times -- have been since Pentecost. The Time of the Church is the Time of the End.

[NYer]

I’ve never been drawn to read fantasy but recently began “The Fellowship of the Ring”. It’s fantastic!

Yes!!! I read LOTR a long time ago and was so excited when Peter Jackson announced his plans to film it. Fantasy can be so difficult to translate to film. From the time the filming began, I followed Jackson's interpretation and was thrilled by the final product. In the end, though, the book remains far superior to any of the films. From the 1st page, Tolkien draws the reader into his world, leaving us captivated. The theme of good vs bad stares us in the face, challenging our recognition of it in our own world. LOTR is a masterpiece.

[pax_et_bonum]

It is gorgeous!

Looking forward to the moment you refrained from describing. :-)

[pax_et_bonum]

I’ve seen one of the movies but have put the movie-watching on hold until I finish the books.

[little jeremiah]

I loved Surprised By Joy and gave to my atheist daughter; when I described it on the phone she said she’d like it; and admitted she has Screwtape!

I always hope for her.

[Gamecock]

Putting Amazing Back Into Grace

Fits the bill perfectly!

[miss marmelstein]

It’s a lovely book and the basis for that nice play Shadowlands. I never saw the movie which I hear is very good.

[Coleus]

I agree.

[miss marmelstein]

We must whisper our opinion!

[kanawa]

Happen to be reading it now, a bit each night before falling asleep.
Found a like-new, hardcover copy at charity table and grabbed it.
It’s good to read once more before my inevitable departure.
I’m at, ‘The Passage of the Marshes’, in The Two Towers

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

Surprised by Joy is lovely but I have to say that "A Grief Observed" is by far the best (IMHO) C.S. Lewis book.

If you are not in the middle of loss it is interesting to compare it to "The Problem with Pain" and watch the theoretical contrast with reality, the head and the heart.

If you are a Christian in the middle of loss then it is almost a relief to find that someone does understand what you are going though and the unanswerable questions that haunt you in the night.

[SubMareener]

Just be sure that you have confessed with your mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord and believe in your heart that God raise Him from the dead. Follow His commandments to you and pray that you will be found worth to escape the Wrath to come. Do that and the stars will take care of themselves.