On September 2nd of 2017 the first Mass for the Cause of Canonization of J. R. R. Tolkien was offered at Saint Aloysius’s Oratory in Oxford, where the legendary fantasy author of the best-selling novel ever written and fierce Catholic went most of his life.
Oratory Provost Friar Daniel Seward spoke about how Catholicism was tied into Tolkien’s works.
“I personally have found such overwhelming spiritual quality in his earlier works of mythology that my inclination upon finishing a chapter is to bless myself! Within Tolkien’s most famous work alone are to be found deep and profound meditations on temptation, vocation, redemption and grace; unmistakable echoes of Our Lord’s Farewell Discourses, Passion, Resurrection and Ascension; and the most distinctly Marian language that it would be possible to use to describe fictional characters.”
Seward also spoke about how Tolkien said Holy Communion was “the great romance of his life – though I’m not sure what Mrs. Tolkien would’ve made of this!”
After the first Mass, if the local archbishop approves, the Vatican must approve as well before naming a “Servant of God.” Two confirmed miracles would then have to be attributed to Tolkien’s intercession to canonize him a saint.
Tolkien’s own diocese supports the cause, but to date no news on it’s advancement has surfaced.
The Oratory say they continue to work towards his sainthood in the meantime.
🙏 Pray the official Prayer for Beatification for J. R. R Tolkien!
“O Blessed Trinity, we thank You for having graced the Church with John Ronald Reuel Tolkien and for allowing the poetry of Your Creation, the mystery of the Passion of Your Son, and the symphony of the Holy Spirit, to shine through him and his subcreative imagination. Trusting fully in Your infinite mercy and in the maternal intercession of Mary, he has given us a living image of Jesus the Wisdom of God Incarnate, and has shown us that holiness is the necessary measure of ordinary Christian life and is the way of achieving eternal communion with You. Grant us, by his intercession, and according to Your will, the graces we implore… hoping that he will soon be numbered among Your saints. Amen.”
Read about J. R. R. Tolkien’s lost prophetic message on abuse in the Church.
Or, read when J. R. R. Tolkien illustrated letters from Father Christmas to his children.
Photo credit: German Vizulis / Shutterstock.com
