I’ve just received this wonderful e-mail from a religious sister whom I met on my recent travels. Whilst protecting her privacy, I thought I’d share her thoughts on Christmas, Aragorn, George MacDonald, Father Faber, the Rosary, and my own conversion: 

(Dec. 25) When you came in December, it was Advent; I waited for Christmas to write you. I enjoyed listening – again – to your talk on the Catholic Significance of Lord of the Rings. I was happy as well to be able share conversation over breakfast with you and Sister and Father. Hope you had an enjoyable visit and that you can return again sometime.

  So here we are celebrating the day that Jesus came forth to establish His Kingdom in the darkness of sin and hate. Tolkien’s visual of Aragorn leaving Rivendale at night on Christmas is such a vivid portrayal of the symbolism: He is going to establish his kingdom, but going into a dark, frightening world of corruption and fear – the extent of the corruption seems to compound the further he goes. He is ready to take it on, having prepared for it all his life.

I am reading Race With the Devil. My gracious, Joseph. You are amazing….giving lectures in your teens! No wonder you are such a good speaker — giving lectures with police escort and under fire. God gave you a determined drive to give 150 percent to whatever cause you were behind. You didn’t know it, but you were already in training for His work. Remember St. Paul? He had such zeal for the Jewish Religion, and he wouldn’t accept any but the pure religion. And look how God used his ability and drive.

  The 60’s were sadly a time of general decline and upheaval. The race riots, the social, political, economic, and even religious beliefs were all under fire. People were looking for independence and ascendency, and unfortunately came out the worse for it, because of leaving God out. He gave you the incredible grace to remain alive through it all and to look for something higher, through dependence on HIM. May He be praised. The story of the Rosary is amazing. Your father threw it (the symbol, not that exact set of beads) out the window and someone else gave it back to you. Our Lady listened to your inarticulate prayer in that unique place of retreat as you held on to her hand (the beads), just as a toddler holds onto its mother whimpering in fear. The mother needs no articulation.  May I share a Rosary story? A man with no religious background liked to collect old books and things. He acquired a small book, and in reading through it he was quite taken by a section that had “Our Father, Hail Mary, Hail Mary…” (ten times). He found such peace as he said it that he would repeat it on the way to work and even shared it with his wife who picked up the practice. Not long after, he found out from a Catholic in his office that those were just the first two words of the prayers. He and his wife then faithfully said all the prayers, and eventually one thing led to another, and they got instruction and were baptized Catholic.

  (Dec 26) Today my Rosary was for your brother Steve especially.

  I started praying for the repose of the soul of your father as I read the first part of your book, thinking he must have been a good man to have passed on such fire and drive to his son. I looked ahead to find the date of his death, which I did not find. What I did find gave me instead a moment of eucatastrophe….that he had a deathbed conversion. That was a thrill!! Thanks be to the mercy of God and the holy Rosary!

  George McDonald’s Princess and the Goblin is my current aloud reading with the sixth grade students and they don’t want me to stop when the bell rings. (I don’t want to stop either, but we have to do Math next.) They are so into it, they want to give up their own quiet reading time to hear more. It is perfect for a mixed group; the boys like the bits with Curdie and the goblins, and the girls like the bits with Irene and the “great big grandmother” up in the turret. We haven’t yet talked about some of the possible symbolic meanings in the story, but there are a lot and it will be interesting to see how many they come up with.

  Have you read any works by Father Faber? He was an Oratory priest shortly after Cardinal Newman, I believe. Most of his books are about doctrines of the Faith: Bethlehem, The Precious Blood, Foot of the Cross. When I first read some of his books I was amazed at his ability to write such long sentences (some being almost a page long) and still give the reader the ability to follow. That takes quite a command of the language. His descriptions are quite detailed and vivid.

  (Dec. 27) I just got your email address, so I am sending this off. Have a wonderful rest of the Christmas season… and a happy New Year.

  Keeping you and your family in prayer. May Jesus, Mary and St. Joseph bless you all.