Tolkien on Faërie

J.R.R. TOLKIEN'S FAMOUS ESSAY, On Fairy Stories, is online. It is also available in print in the book Tree and Leaf,which includes the story Leaf by Niggle.

His essay is not about “supernatural beings of diminutive size, in popular belief supposed to possess magical powers and to have great influence for good or evil over the affairs of man,” stories which Tolkien detested, nor is it about the modern vulgar usurpation of the word, but rather it is ultimately about myth and what Tolkien calls Sub-Creation. This essay explores the formal, efficient, and final causes of these kinds of stories, and how it ties in with the Christian imagination.

I highly recommend reading the essay. It is both a strong defense for a kind of literature, and also an attack against short-sighted modern folklorist scholarship. The essay is particularly recommended to fans of Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, especially those who feel themselves strangely moved by the story, but know not why.

Tolkien points out that we cannot create: the world we live in already has a Creator, and so we can only sub-create: by Art we may either echo or pervert Creation.

As Tolkien wrote to his then-atheist friend C.S. Lewis:

Although now long estranged,
Man is not wholly lost nor wholly changed.
Dis-graced he may be, yet is not de-throned,
and keeps the rags of lordship once he owned:
Man, Sub-creator, the refracted Light
through whom is splintered from a single White
to many hues, and endlessly combined
in living shapes that move from mind to mind.
Though all the crannies of the world we filled
with Elves and Goblins, though we dared to build
Gods and their houses out of dark and light,
and sowed the seed of dragons—'twas our right
(used or misused). That right has not decayed:
we make still by the law in which we're made.

Walnut and Tweed Computers

Hilary questions the æsthetics of modern technology.

Why can't technology be housed in fine walnut cabinets, with gold-inlay and detailed carving? Shouldn't these gadgets be quality products, something that you would want to pass down the generations? Certainly, it is fairly easy to replace the electronic insides of these products, if you are concerned with obsolescence.

"New shrine’s architect considers beauty essential"

See the article: New shrine’s architect considers beauty essential

Beauty is one of the most important things for us to rediscover. We have lived for a long time with people telling us, even architects telling us, what’s important is to have a building that’s functional, that’s liturgical, that expresses something, that seats enough people, that doesn’t cost too much — all these things. They hardly ever talk about beauty.

For a Catholic, and for a Catholic building, beauty is essential, because first of all, God’s middle name is Beauty. And he, being in his creation, created great works of beauty that we are able to be stewards of. So, in our own way, we’re asked to imitate the creator in also creating beauty. So that’s the most important reason that we should build beautiful buildings — that it’s for God, it’s for his glory and it’s an imitation of him.

—found at the Society of St. Barbara

Very Puzzling

Here is an elaborate online puzzle game: http://www.vanishingpointgame.com, it is a promotion for Microsoft. I don't have to patience to try it myself, but it looks intriguing.

Photos of Pope Saint Pius V Church, in Saint Louis, Missouri

FOLLOWING ARE PHOTOS of Pope Saint Pius V Church, located in south Saint Louis, Missouri, about four miles southwest of downtown.

This photo above was taken in July, 2006. The following photos were taken on January 7^th, 2007.



Above the door are milestones and achievements of Pope St. Pius V:

Born Michael Ghisleri 1504
Ordained to Holy Priesthood 1528
Consecrated Cardinal 1557
Elected Pope 1566
Died 1572
Canonized 1712

The Keys to Heaven
Valiantly Defended the Faith Against Heresies and Schisms
Organized Defense Against the Saracens
Commemorates the Divine Intercession in the Battle of Lepanto
Added to Litany of Our Lady "Help of Christians"
Organized the Propagation of the Faith - Sent First Missionaries to the New World
Instituted the Feast of the Most Holy Rosary 1571
Freed 15,000 Christian Slaves

Nave of the church.



Main altar, decorated for the Christmas season, with tabernacle and crucifix, flanked by the Greek letters, Alpha and Omega.



Detail of mosaics above the altar.



Baptismal font in sanctuary.



Saint Joseph's altar.



View to side of nave.



Stained glass window of the Annunciation. The Angel of the Lord declared unto Mary, "Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee."



ETERNAL REST
GIVE THEM O LORD

Shrine to the holy souls.



Whose Sins You Shall Forgive, They Are Forgiven Them.
...and whose sins you shall retain, they are retained. Click here for a good science fiction story about a priest who inadvertently retained sins.

The confessional is a Catholic church's spiritual sewer treatment plant.



IX^th Station of the Cross—Jesus Falls the Third Time

Consider how Jesus Christ fell for the third time. He was extremely weak and the cruelty of His executioners was excessive; they tried to hasten His steps though He hardly had strength to move.



Pipe organ.







Old baptistery.





View of the old school building.

THIS STONE
BLESSED AND LAID
FOR THE GLORY OF GOD
IN HONOR OF
ST. PIUS. V.
SUNDAY NOV. 5, 1916

Mass times.

Church history, from the parish website:

St. Pius V began humbly a century ago as an Irish immigrant church, but by World War II had grown to be one of the largest, most prestigious parishes in the Archdiocese of St. Louis. The post-war baby boom swelled its membership and school enrollment, and prompted expansion and improvements of the church and grounds by the mid-1950s.

But by the 1970s, south St. Louis' ethnic makeup was beginning to change again as middle-class whites fled for the suburbs. Blacks, and Asian and African immigrants and refugees took their place in the 1980s. The dramatic demographic shift during the 1980s and '90s created social tension and demanded a response. In the '90s, parishioners were mobilized to advocate for social change, a value still held today.

If St. Pius' members are fewer today, they are more diverse - a mix of old, young, refugee, immigrant, longtime neighborhood residents and suburbanites. In the '90s, the 10 a.m. liturgy became more vital with warmer hospitality, livelier music and more dynamic preaching. St. Pius' ministries to the elderly, homebound, immigrant and poor grew. Parish finances were stabilized; stewardship was emphasized.

As St. Pius neared its centennial, it took the painful step of closing its school and merging with another in 2003 to form St. Frances Cabrini Academy. In late 2004, St. Pius learned it would close as part of a realignment of south-side parishes. The parish strenuously defended its viability and purpose and the archbishop allowed it to remain open.

A century after its founding, St. Pius V finds itself at a crossroads. It must grow in numbers and continue proving its purpose, or risk being shuttered. It remains one of the smallest territorial parishes in south St. Louis and made only a small net gain in membership from the recent parish consolidations. St. Pius must seize the opportunity to demonstrate it was the right choice for staying open and attract new members from the city and suburbs.

Address:
3310 S. Grand Boulevard
St. Louis, MO 63118