Salvation Sunday: Frodo, Salvation, and how we can relate.

As most of you probably already know, I LOVE The Lord of the Rings. What most of you don't know is that The Lord of the Rings was written as a Catholic book. When J.R.R Tolkien wrote The Lord of the Rings in 1954, he decided to hide the Catholicism so that Catholics and non-Catholics alike could enjoy the book.
                                
There are many different interpretations of the Catholicism in the books, but I have my favorite theory.
         
We are Frodo, the sweet, small Hobbit given the task to destroy the one ring.
                               
                                
Just like Frodo we are all given a cross (or ring) to carry on our journey. Sometimes it will be easy to carry, and sometimes it will not be easy to carry.

The Fellowship is the people that God puts into our lives. They may try to aid us, or they may try to stop us from completing our journey.

                               
Like the faithful Fellowship, we will have some people who love us and are always ready to help. However, some may fall astray and try to take us down with them. Staying strong like Frodo will gain us the ultimate reward, Heaven.

Sam is our Guardian angel.
                                           
 Unlike the Fellowship, Sam's faith in Frodo never wavers, and he always tries to guide us to the right path. No matter how many times we push him away, or ignore his guiding hand, he will never leave us.

Gollum or Smeagol, if you prefer, is a person, who has lost his way on his journey.
                          
 He was given chances to redeem himself, and return to the light, but Gollum gave up eternal happiness, for something that would parish, a golden ring. Although it does not take the form of a ring today, greed and earthly goods stop us from eternal happiness. It comes in the form of money, sports, or even a career.

Gandalf is like priest, or more so, a bishop. ( Does the pointy hat and staff look familiar to you?)
                           
Gandalf is the one who helps us understand and use our cross/ring for salvation.

Before we can get to eternal happiness, we have to defeat our cross/ring, even if doing so means death. Frodo destroying the ring is symbolic of his last fight before death, after destroying the ring his earthly journey is over. He now has a new journey, a new purpose. Frodo's trip to the Grey Havens is like our trip to Heaven, it may be a long trip, and it is hard to leave our loved ones, but in the end, we get something far better than we started out with.

Whistle while you work,
                               Emma