Catholicism – Page 24 – Restless Pilgrim

Summary of salvation History

February 22, 2021 pilgrim Leave a comment

I’m sure many of you out there are following along with Fr. Mike Schmitz’s Bible-in-a-year podcast.

One of the things which I’ve learnt from reading The Silmarillion this year (the Old Testament of Middle Earth!) is that it’s really helpful to periodically review the story so far and to remind yourself how you got here.

With this in mind, I’d like to direct you to some recent episodes from my friend Richaél from the Clumsy Theosis podcast who is currently working through the story of Salvation History at a high level, covering in five episodes the material covered in the last fifty episodes of Fr. Mike’s podcast…

Catholicism

Know Your Valar: Tulkas and Nessa

February 21, 2021 pilgrim One comment

We have another couple today, who get married early on in The Silmarillion, Tulkas and Nessa:

Tulkas

Type: Vala
Name meaning: “Strong” or “Steadfast”
Other titles: “the Wrestler”
Appearance: Golden hair and beard
Location: –
Notes:
- Last of the Ainur to enter Arda who entered to fight Melkor.

Nessa

Type: Vala
Name meaning: “Young”
Other titles: “The dancer”
Appearance: Beautiful!
Location: –
Notes:
- Loves to dance
- Runs swiftly

Catholicism

Know Your Valar: Aulë and Yavanna

February 20, 2021 pilgrim One comment

It’s time to talk about more of the Valar! Today we look at another couple, Aulë and Yavanna…

Aulë

Type: Vala
Name meaning: “Invention”
Other titles: “The Smith”, “The Maker of Mountains”, “Mahal” (The Maker)
Appearance: –
Location: Central Valinor
Notes:
- He is a master of all crafts who fashioned and crafted the substances of which Arda was made
- He created the Dwarves
- Made the Lamps of the Valar
- Forged the vessels which hold the Sun and Moon
- Taught the Noldor Eleves about stonework

Yavanna

Type: Vala
Name meaning: “Giver of fruits”
Other titles: “The Fruitful Queen of the Earth”
Appearance: Tall as a cypress tree and clothed in green
Location: Her gardens are in south Valinor
Notes:
- Planted seeds of everything which grows
- She thought of the Ents
- She made the Trees of Light which lit Valinor,
- She used the last fruit of those trees was used to make the Sun and Moon
- She also made the White Tree of the Eldar in Tirion.

Catholicism

Know Your Valar: Ulmo

February 14, 2021 pilgrim Leave a comment

Last time we looked at a couple, the King and Queen of Arda. Today we look at a bachelor…

Ulmo

Type: Vala
Name meaning: “Pourer”/”Rainer”
Other titles: “Lord of the Waters”
Appearance: A gigantic king with silver and emerald armour. Has sea-shell horns (the Ulumúri).
Location: Ulmonan, his palace, on the bottom of Vaiya.
Biography:
- Helped bring the Elves to the Undying Lands during the Age of Stars.
- Taught the Elves music and seacraft.

Catholicism

Know Your Valar: Manwë and Varda

February 13, 2021 pilgrim 2 comments

In an effort to establish more clearly in my mind the different Valar, I thought I would put together some memorable graphics and a short description for each of the main ones. Today’s post is about Manwë and Varda…

Manwë

Type: Vala
Name meaning: “The good”
Other titles: “King of Arda”, “Lord of the Air”
Appearance: His eyes and clothing are blue and his sceptre is made of sapphire.
Location: Lives in the mansions of Ilmarin atop the mountain of Taniquetil
Loves: All birds, particularly eagles, are sacred to him. He has a soft spot for the Vanyar Elves because of their skill in poetry.

Varda

Type: Vala
Name meaning: “Sublime”/”Lofty”
Other titles: “Queen of the Heavens”, “Queen of Light”, “Gilthoniel”, “Elbereth”, “Lady of the stars”
Appearance: Extremely beautiful
Location: Lives in the mansions of Ilmarin atop the mountain of Taniquetil
Loves: Light. She rekindled the stars, lit the Lamps of the Valar, and placed the Sun and Moon in the heavens.

Catholicism

Know Your Valar: Introduction

February 7, 2021 pilgrim Leave a comment

I’m going to be doing a series of posts here as I read The Silmarillion to help me keep all the Valar straight in my head. This is an introductory post, giving an overview of the Valar…

The Main Valar

Not all of the Valar come up that often in The Silmarillion. Here are the main ones to remember:

…and here’s a slightly larger collection:

Catholicism

Reading the Silmarillion

February 7, 2021 pilgrim Leave a comment

I’ve been reading the Silmarillion this year. I’ve found it really helpful to recap on the stories as I’ve progressed through the book, making sure that they’re firmly established in my head, as well as the geography, genealogies and all the different pronunciations! I’ve done this chiefly through podcasts and YouTube videos.

This post contains all the different videos which I’ve watched…