J.R.R. Tolkien - From a Letter to His Son, Michael

<p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">"The only cure for sagging or fainting faith is Communion."</span></em></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">As many know, J.R.R. Tolkien—the English writer, poet, philologist and academic best known for being the author of <em>The Hobbit</em> and <em>The Lord of the Rings</em>—was Catholic. After the untimely deaths of both his parents, Tolkien was raised under the guardianship of a priest. Later in life, Tolkien’s friendship with C.S. Lewis would be instrumental in Lewis’ conversion from atheism to Christianity.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The collection of <em>The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien</em> was originally published in 1981 by his son, Christopher, and biographer, Humphrey Carpenter. It contains 354 letters written between 1914 and 1973, the year of J.R.R. Tolkien's death. This episode features part of a letter written by Tolkien to his second son, Michael, in 1963, when Tolkien was 71 years old.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">It is a remarkable letter of fatherly encouragement, and one that reads as though it could have been written today.</span></p>