From Tolkien fan to...

"Interwoven in the foundation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s literary works is the mystery of death: 'the divine paradox, that which ends life, and demands the surrender of all, and yet...take(s) on that complexion of reality, of eternal endurance, which every man’s heart desires.'

"A better application for me cannot be found for one’s Solemn Profession (as a Poor Clare Nun of Perpetual Adoration).

"The eight years of formation are coming to an end. Eight years of surrender, of death to one’s very strong will — an interminable battle, of struggling against the illusions of self and the shadows of the world are encompassed at the very same time by the reception of so much Light and Mercy and Love. These in comparison to what one has striven to give up are beyond all imagination and comprehension.

"'Ex umbris et imaginibus in veritatem' (from unreality to Reality) Cardinal Newman wrote for his memorial tablet. What truth! Christ is the Reality. And this life for every soul is but a journey from shadow to Light. We die daily, little deaths that pierce the darkness to allow Our Lord into our hearts. The pain of these daily trials brings about an awakening to eternity. Amidst the grief, however minute or serious, there is a realization that Our Lord is using whatever it may be to draw us closer to Him. The sharing of His Cross strips away so much of the dross to reveal what really matters: Our Lord and His tremendous love.

"Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati puts it best, 'In my present struggle I cannot but thank God Who has willed, in His Infinite Mercy, to grant to my heart this pain, so that by means of these thorns I might return to a life which is more interior, more spiritual.'

"In his sub-created world Tolkien explored the conceptual idea that death, before the fall of man, was originally a gift from God to men — the means of bringing men more fully to Himself. But because of sin, the world and men were wounded. Fear entered the hearts of men, and death became an adversary to life. Hope was lost.

"But Our Lord (in Tolkien's words) 'will not suffer Himself to be deprived of His own, not by an Enemy, not even by ourselves.' He would enter the world as the Haeland, the Healer, to 'heal Men and all the Marring from beginning to end.'" He would use His death to accomplish the restoration of man to God, replacing fear with love, restoring our hope in Him.

"Solemn Profession is a participation in the Death of Our Lord. A victorious Death that won for us at great cost the precious gift of eternal life. Solemn Profession is a foreshadowing of this entrance into life on High with the Beloved King."

"'Praise Him With Great Praise'"

Sister Marie St. Paul of the Holy Spirit
Our Lady of the Angels Monastery
Hanceville, Alabama