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Leah's avatar

I believe strongly in memorization of beautiful and true words, but struggle to articulate the benefits when I want to encourage others to pick up the practice. You did that wonderfully in this post.

The historic liturgy is a perfect example of this, as it is the repetition of the words of God and His people that forms us. A friend recently told me, “When I’m struggling at home, I find myself turning to the songs of the liturgy more than my praise songs on Spotify.” Stronger songs.

‘O Lord, open my lips

And my mouth shall declare your praise.’

(Also, your Tolkien trip sounds like a homeschool family dream! And very impressive!)

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Jennifer Degani's avatar

This is a lovely post. I would definitely agree that in times of distress, having songs, poetry, and prayer written on your heart provides a source of consolation even when our heads and hearts are heavy. When I was in labor with our fourth, I needed to push her out in a hurry. The cord was wrapped around her and her heart rate kept going down with each contraction. I focused on pushing and mental prayers to the Holy Family to get me through. Thank God, my daughter was ok and I was able to stay calm.

Those poems and prayers also remind us that our strength does not come from ourselves, which was a theme throughout The Lord of the Rings. They would not have gotten very far without the help of Tolkien’s equivalents of angels, saints, and the Heavenly Father. When they call for help it comes and we can remember that in our own lives. Having the words at the ready is an important first step.

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