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!)
Thanks Leah. I started out to just record how our camping trip went and what the kids liked best in our read aloud (Tom Bombadil of course!) As I read back over the poetry, the deeper meanings came rushing over me.
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.
Thanks Jennifer! Yes, labor is one of those times when what is in our hearts is all we have!
For a long time I missed the prayers in LOTR. I did not understand the place of Elbereth, for example, in Tolkiens works. Over time and with more reading I came to understand Tolkien’s world more fully. I was considering going into Tom’s role as a patron of the Old Forest and Elbereth’s as a patron of the elves and then of Frodo it this post but I needed to wrap up. 😅
He was intentionally subtle with his writing as he disliked most allegory, but it is definitely there for if you look for it. It is a great focus for rereads!
What a beautiful reflection and encouragement Katherine. “Tolkien School” sounds wonderful, I will be stealing that idea when my kids are a little older!
I completely agree with what you say about the benefits of memorizing Scripture, prayers and poetry. It is foolish and arrogant to think we can or should have to rely always on our own words and wisdom when we have the rich treasury of Scripture and prayers from the saints to draw on.
Anthony Esolen writes about the benefits of encouraging children to memorize things in his book, “10 Ways to Destroy the Imagination of Your Child”, and discusses how rather than diminishing creativity and spontaneity it encourages it. It’s an excellent read which I’m sure you’d enjoy!
This was so beautiful! I love the idea of a Tolkien School and having one of the pillars be memorizing beautiful works of literature.
Similarly to your family, I have been really thankful to have the hymns of the Church memorized. Right now my 2-year-old is going through a phase of being afraid of monsters in the dark. I have been able in the middle of the night to sing different comforting and beautiful hymns to her which put her right back to sleep. They are hymns which I memorized unintentionally as a young child simply by hearing them regularly in church.
So looking forward to reading the next installment of this series!
Yes to IEW writing and Andrew Pudewa’s poetry memorization book. Poetry was for memorizing. Socrates certainly felt strongly about that. Also Kevin Vost wrote Memorize the Faith!, on how to use the ancient and medieval techniques. I have used it in catechism class ever since (especially when I realized as an adult I really did not remember all the ten commandments). But I had learnt all the lyrics to Oklahoma! by age 7. . .
Memorization is powerful and memorization to music even more so! Growing up we had the watched the old Disney "Johnny Appleseed" short, in which he sings "The Lord is Good to me", and I've always remembered it, and often in times when I'm most frustrated I've belted it out!
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!)
Thanks Leah. I started out to just record how our camping trip went and what the kids liked best in our read aloud (Tom Bombadil of course!) As I read back over the poetry, the deeper meanings came rushing over me.
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.
Thanks Jennifer! Yes, labor is one of those times when what is in our hearts is all we have!
For a long time I missed the prayers in LOTR. I did not understand the place of Elbereth, for example, in Tolkiens works. Over time and with more reading I came to understand Tolkien’s world more fully. I was considering going into Tom’s role as a patron of the Old Forest and Elbereth’s as a patron of the elves and then of Frodo it this post but I needed to wrap up. 😅
He was intentionally subtle with his writing as he disliked most allegory, but it is definitely there for if you look for it. It is a great focus for rereads!
What a beautiful reflection and encouragement Katherine. “Tolkien School” sounds wonderful, I will be stealing that idea when my kids are a little older!
I completely agree with what you say about the benefits of memorizing Scripture, prayers and poetry. It is foolish and arrogant to think we can or should have to rely always on our own words and wisdom when we have the rich treasury of Scripture and prayers from the saints to draw on.
Anthony Esolen writes about the benefits of encouraging children to memorize things in his book, “10 Ways to Destroy the Imagination of Your Child”, and discusses how rather than diminishing creativity and spontaneity it encourages it. It’s an excellent read which I’m sure you’d enjoy!
Thanks Becca! That sounds like an excellent book. I will look for it!
This was so beautiful! I love the idea of a Tolkien School and having one of the pillars be memorizing beautiful works of literature.
Similarly to your family, I have been really thankful to have the hymns of the Church memorized. Right now my 2-year-old is going through a phase of being afraid of monsters in the dark. I have been able in the middle of the night to sing different comforting and beautiful hymns to her which put her right back to sleep. They are hymns which I memorized unintentionally as a young child simply by hearing them regularly in church.
So looking forward to reading the next installment of this series!
Thank you Catie! What a blessing for you and your daughter.
And I appreciate the encouragement to keep writing this series!
What a wonderful encouragement to memorize scripture and prayers. When I reread The Lord of the Rings I wept when I read the Tom Bombadil passages.
Thank you Katie! Yes, there is something so special about Tom! ❤️
Yes!!! The whole book is amazing.
Yes to IEW writing and Andrew Pudewa’s poetry memorization book. Poetry was for memorizing. Socrates certainly felt strongly about that. Also Kevin Vost wrote Memorize the Faith!, on how to use the ancient and medieval techniques. I have used it in catechism class ever since (especially when I realized as an adult I really did not remember all the ten commandments). But I had learnt all the lyrics to Oklahoma! by age 7. . .
. . . lyrics to Oklahoma! at age 7. Music and dance help (everything) immensely.
Memorization is powerful and memorization to music even more so! Growing up we had the watched the old Disney "Johnny Appleseed" short, in which he sings "The Lord is Good to me", and I've always remembered it, and often in times when I'm most frustrated I've belted it out!
What a special memory Jessica! It is amazing what we retain from childhood and how it impacts our future lives!
You’re inspiring me to stop sitting lazily on the goal I had at one point to memorize Psalms! Also Tolkien school is a VERY cool idea
Thanks Susanna. Yes, the Psalms are wonderful to memorize. Honestly, my kids have this drive to memorize and it inspires me.