November 12, 2004

Those of you who know the Friars fairly well know that many of us are big fans of the writings of J.R.R. Tolkien, especially his Lord of the Rings trilogy. In addition to being great literature, it also has an amazing potential for “applicability” (the word Tolkien liked to use) to the Christian life.

One example of this is the palantiri or “seeing stones” that appear in the story. They’re kind of like crystal balls that can communicate with one another and see things far off. Originally good in themselves, they were gifts of the elves to the men of Númenor and were used by the latter to govern their realms in Middle Earth. They only became dangerous when one of them fell into the hands of the enemy. Characters as impressive as Saruman, Wizard of Isengard, and Denethor, Steward of Gondor end up being defeated by the enemy through the seeing stones: Saruman is seduced and Denthor brought to despair. Only the future king Aragorn can use the stones without being overcome because of his purity of heart and strength of will.

It’s not hard to see how this “applies” to the media, and especially television and the internet. The Church instructs us that the media is good in itself and can be used for constructive purposes. We also know, however, that many who control these means of communication do not share the values of the Gospel and, in fact, oppose them. The two greatest dangers for Christians who use the media are either to be seduced by it and lead into sin, or be brought to despair because of the seeming pervasiveness and victory of evil. To use these modern “seeing stones” constructively we need to have discernment, discipline and purity of heart.

Fr. Herald J. Brock, CFR
Local Servant, Convento San Serafin, Comayagua, Honduras
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