Return of the King: An Ash Wednesday Reflection

We just finished our annual (sometimes semi-annual) pilgrimage through Middle Earth via the epic film trilogy The Lord of the Rings. (Extended editions, of course.)

A thing of beauty is a joy forever.

I have now seen these films many times – more times than I have bothered to count, certainly. Add that unknown number (it’s high, whatever it is) to the number of times I’ve read the books (also unknown; also high), and you have a vast portion of my life spent with this s...