Category Archives: Inklings & Company

Ainulindalë: Hints of Providence and the Election of Frodo

Posted on 30 March 2023 by Fr Aidan Kimel

Eru Ilúvatar is absent in the narratives of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. He is neither named nor invoked. Yet there is one moment (actually two) that hints at Ilúvatar’s providential involvement. During their long conversation after Bilbo’s … Continue reading →

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Ainulindalë: The Secret of the Secret Fire

Posted on 7 March 2023 by Fr Aidan Kimel

You cannot pass. I am a servant of the Secret Fire, wielder of the flame of Anor. You cannot pass. The dark fire will not avail you, flame of Udûn. Go back to the Shadow! You cannot pass. Gandalf’s confrontation … Continue reading →

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Ainulindalë: Eä!

Posted on 4 March 2023 by Fr Aidan Kimel

Then there was unrest among the Ainur; but Ilúvatar called to them, and said: ‘I know the desire of your minds that what ye have seen should verily be, not only in your thought, but even as ye yourselves are, yet … Continue reading →

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Ainulindalë: The Vision

Posted on 2 March 2023 by Fr Aidan Kimel

The great symphony is concluded. Ilúvatar now summons the Ainur to follow him into the void, where he grants them a vision of their music translated into visual or imaginal form: Then Ilúvatar spoke, and he said: ‘Mighty are the … Continue reading →

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Ainulindalë: The Ideas of Eru and the Subcreativity of the Ainur

Posted on 28 February 2023 by Fr Aidan Kimel

Before moving on to the next stage of Eru’s creation of Arda, I want to return to the emanation of the Ainur from the One and the significance of their participation in the Great Music.1 The Ainulindalë tells us that … Continue reading →

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Ainulindalë: The Great Music and the Cacophony of Melkor

Posted on 12 February 2023 by Fr Aidan Kimel

Eru summons the Ainur and declares to them “a mighty theme, unfolding to them things greater and more wonderful than he had yet revealed; and the glory of its beginning and the splendour of its end amazed the Ainur, so … Continue reading →

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Ainulindalë: The God Who is Music and Beauty

Posted on 5 February 2023 by Fr Aidan Kimel

“In the beginning,” the inspired writer declares, “Elohim created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep; and the Spirit of God was moving over the face of the … Continue reading →

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Ainulindalë: The Creation of the Angels

Posted on 3 February 2023 by Fr Aidan Kimel

Eru engë, i estaina ná Ilúvatar Ardassë; ar ónes minyavë Ainur, i ner i híni sanweryo, ar nentë ósë nó ilúvë ontaina né. There was Eru, the One, who in Arda is called Ilúvatar; and he made first the Ainur, the Holy … Continue reading →

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