For this Family Feature Friday, we have the last part of the Lord of the Rings Trilogy: Return of the King (2003). It is rated PG-13 and runs 3hr and 20min. It can be rented or purchased HERE.
1. In the 1st movie, Frodo and his companions are given lembas bread. They are told that just 1 bite of it is enough to fill the belly of a grown man. Lembas bread becomes the key sustenance for the Hobbits in the journey to defeat evil. What sacrament does this remind you of? Do you think Frodo and Sam could have made the journey without Lembas bread? What is the importance of the Eucharist in your own life?
2. The darkest moment for Frodo and Sam occurred when Gollum threw the Lembas bread to the bottom of the mountain pass and the Hobbits were without it. Why did Gollum despise the Lembas bread? (He was still in a state of mortal sin and could not stand the bread). What happened to Frodo and Sam when they were separated from the bread? (A: they split up, Frodo was deceived by Gollum, and Frodo was misled down a dangerous path.) Is it possible for humans to defeat evil on their own without spiritual nourishment? What do you think happened to the Catholic Church around the world when most people could not receive the Eucharist during the pandemic due to quarantine?
3. What was the other gift given to Frodo and Sam by the elves in the 1st movie? (A: the Phial of Galadriel) Fun fact, in the book, Sam says this incantation to make the phial glow:
Oh Elbereth Starkindler,
from the high firmament gazing afar,
to thee do I cry amid this horror!
Look kindly upon me, Ever-pure Lady!”
Can you spot the parallel language in this prayer:
Hail, holy Queen, Mother of mercy, hail, our life, our sweetness and our hope. To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve: to thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this vale of tears. Turn then, most gracious Advocate, thine eyes of mercy toward us, and after this our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus, O merciful, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary! Amen.
So… In Sam and Frodo’s darkest moment when they are without the Lembas bread (Eucharist), who do they turn to and who saves them in the end literally and symbolically (A: Galadriel and Mary respectively).
4. Reflect on the Following Bible passage and how it relates to themes in the movie:
John 6: 26-35
Jesus answered them and said, "Amen, amen, I say to you, you are looking for me not because you saw signs but because you ate the loaves and were filled. Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him the Father, God, has set his seal." So they said to him, "What can we do to accomplish the works of God?" Jesus answered and said to them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in the one he sent." So they said to him, "What sign can you do, that we may see and believe in you? What can you do? Our ancestors ate manna in the desert, as it is written: 'He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'" So Jesus said to them, "Amen, amen, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave the bread from heaven; my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world." So they said to him, "Sir, give us this bread always." Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst.
5. Who eventually was the one to throw the ring in the fire? (A: No one). Frodo was supposed to be the person that had the most resilience against the ring (original sin). What does this say about the capability of living persons to be able to conquer sin and evil on their own? What then explains how the movie ends?
As a refresher, the answer to this question actually happens in the 1st Lord of the Rings movie:
“Frodo: 'It's a pity Bilbo didn't kill Gollum when he had the chance.'
Gandalf: 'Pity? It's a pity that stayed Bilbo's hand. Many that live deserve death. Some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them, Frodo? Do not be too eager to deal out death in judgment. Even the very wise cannot see all ends. My heart tells me that Gollum has some part to play in it, for good or evil, before this is over. The pity of Bilbo may rule the fate of many.'
Frodo: 'I wish the Ring had never come to me. I wish none of this had happened.'
Gandalf: 'So do all who live to see such times, but that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us. There are other forces at woTrk in this world, Frodo, besides that of evil. Bilbo was meant to find the Ring, in which case you were also meant to have it. And that is an encouraging thought.”
The explanation is what Gandalf refers to as “other forces… besides evil”. Here he alludes to a divine being with a plan who is orchestrating some of the events on Middle Earth. This shows how God can even use creatures of sin like Gollum to advance his greater plan. And in reference to the last line Gandalf says, we all have our own trial and tribulations, but we should be encouraged that God would never give us a trial we could not handle.
