3 Minute Read
“Aragorn looked at the pale stars, and at the moon, now sloping behind the western hills that enclosed the valley. ‘This is a night as long as years,’ he said. How long will the day tarry?’
‘Dawn is not far off,’ said Gamling, who had now climbed up beside him. ‘But dawn will not help us I fear.’
‘Yet dawn is ever the hope of men,’ said Aragorn.”
After Jesus was arrested, tortured and crucified, most of his closest followers were terrified that the same thing would happen to them, so they hid behind locked doors (Jn 20:19). On Divine Mercy Sunday, like Jesus’ disciples, we too find ourselves behind locked doors. Most of us have been in our homes for weeks. We have gone without the Sacraments during the holiest time of the year. Many of us have lost our jobs and our businesses. Some of us are sick, and others have died. We are under government orders to isolate ourselves, but even without orders, many of us would choose to stay home – out of fear.
In The Two Towers, the people of Rohan retreat to the stronghold of Helm’s Deep. They flee from Saruman’s mighty Uruk-hai, marked with the symbol of the White Hand. When the people arrive at Helm’s Deep, they lock down behind the fortress walls. They are well supplied – they have plenty of food and other provisions – but they are terrified of the evil that lurks outside. Like an unrelenting storm, waves of Orcs crash against the stronghold’s defenses. Stone and wood fortifications buckle under the force of the evil swarms gathering outside.
At one point, King Théoden feels helpless,
“‘I fret in this prison,’ said Théoden. ‘If I could set a spear in rest, riding before my men upon the field, maybe I could have felt again the joy of battle, and so ended. But I serve little purpose here.’’”
Just before dawn, Aragorn goes atop the wall and talks to the Orcs,
“‘I looked out to see the dawn,’ said Aragorn.
‘What of the dawn?’ they jeered. ‘We are the Uruk-hai: we do not stop the fight for night or day, for fair weather or for storm. We come to kill, by sun or moon. What of the dawn?’
‘None knows what the new day shall bring him,’ said Aragron. ‘Get you gone, ere it turn to your evil.’”
Though the situation seems impossible, the heroes remain hopeful. When discussing their chances of survival, Aragorn looks to the history of Helm’s Deep, noting that the fortress has never fallen to enemies, saying, “‘Then let us defend it, and hope!’” The men hold off the swarms of Orcs through the night and at dawn Théoden leads a charge from within the fortress directly into the enemy’s front lines. Then, as the first rays of day fall upon the battlefield, Gandalf arrives with reinforcements and Sauron’s army is destroyed (in the book, even the Huorns, the sentient trees of Fangorn Forest, unexpected allies, join the fight against the Orcs). What seemed utterly impossible a short time ago has come to pass and the heroes are victorious.
Divine Mercy Sunday’s Gospel reminds us that locked doors cannot stop Jesus from appearing in our midst. Like Aragorn, we look to history and we see that the Body of Christ has lived through plagues, wars and every form of persecution – we will also live through this. We have hope knowing that the Holy Spirit came upon us when we were baptized. He came upon us when we were confirmed. He has come to us countless times in our lives since then. Just as Jesus breathed the Holy Spirit onto his disciples, he is in our midst, he wishes us peace, and he breathes the Holy Spirit upon us today. We, his Church, are united in the communion of saints, with each other and with our heavenly allies, the saints who have gone before us and the host of angels who serve God and protect his people.
Though times are dark and a long night might be ahead, “none knows what the new day shall bring.” God raises saints. Aid is provided by unexpected allies. The dawn will come (2 Pt 1:19). And, in God’s time, the plague will end. And his Church will rejoice (Ps 30:6).
Notes:
All quotes are from J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers, Chapter 7: Helm’s Deep
