Rick Becker on Fitting Our Journey to God's Map

"I’m on the road and heading east to deliver to my college-graduate his wardrobe, some pots and pans, and all his earthly goods he cares to have with him. He flew out to start his new job in New York City a week or so ago, but he’s been staying with friends until he can move into his new apartment this week. Thus, he’s been living out of suitcase and a backpack, anticipating his more permanent digs and his dad swooping in like the cavalry with a van full of stuff. . . .

"I've been looking forward to this drive. I like road trips - especially the meandering kind where you have the freedom to start and stop at will, to track down those intriguing brown 'Historical Marker' signs and see where they lead, to allow events to unfold rather than attempting to peg every detail ahead of time.

"And I won't use a GPS device or an i-Gizmo to help me stay on track. It’s a bit risky, I know, and unconventional these days, but I'm rather giddy about the prospect of relying on maps to get me to the vicinity of Central Park by Saturday - actual, physical paper maps, which fold up funny and which are incapable of being updated by Google along the way. Remember those? . . .

"And I know I'll get hopelessly lost at least once or twice. What fun! Good thing I'll have a map along to help me get my bearings again. . . .

"It was a recent review article in the Wall Street Journal that prompted these cartological musings. 'During the next few months,' writes Michael FitzGerald, 'visitors to 'Tolkien: Maker of Middle-Earth' at the Bodleian Libraries' Weston Library of Oxford University can immerse themselves in Tolkien's world through the most extensive exhibition of his life and work since the 1950s.' There will be draft manuscripts and memorabilia, letters and photos, and 'the illustrations and maps that contribute so much to the visual impact of his stories.'

"But here's the bit in FitzGerald’s review that especially caught my attention: 'The most fascinating objects in the exhibition are the maps Tolkien created to chart his tales. As he said about 'The Lord of the Rings' trilogy, 'I wisely started with a map and made the story fit.'' Huh - that sounds backwards to our modern way of thinking. . . .

"[Tolkien']s maps came first. 'Believable fairy-stories must be intensely practical,' he told an interviewer. 'You must have a map, no matter how rough. Otherwise you wander all over the place.' Once you have the map, however, the narrative and the characters become liberated."

In a recent commentary, writer Rick Becker reflected on the parallels between our (including Tolkien's) use of maps and the maps which God presents to us in the deposit of faith, including "a general awareness of what the Church teaches (doctrine), how she makes us holy (sacraments and liturgy), what is expected of us (morality), and how we should pray - the Catechism’s Four Pillars."

To access Mr. Becker's complete post, please visit:

National Catholic Register: Blogs: Rick Becker: Fitting Our Journey to God's Map (9 AUG 18)

Editor's note: I am another one who prefers to work with maps.