17 October 2021 | St. Ignatius of Antioch | Santa Rosa, Calif. 

This week, we get a new perspective on the beginning of the Hobbit, as well as on one of Shakespeare’s greatest plays! Just what was Gandalf doing to prepare that fateful meeting behind Bilbo Baggins and Thorin Oakenshield? And could Lear and Cordelia be an allegory for Reformation England and the Catholic Church? Also in this episode: we commemorate one of our earliest and greatest martyrs, the God-bearing bishop of Antioch, with the account of his trial and readings from his letter to the Romans. 

[Apologies for the audio issues in the Tolkien segment!]

Opening music: “Dixit Dominus, Domino meo,” from Carmelite Vespers (HWV 232: No. 1, Chorus), composed by G.W.F. Handel, performed by the Taverner Choir and Players, dir. Andrew Parrott, 1989. All rights reserved.