Lent & Little Folk
Father Roderick Vonhögen
Trideo Foundation
Last years I did a video course with Father Roderick, The Wisdom of the Celtic Saints, and enjoyed it a great deal. In 2026 he released updated version of Love for Little Folk, and this volume, Lent for Little Folk. I picked up the Love volume but because of a very busy time at work and home did not get around to reading before the lent one released. I decided to make it part of my Lenten journey. I added it to a list of a couple other volumes I planned to work through over lent. The description of the 2026 edition of this book states:
“Why does The Lord of the Rings feel especially fitting for a journey toward Easter?
In Lent & Little Folk, Father Roderick invites you to walk forty days through Middle-earth, from the Shire to the return home again. Each day begins with a moment from Tolkien’s story — a burden carried, a door opened, a light held in darkness — and turns gently toward your own life.
These brief reflections offer simple, practical invitations for the season of Lent. No heavy theology. No academic language. Just steady, thoughtful insights meant to be read one day at a time.
Lent & Little Folk is for readers who:
• love Tolkien’s world
• want an accessible guide through Lent
• value spiritual depth without complexity
• believe that small, faithful choices matter
The journey begins in the Shire.
And it ends, as many good journeys do, with the work of coming home.”
The chapters in the book are:
Preface
Day 1: The Red Book of Westmarch
Day 2: The One Ring
Day 3: Gandalf the Wise
Day 4: The Loyalty of Samwise Gamgee
Day 5: The Beauty of Middle-earth
Day 6: What About Second Breakfast?
Day 7: Tom Bombadil’s Joy
Day 8: Finding Fellowship
Day 9: Aragorn’s Humility
Day 10: The Black Riders
Day 11: Rivendell Retreat
Day 12: Silence and Rest
Day 13: Traveling South
Day 14: The Snowstorm
Day 15: Speak, Friend, and Enter
Day 16: Balin’s Tomb
Day 17: Gandalf’s Sacrifice
Day 18: Lothlórien
Day 19: The Mirror of Galadriel
Day 20: Galadriel’s Generosity
Day 21: The Argonath
Day 22: Boromir’s Betrayal
Day 23: The Breaking of the Fellowship
Day 24: Gollum
Day 25: The Hospitality of Rohan
Day 26: The Patience of the Ents
Day 27: Shelob
Day 28: Théoden’s Transformation
Day 29: Helm’s Deep
Day 30: Saruman’s Choice
Day 31: The Army of the Dead
Day 32: Denethor’s Despair
Day 33: Merry and Pippin’s Loyalty
Day 34: The White Tree of Gondor
Day 35: Aragorn’s Courage
Day 36: Sam and Frodo
Day 37: The Unexpected Twist
Day 38: The Return of the King
Day 39: The Grey Havens
Day 40: The Road Goes Ever On
I highlighted numerous passages while reading this volume some of them are:
“Lent begins quietly. There is no trumpet blast. No dramatic turning of pages. Just a road, stretching ahead. Forty days that may look ordinary at first glance. And yet, anyone who has walked this path before knows that something changes along the way.”
“When the journey is over, the Hobbits begin to write. Bilbo starts the Red Book. Frodo continues it. Later, Sam adds his own pages. They do not write to impress anyone. They write so that what happened will not disappear. So that the road, the fear, the meals, the losses, the small kindnesses will be remembered.”
“Lent can pass quickly. One week folds into the next. You begin with good intentions, and before you know it, Easter is near. It becomes hard to recall what changed, or whether anything did.”
“Most of us carry something that weighs more than it should. A habit that is hard to break. A comfort that has become a dependency. An old resentment that keeps returning. Lent is not about inventing a burden. It is about facing the one that is already there. You may not be able to let it go all at once. Frodo could not. The road itself wore down the Ring’s power. Take one step. Choose one concrete change. Keep going, even when it feels small. Freedom often begins quietly.”
“It is tempting to try to manage everything on your own, especially the things that feel fragile or confusing. But even the Hobbits needed guidance. There may be someone you can turn to. A spiritual director. A priest. A friend who is not easily shaken. Someone who can listen without rushing to fix you.”
“You may not feel wise. You may not have all the answers. But sometimes courage is passed on in very simple ways. A word spoken at the right time. A calm presence when someone else feels lost.”
“Frodo tries to leave quietly. He believes the road will be safer if he walks it alone. He does not want anyone else to share the danger that follows him. But Sam has other ideas. He is not drawn by glory or by a clear understanding of what lies ahead. He simply refuses to let Frodo go by himself.”
“There are people around you who may be walking through something heavy, even if they rarely speak about it. And perhaps you know what it feels like to carry something quietly, hoping not to burden anyone else. Lent can be a time to practice staying close.”
“Tolkien takes time to describe them. He does not rush from one crisis to the next. The Hobbits notice the smell of grass, the sound of water, the feel of sunlight after rain.”
“Fasting is not a rejection of good things. Food is good. Comfort is good. Celebration is good. But when something good becomes constant, it can lose its meaning. Lent offers a chance to step back a little. To simplify a meal. To leave something off your plate. Not to prove strength, but to remember what hunger feels like.”
“Lent is not meant to drain the world of color. It is meant to loosen the grip of what pulls at us constantly.”
“The Fellowship is not built on similarity. It is built on shared purpose.”
“But companionship often grows slowly. And sometimes the people who help you most are not the ones you would have chosen first.”
“There is strength in knowing who you are. There is also strength in not insisting that everyone else see it.”
“Not every influence in our lives is obvious. Some are subtle. A voice that feeds anxiety. A habit that darkens your mood. A pattern of thinking that leaves you restless or bitter. Lent can be a time to notice what follows you. What thoughts return when you are tired. What conversations leave you unsettled.”
“You do not need to fight everything at once. But you can begin by choosing what you expose yourself to. The company you keep. The media you consume. The tone you allow to shape your inner life.”
“Rivendell does not remove the task ahead. But it gives the travelers strength to continue.”
“Protect your rest tonight. Sleep a little longer if you can. Turn off the noise earlier than usual. Healing often begins there.”
“There are seasons when you move forward without visible reassurance. You may not feel strong. You may not feel inspired. But you sense that standing still will not help. Lent often feels like that. Quiet. Ordinary. No dramatic change. You do not need to see the whole road. You only need to take the next step. The light may not be obvious yet. But it is already returning.”
“There are times when pushing forward is not courage but stubbornness. We hold on because we have already invested effort. We tell ourselves that stopping would mean failure. But sometimes wisdom looks like retreat. Like admitting that this way is closed. Like choosing a different path before exhaustion takes over. Lent is not meant to break you. It is meant to shape you. If something is not working, it may need adjustment.”
“There are moments when you step out of turmoil into calm. A place, a conversation, a pause in the middle of strain. Hospitality has that effect. Being received without suspicion. Being offered food, time, attention. You do not need a forest of golden trees to create such a space. A table. A shared meal. A willingness to listen.”
“Self-examination can feel similar. When you slow down enough to look honestly at your life, you may see patterns you would rather ignore. Or gifts you have overlooked. Lent has long included this quiet kind of looking. Not to accuse yourself. Not to panic. But to see clearly. Clarity is not cruelty.”
“Lent has always included the possibility of repair. Not pretending nothing happened. Not drowning in shame. But facing what is true and choosing differently.”
“Lent stretches across forty days for a reason. Change that lasts rarely happens overnight.”
“There are nights that feel longer than they should. Moments when effort seems barely enough. Waiting becomes its own strain.”
“Think of one commitment you once abandoned. Is there a small way to return to it? To finish something you left incomplete? To speak a word you once avoided? You cannot change what has happened. But you can choose your next step.”
“Not all renewal is immediate. Some signs of life appear quietly. A new habit. A calmer response. A steadier mood. Growth often begins beneath the surface long before it is visible to others. You may not feel transformed. But something may already be taking root.”
“You cannot always see how your choices ripple outward. A small act of restraint. A moment of mercy. A refusal to harm when you could have. These decisions may feel insignificant at the time. Yet they shape outcomes in ways you may never witness. Lent reminds you that goodness is rarely wasted. Time today to look back over these weeks. What have you learned? What would you like to carry forward? What needs to be released? If you pray, entrust the next part of your journey to God. If not, pause and set your intention carefully. Another journey is always beginning.”
“Lent is not an escape from ordinary life. It prepares you to return to it differently. The work you began is not meant to stay inside these forty days. It is meant to take root in daily rhythms. In meals. In conversations. In small choices. Transformation rarely looks dramatic from the outside. It shows in steadiness.”
A sample day is:
“Day 13: Traveling South
“If you are ready, let us go. The Sun will soon rise above the shadow.”
— Faramir, The Fellowship of the Ring
The Fellowship leaves Rivendell in winter.
The air is sharp. The mountains ahead are uncertain. They walk without knowing which path will remain open. The days are still short, yet the light has begun its slow return.
They do not wait for perfect conditions. They begin.
* * *
There are seasons when you move forward without visible reassurance. You may not feel strong. You may not feel inspired. But you sense that standing still will not help.
Lent often feels like that. Quiet. Ordinary. No dramatic change.
You do not need to see the whole road.
You only need to take the next step.
The light may not be obvious yet. But it is already returning.
Choose one small action today that moves you toward light.
Begin a task you have postponed.
Reach out to someone you have avoided.
Set aside ten quiet minutes before the day fills up.
Do not plan the whole journey.
Just take the next step.”
I hope those quotes and sample reflection give you a feel for this volume. This volume was not a theological or intense as some of the others I worked through over Lent in 2026. But part of what makes it so moving is the simple faith and lives of the hobbits. And Father uses examples from their life and adventures to inspire and challenge us his readers. There are only 40 reflections; the reader is intended to skip Sundays. I just read through from Ash Wednesday until Psalm Sunday.
I really enjoyed working through this. And have been following Father Roderick for years. I would love to see him publish a collection of his short stories; or an Advent with the Little Folk. But until then he can be engaged with via numerous social media channels.
Note: This book is part of a series of reviews: 2026 Catholic Reading Plan!
Books by Father Roderick Vonhögen:
Love and Little Folk
Tales of Power: A Guide To Epic Storytelling
Dawn of the Story Mages
…
Courses by Father Roderick:
The Secrets of Storytelling
The Wisdom of the Celtic Saints
The Courage of the Celtic Monks
How To Walk the Camino
The Tales of Tolkien
…
