Jef Murray (www.JefMurray.com) is an internationally known Tolkien and fantasy artist/illustrator and counterfeit essayist. His paintings, sketches, and writings sprout sporadically from the leaves of Tolkien and Inklings publications (Amon Hen, Mallorn, Beyond Bree, Silver Leaves, Mythprints) and Catholic journals (The St. Austin Review, Gilbert Magazine, The Georgia Bulletin) worldwide.
Contrary to all sense and sensibility, his images most recently wended their way into The Magic Ring: Deluxe Illustrated Edition by Friedrich de la Motte Fouque and Black & White Ogre Country: The Lost Tales of Hilary Tolkien by Hilary A. R. Tolkien.
A Gift Unbidden It comes without warning, and at the most unexpected of times. I’ll be furiously focused on one task or another: painting, or writing, or preparing for some descending deadline or some travel plans I’m making. Then, as if Someone had gently disconnected the power to all of these troublesome tasks and tribulations, [...]
A Jeweler Receives a Visitor The bell on the front door of the shop rang. The Dwarf peered through the curtain separating the storefront from his workspace. “Ah, it’s only you,” he said. Eyebrows bristled over a broad nose and his beard was shot through with strands of silver. He pushed aside the drapes and [...]
Editor’s Note: Jef Murray gained some insights and made some spiritual progress during this past Advent Season, as we all hope to do if we are paying attention. The following are his “ponderings” of that time that he shared in his December Newsletter. He shares them now with you as we all look back to [...]
Puddleglum – Sketch © by Jef Murray “Don’t pay any attention to what he says. You’re arguing with someone who believes God became a human being and then committed suicide….” The comment left me literally speechless. I had been in an exchange with someone on Facebook regarding the decline of honeybees, worldwide, and I had [...]
“You don’t belong here!” Bernadette Bingham was walking past the drab brownstone apartments on her way to work. She looked at the little girl playing on the stoop, puzzled. “You don’t belong here!” the child said again, looking her straight in the eye. It was not the look of a little child; her expression was [...]
Lucy saw the man on the street several times before she recalled that he had been murdered the year before. On reflection, she realized this wasn’t because she was inattentive; he was simply hard to notice. The bulky figure appeared hazy and indistinct, as if seen from some great distance: he was dressed in loose [...]
“Do you remember that night?” she asked him. “I think so,” he said. He could recall sitting on the porch on a hot summer evening. What was it they had talked about? “You asked him a question, remember?” That’s right, he thought, I did…. * * * * * “Have you ever seen an elf, [...]
“But that’s absurd!” The young man was furious. Across an ancient rosewood desk, the older gentleman smiled at him, but did not answer. “It’s absurd!” said the young man again. “If I want you to paint me a portrait, why should I have to tell you such things? I didn’t come here for a psychotherapy [...]
“Goodnight…” “Goodnight.” “Don’t go to sleep….” “I won’t.” This is the way my brother and I ended each day. Steve was my junior by three years, and the long shadows of evening always filled him with thoughts of phantoms floating through foyers and bogeys under the bed. Somewhere along the line he determined, or perhaps [...]
Where now the horse and the rider? where is the horn that was blowing? Where is the helm and the hauberk and the bright hair flowing? Where is the hand on the harp-string, and the red fire glowing? Where is the spring and the harvest and the tall corn growing? These lines and more were [...]
Banner Artwork: "The Resurrection (detail)" by Bloch
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Daily Catholic Quote from Fr. Benedict Groeschel
“One thing that is not being tried in any particularly enthusiastic way by people who call themselves Catholic is Catholicism.” (Fr. Benedict Groeschel; The Reform of Renewal, 1990) Please help us in our mission to assist readers to integrate their Catholic faith, family and work. Tell your family and friends about this article using both the [...]
St. Benedict for Beginners – The Third Step to Humility
This is the ninth in a series on St. Benedict for Beginners. – The Editors The Third Step to Humility ‘The third step of humility is that for the love of God a man should be obedient to his superior in all things.’ Obedience? What a sign of scandal in an individualistic age! The whole [...]
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