Eye of Sauron

eye-sauronFor those among us who are fans of the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy, there is interesting news from the world of  entomology. A new genus of butterflies has been discovered and named after Sauron, the arch-villain of the trilogy whose gaze lingers malevolently over the lands of Middle-earth. The butterfly sports dark, eye-like spots on its distinctive orange wings. An international team of scientists identified two species in the new genus — Saurona triangula and Saurona aurigera — but said there were most likely more.

In addition to the newly designated butterflies, Sauron has a namesake dinosaur, a dung beetle and a frog, according to the Natural History Museum. There’s also NGC 4151, a faraway galaxy that astronomers have dubbed “the eye of Sauron.”


Credits: image Warner Brothers, source for article, Chris Stanford, “New Butterflies Are Named for Sauron, ‘Lord of the Rings’ Villain” New York Times

Hold Dear

This coming Sunday is the 6th Sunday of Easter in Lectionary Cycle A.  In yesterday’ post we concluded that the Johannine meaning of “commandment” is far broader than the Mosaic laws, rather encompasses the whole of Jesus’ life:  words, deeds and the ultimate measure – love. Now that we have an idea about what we mean by “commandments,” what does it mean to “keep” (tereo) them? Continue reading