As we continue our journey through the Christian poetry of T. S. Eliot, we come to one of his shortest—and most searching—poems. Animula is Latin for "little soul." The title comes from the dying words traditionally attributed to the Roman emperor Hadrian, who addressed his departing soul with tenderness and uncertainty. Eliot takes that ancient phrase and gives it a distinctly Christian direction. Rather than explaining the soul, Eliot lets it speak.

ourney of the Magi is one of Eliot's most beloved Christian poems. Written in 1927, shortly after his conversion to Anglican Christianity, it retells the visit of the wise men to Bethlehem—not through the eyes of a triumphant kingmaker, but through the weary reflections of an old man looking back on the journey that changed his life forever. The poem reminds us that encountering Christ is never merely an inspiring moment. It is the beginning of a new life, and the end of a

Thomas Stearns Eliot (1888–1965) was born in St. Louis, Missouri, and educated at Harvard before continuing his studies in Paris and at Oxford. Eventually he settled in England, where he became one of the most influential literary voices of the twentieth century.