Ordinary Time 22 January 2019 The Edge of Elfland Concord, NH Dearest Readers, More and more I hear people longing for the past. Different people mean different things by “the past.” For some, it means the era of the 50’s and 60’s when everyone knew their neighbors, no-fault divorce was illegal, so was abortion, and Catholic communities were apparently thriving. Others long for a time more distant past. Some long for the more violent aspects of the Middle Ages with... Read more
Ordinary Time 22 January 2018 The Edge of Elfland Concord, NH Dearest Readers, Over the past few months I have been part of a group which existed for the express purpose of creating a public letter to the Catholic Bishops. Before the current news cycle makes us forget other problems within our Church, I want to make sure this message gets out. I did not contribute to any of the text, I won’t try to make that claim, Dr. Holly... Read more
Ordinary Time 21 January 2019 The Edge of Elfland Concord, NH Dearest Readers, Today is my birthday. It is also the day we celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., as well as the day before the 46th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade court decision. It’s a complicated day to say the least. I can’t help but feel reflective. After all, I was the unwanted child of two people with drug problems. It’s easy to paint myself into the narrative... Read more
Ordinary Time 20 January 2019 The Edge of Elfland Concord, NH Dearest Readers, Over the weekend videos surfaced that showed Covington Catholic students surrounding Nathan Philips and a small group of Native Americans singing and chanting. The students appeared to mock the Native Americans, shouting chants of “Our Cov Cath is the best!” and possibly shouting things such as “Trump 2020!” and “Build that wall!” The truth of this situation, however, is much more complicated. First, I need to remind... Read more
Ordinary Time 19 January 2018 The Edge of Elfland Concord, NH Dearest Readers, Every year in my Fundamentals of the Christian Faith class, my text for discussion during our unit on Creation is St. Francis’ “Canticle of Brother Sun and Sister Moon.” I choose this text for a few reasons. First, I find that many of my college students have not been introduced to poetry, and certainly don’t think that poetry and theology can inform each other. Second, I find... Read more
Christmastide 3 January 2018 The Edge of Elfland Concord, NH Dearest Readers, There have been some mutterings lately, mutterings against enchantment in Christian circles. I’ve even seen one name more than any other being trotted out as a champion against enchantment: Augustine. Perhaps, they say, we should be reading Augustine’s Confessions on astrology. But what does Augustine say about the astrologers and what, if any, effect should this have on our understanding of reality? First, to the text itself. Augustine... Read more
Advent Time Fourth Sunday in Advent 2018 The Edge of Elfland Concord, NH Dearest Readers, I am happy to announce that I will be speaking at this year’s (OK 2019’s) Catholic Literature Conference in Concord. This year’s conference is on the theme of Lost Virtue in Literature. The other speakers are Joseph Pearce speaking on “Pride and the Lost Virtues in Literature,” Dr. Gary Bouchard who’s paper is titled “Praying Hopkins,” and Dr. Anthony Esolen on “Piety and Manhood: Lessons... Read more
Advent St. Lucy’s Day 2018 The Edge of Elfland Concord, NH Dearest Readers, Now that it has been officially released, I would like to tell everyone about Michael Martin’s most recent book, Transfiguration: Notes Toward A Radical Catholic Reimagination of Everything. This book is Martin’s manifesto, his declaration of how we ought to see and interact with the world around us. It is not, however, a program. Martin isn’t here to tell us all the ins and outs of... Read more
Advent 8 December 2018 The Edge of Elfland Concord, NH Dearest Readers, One of my earliest memories is riding in the car somewhere in the south. A tendency for motion sickness meant I wasn’t playing my gameboy or trying to read a book. Besides, it was night time. I remember looking up out of the backseat window and what I saw above me astonished me. Stars. The night sky above me was a blue-black field filled with stars. They danced... Read more
Advent 4 December 2018 The Edge of Elfland Concord, NH Dearest Readers, Recently Stephen Colbert decided to flip the script on The Late Show and had some of his famous friends come and interview him. One of those guests was noted astrophysicist (and often science fiction killjoy) Neil de Grasse Tyson. Toward the end of the interview, as Colbert’s faith comes up. Tyson asks Colbert, “How did you resolve the urges of a believer to reject evidence in favor of... Read more
Letters from the Edge of Elfland
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In