Country of the Soul
I celebrate my country… my country ’tis of Thee. A Place without chart, or map, or globe, which eye alone can’t see. A Place too small to fathom, and yet too great to miss. A…
Year: 2016
The Price of a Soul: Musings on the Moral Beauty of "Les Miserables"
I have fond memories of seeing Les Miserables in its San Francisco stage production many years ago. It was therefore with great disappointment—and with some questioning of my judgment in earlier years—that several months ago I…
The Oak’s Hymn
I stand in strength and verdant wonder for I am planted sure and deep My prayers like roots seek out their Mother nourished in earth my heart they keep I stand in sun and rain…
A Common Celtic Thread: A Book Review of "Brighid's Mantle"
Can a Pagan and Christian ever find common ground? I am very happy to say that it appears so! In this book two friends from different traditions, but connected by a common Celtic…
On Heroism: A Letter to My Children
Someday, perhaps, I will have children. But today I am just in my twenties, and there is already so much I want to tell them and can’t yet. Here where I stand on the threshold…
Sail Away: A Lord of the Rings Poem
The wind drifts across the sea Beckoning and calling me. Tugging on my Elven hair, It tries to draw me in. – The waves crash against the shore Seeming to my heart implore: Come and…
The Thames and Sir Thomas More
The River Thames flows through the drama of A Man for All Seasons, providing transportation for Sir Thomas More, and informing the whole story with its living presence. As a member of the King's Council and…
Pilgrim Eagle: A Review of Charles A. Coulombe’s History Text “Puritan’s Empire”
“This above all: To thine own self be true.” –William Shakespeare Puritan’s Empire by Charles A. Coulombe is a unique tour-de-force of American history from a Catholic high traditionalist perspective. Spanning the colonial period to…
Seven Stars and Seven Crowns: A Catholic Monarchist’s Perspective on “The Lord of the Rings”
The great Catholic author J.R.R. Tolkien once described his masterpiece The Lord of the Rings as a “story is cast in terms of a good side, and a bad side, beauty against ruthless ugliness, tyranny against kingship, moderated…
A Meditation on the Ocean
Newport Sands, Pembrokeshire’s North Coast A familiar welcome from a new friend. Pembrokeshire coast fights off the western seas like Cornwall. Big waves, long estuary, craggy cliffs. Early evening walk to the…