Collected here are articles and reviews that have appeared in print, as well as a presentation of my books. There are a few interviews and some sound material, notably my reading of the Gospels in Greek, a project that remains work in progress.

On Abuse – Again

6 January 2022
This book lists symptoms of unhealth in the manner of the Desert Fathers, who chartered the vagaries of corrupted passions and showed where, unchecked, they lead. The result is a phenomenology of abuse: a sobering, terrifying, helpful account. Continue reading

Ovsiannikov, Journey to Freedom

6 March 2021 The Tablet
We like to assume that what stands between us and freedom is an accident of sorts; that we were at some point, be it at the moment of our birth, gloriously free, but that something then happened which curtailed our liberty. We spend years of our lives, perhaps, on analysts’ couches trying to identify that moment of destiny, wishing to reclaim what we consider ours by nature and by right. Continue reading

Lipsey, Make Peace Before the Sun Goes Down

4 February 2016 The Merton Journal
Even the mere dabbler in Mertoniana will have formed a picture of Dom James Fox, abbot of Gethsemani from 1948 to 1967. It is unlikely to be flattering. Continue reading

Lang, Signs of the Holy One

23 November 2015 The Brompton Oratory
Popular liturgical debate does not always impress by high metaphysical intent. To speak with Teresa, one sometimes feels closer to the poultry yard than to the silent flight of eagles. Continue reading

Henri Le Saux: Moine de Kergonan

8 June 2015 Collectanea Cisterciensia
How can a monastic community, conservative by temperament and conviction, integrate the exceptional charism and call of individuals within it? How far can the fabric of community identity stretch without tearing? Continue reading

Gertrud von Helfta, Botschaft von Gottes Güte

3 June 2015 Collectanea Cisterciensia
Women of exceptional intelligence and spiritual gifts lived side by side here during Gertrud’s lifetime. We are shown how the environment moulded and refined the young nun as a scholar and writer, but also as ‘a most sensitive human being, open to all that is beautiful and good’. Continue reading

Porion, Lettres et écrits spirituels

15 April 2015 Collectanea Cisterciensia
Having spent several months with this book, reading a letter or two a day, I put it down with a sense of bereavement. Dom Porion is a wonderful correspondent: gracious, concise, engaged. Continue reading

Moses, Divine Discontent

21 March 2015 The Tablet
Thomas Merton was born on 31 January 1915. This volume is one of many brought out to celebrate him during his centenary year. Continue reading

Collectio Exemplorum Cisterciensis

22 February 2014 Collectanea Cisterciensia
The peccadillos of the higher clergy, including Cistercian abbots, are straightforwardly recounted if they serve the upbuilding of the readers. Continue reading

Dall’Oglio, La sete di Ismaele

13 April 2013 Collectanea Cisterciensia
La tendance à relativiser la spécificité du christianisme sous prétexte de l’universalité du Christ fait de ces essais une articulation réductrice du patrimoine chrétien moyen-oriental. Il y manque une saine réflexion sur l’altérité. Continue reading

Arven fra Byzans

8 June 2010 St Olav Tidsskrift
Når det gjelder gjengs norsk holdning til klassiske studier, kan man ha inntrykk av at Alexander Kiellands fordømmende blikk stirrer like inn i vår folkesjel. Vi plages av tanken på Fru Gottwalds Lille Marius, som resiterte sin deklinasjonstabell like inn i døden etter et så altfor kort liv ødelagt av brutalt pådrevet og helt unyttig lærdom. Continue reading

Bertoniere, The Monks of Spencer

8 October 2009 Cîteaux - Commentarii cistercienses
The nature of Benedictine ‘stabilitas’ as fidelity to a faith-reality embodied in a human group, not to an edifice, is examined from various angles throughout the book. Continue reading