O'Loughlin, Thomas.  _Journeys on the Edges:  The Celtic Tradition_. (Maryknoll, NY:  Orbis
Books, 2000).  172 pp.
     Reviewed by Dr. Brad Eden, beden@ccmail.nevada.edu, University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

     As a medieval musicologist, liturgist, and historian, as well as an avid scholar of the early
Celtic and British histories and legends, I am extremely interested in examining books that attempt
to describe the Celtic liturgical traditions of the fifth through the twelfth centuries.  Given that
there is very little which survives, and given the huge amount of literature and discussion that has
been written on this topic by amateurs and new age enthusiasts, it is often difficult for the average
person to know what to believe or assume about the customs, thoughts, life, and liturgy of the
early Celtic Christian religion. As a part of the "Traditions of Christian Spirituality" series from
Orbis Books, this particular volume attempts to address these traditions and beliefs.
     This book is the most comprehensive, understandable, and indeed authoritative resource on
this topic that I have ever read.  The author has written and spoken extensively on this topic, and
his scholarly yet approachable discussion of the surviving documents and historical evidence
regarding early Celtic spirituality is commendable.  The world-view and customs of the Celtic
people strongly influenced and guided their approach and acceptance of Christianity, and while
current popular thought attempts to link Celtic pagan and Christian practices into some type of
holistic new age mysticism, O'Loughlin spends a considerable amount of time dealing with the
facts and truths that are known and verifiable.  He discusses some fascinating topics that are
unique to the mindset and spirituality of Celtic Christianity:  the strong belief that the Second
Coming of Christ was imminent; the concept of walking between two worlds; the idea of the
present being a "shadow" of things to come; the influence of Cassian and asceticism on the
direction of Celtic spirituality; the concept among the Celtic peoples of "living on the fringes"
both literally (as a nation) and figuratively (at the edge of time); the idea of the "inaccessible light"
of God and the liturgy of ineffability; how important journeys of faith and parables related to this
were to the Celtic mindset; and concepts of time both current, future, and spiritual.  Throughout
all of these discussions, the author somehow maintains and enhances the mysticism of Celtic
Christianity that tugs at our Western mindset and challenges our thoughts and opinions regarding
this particular Christian spirituality in history.  The author provides a wonderful list of books for
further reading, as well as a bibliography of insular and non-insular authors of primary sources. 
This is highly  recommended reading for those who wish an historical and scholarly understanding
of the early Celtic Christian tradition, those who wish to practice and authenticate early Celtic
spirituality and traditions, and those who would like a greater understanding of early Christianity
"on the fringes" during the decline of the Roman Empire from the fifth century onwards.

Orbis Books