As the situation of the nation worsens, many are weighing their options. One much-discussed alternative is what is called the Benedict Option. The Benedict Option is the name of a just-published book by journalist Rod Dreher. The author holds that conservatives have lost the Culture War and it is time to find a way to … Read more
Born 4 March, 1394; died 13 November, 1460; he was the fourth son of John I, King of Portugal, by Queen Philippa, a daughter of John of Gaunt. In 1415 he commanded the expedition which captured Ceuta, Portugal’s first oversea conquest, and there won his knightly spurs. Three years later he went to the assistance … Read more
[E]ven Rodrigo’s heroism [Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar, known as el Cid] could not save King Sancho from the fate that awaited him at Zamora. On October 7, a knight named Vellido Adolfo snuck into Sancho’s camp and killed him with a lance. This treacherous act was an eerie repetition of the death that had met … Read more
Chivalry (derived through the French cheval from the Latin caballus) as an institution is to be considered from three points of view: 1) the military, 2) the social, 3) and the religious. We shall also here consider: 4) the history of chivalry as a whole. 1) MILITARY In the military sense, chivalry was the heavy … Read more
Advocates of equality are only too eager to overthrow the present economic structures in the name of fairness and opportunity. According to their logic, inequality begets a two-tiered society where moneyed interests rule, while all others languish. In this oversimplified ever richer/ever poorer scenario, some kind of action is deemed necessary to level the playing … Read more
When introducing the book, Return to Order, I present the picture of a “party” economy that is frenzied and out of balance. One of the questions I am often asked later is: What can we do to fight the present disorder? People want to know what concrete steps they can take right now. They want … Read more
On campuses nationwide, students have whined about what they call “micro-aggressions.” People suffering from “micro-aggressions” are offended by tiny acts that might in some slight way, point to politically incorrect behavior. The offended student then feels free to demand changes from college administrators in a very macro-aggressive way. Such an attitude is an example of … Read more
Many parents consider themselves satisfied if they succeed in shielding their children from the horrible influences outside the home. They also need to consider the bad influences and distractions that appear inside the bosom of the family home. Parents should give great attention to developing those warm relationships inside an atmosphere of intense affection. Free … Read more
On a certain morning in 1208, probably 24 February, Francis was hearing Mass in the chapel of St. Mary of the Angels, near which he had then built himself a hut; the Gospel of the day told how the disciples of Christ were to possess neither gold nor silver, nor scrip for their journey, nor … Read more
Founder of the Franciscan Order, born at Assisi in Umbria, in 1181 or 1182 — the exact year is uncertain; died there, 3 October, 1226. Francis received some elementary instruction from the priests of St. George’s at Assisi, though he learned more perhaps in the school of the Troubadours, who were just then making for … Read more
