Advent: From the Latin ad-venio, to come to. “Send down the dew, ye heavens, from above, and let the clouds rain the Just One: let the earth be opened, and bud forth the Redeemer.” These words of the Advent hymn, Rorate Caeli, echo the longings of the Fathers of old for the coming of a … Read more
Christmas is a special time for children, who are attracted by the sublime and themes of wonder and grace. As at the time of His birth, the Divine Infant radiates innocence and joy in a sinful world. Children especially sense these special graces and share in the Christmas joy. Even the commercialization of Christmas cannot … Read more
This Thanksgiving, the COVID crisis threatens and discourages all the material trappings that usually characterize the secularized holiday: big family get-togethers, sporting events and “Black Friday” shopping binges. We are left with a more subdued atmosphere that is conducive to thinking about higher things. There is much to consider. It seems that so much that … Read more
In the face of the coronavirus crisis, real leaders should help establish the seriousness of the threat. Nevertheless, in many places, they are failing miserably. Their misguided decisions provide ammunition for corona-skeptics to question unfairly applied restrictions and fuel conspiracy theories about hidden agendas. In many jurisdictions, COVID pandemic measures appear to be biased against … Read more
Every Democrat who has run for president since 1960 has promised to fix America’s public schools. That promise remains unfulfilled. American schools have not improved, and many argue that they have grown progressively worse over the last half-century. No part of life in America is as socialist as public education. Therefore, education is a happy … Read more
The great mask controversy exploded on the scene as the COVID crisis developed. Contrary to what might be expected, the demand for masking soon became a major issue. A simple matter of medical precaution turned into an ideological fight running along the same fault lines now polarizing the nation. Almost immediately (with reasonable medical exceptions), … Read more
As the exhaustive election cycle ends, it is hard not to feel disappointed by the results, disputed though they may be. With all the existential threats facing the nation, this contest should have been a clash of great ideas. All the right issues were there waiting to be addressed: the need for traditional family values, … Read more
“What’s a “normal” family in 2020? There’s only one answer: Whatever you want it to be.” That is the assessment of Claire Gillespie, writing in The Week. A Generation Battered by Divorce By modern standards, Mrs. Gillespie is not outwardly radical. Her bio states that she “lives in Scotland with her husband and six kids.” … Read more
Among conservatives, the 2020 elections had the best intentions of defending vaguely Christian principles in an aggressive neo-pagan world. Neither side entirely prevailed. Indeed, the nation’s county-electoral map remains the same vast red rural sea with urban islands of blue that first appeared in the Presidential election of 2000. Such has been the course of … Read more
On November 7, supporters and friends of The American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property (TFP), and its Return to Order campaign, gathered in the small town of Alma west of Topeka, Kansas, for their annual regional conference. Because of COVID restrictions, organizers chose a location in a more rural county that … Read more
