Yet One More Tribute for a True American Knight, John W. Ripley

Yet One More Tribute for a True American Knight, John W. Ripley

Since its inception, the American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property (TFP) has admired and promoted the ideals of chivalry. This rigorous code of conduct and way of life provides a much-needed model in a world without honor and virtue. Medieval knighthood still captures the American imagination. Youth are especially attracted to … Read more

What Should We Ask From Our Lady on Our 250th Birthday?

This year, we celebrate the 250th year of our nation’s birth. Over all those years, we have lived, suffered and triumphed together. We have known good times and bad. Overall, we have much to show for our efforts. Never has a more prosperous nation existed in history. It helps that God gave us a richly … Read more

Why Suds Matter in a Pint of Beer

Why Suds Matter in a Pint of Beer

Serving a beer without foam is a mild tragedy, akin to handing someone an espresso stripped of its crema. Not everyone understands why suds matter. In fact, many drinkers view foam as an enemy—a cynical trick bartenders use to shortchange them on the actual liquid. Yet this fluffy, protein-rich network of bubbles is the unsung … Read more

How Catholic Principles Shaped Pugin’s Bold Architecture

The following article is the second of a four-part series that features the life of Augustus Pugin, the renown English Catholic architect of the nineteenth century. The first article is found here. Long before Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin accepted the tenets of Catholicism, he absorbed its culture. Like many young men, Pugin was both his … Read more

Visiting Sainte-Chapelle: A Sublime Experience that Cleanses the Soul

When considering sublime things, Saint Louis IX’s Sainte-Chapelle naturally comes to mind. Indeed, the definition of the sublime is “that which overawes us by its grandeur and beauty.” When most people go to see this gem of civilization in Paris, they oftentimes see a reflection of this chapel before they even step through the grandiose … Read more

An Appalling Alliance to Disfigure Notre-Dame

An Appalling Alliance to Disfigure Notre-Dame

There is something profoundly unacceptable in the Notre-Dame stained-glass window affair: an appalling alliance to impose the ideological mark of modernity on the historic cathedral in Paris that was recently restored. The powers that be want to change a sector of windows from the nineteenth century with modernistic ones. On one side stands the political … Read more

Probing the Limits of Standardization

Probing the Limits of Standardization

The industrialized world often mistreats the consumer. With so many mass-produced and standardized products, I sometimes feel standardized myself. There are limits to standardization. Some products present no problems since we benefit from their uniformity. Others cause us to lose our personality since we have to adapt to them. For example, I have no problem … Read more