'Descartes carved reality into the res extensa and the res cogitans—the realm of body that yields to the methods of science and the realm of mind in which freedom reigns supreme. Trans ideology is parasitic on a crude version of this mind-body dualism.'

europeanconservative.com/articles/essay…

The emergence in our days of a rich literature on the pope and the papacy—a veritable renaissance of theological discussion—might well be seen as one “silver lining” on the very dark clouds that oppress us. Today I review six books in this area.

traditionsanity.substack.com/p/the-emergenc…

I'd bookmark this as THE piece to send to anyone (Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox...) who's wondering about the genuinely Catholic understanding of 'development of doctrine.' Very capably eviscerates the false notions of it so popular today.

firstthings.com/article/2024/0…

When 'the world is too much with us,' somehow we must pull back. The smartphone is a major offender here. I don't have one, because I don't want to drag around the same ball-and-chain as I see everyone else dragging around.

crisismagazine.com/opinion/the-1-…

Friday music:

Vivaldi's Spring from The Four Seasons RV 269, performed only on recorders, by the Berliner Blockflöten Orchester.

The tweeting of the birds - normally covered by the violins but here by the sopranino - actually sound like birds.

youtube.com/watch?v=drc-H_…

'I saw in the ad a revelation of a metaphysical and religious horror: the destruction of material reality itself, and the digitization of life as we know it as the Machine relentlessly conquers humanity.'

europeanconservative.com/articles/comme…

Just finished an interview with Robert Moynihan. He kept throwing objections at me (and 'trads') the whole time, so it was anything but soporific! Though I will say Bob is very sympathetic to the trad case for what has gone wrong and what needs to happen.

youtube.com/watch?v=uwi0Q1…

A blessed feast of the Ascension of Our Lord! We will be celebrating it with a Solemn Mass this evening and I can't wait to chant the Propers, which, like the mystery of the day, rise and rise in their melodic arcs.

(40 days after Easter, always on a Thursday)

You can find people who assert this as fact. Yet Ralph Wood, a prestigious O’Connor authority, refuted that notion long ago, first in a 1979 article and then in his 2005 book 'Flannery O’Connor and the Christ-Haunted South.' Here's the full scoop.

traditionsanity.substack.com/p/was-flannery…

Damian Thompson takes no prisoners in his appraisal of the current pontificate. This article is brutal, thorough, and-- unfortunately-- accurate.

unherd.com/2024/04/the-sc…

Catholics: If you are opposed to the Boy Scouts accepting girls, I hope you are also opposed to girls being altar boys, because the arguments for girls being Boy Scouts are actually stronger than for them being altar boys.

Strickland retweets a crackpot, and Where Peter Is can issue a full analysis of his allegedly schismatic tendencies within the hour.

Francis can shield Marko Rupnik and other sex abusers for years, and Where Peter Is offers crickets.

The hypocrisy never fails to amaze.

Don Davide Pagliari , the Superior General of the FSSPX,in an interview released on 5th May, assessed the current relationship between the Indult institutes and the current Pontificate in the light of Traditionis Custodes (quite charitably as it happens). SSPX News: Society of Saint Pius X

Quite a good article, a bit rambling but with lots of great quotations on the problem of antiquarianism, including a slam-dunk from Tolkien.

ccwatershed.org/2024/05/08/j-r…

An amazing figure: devoted to Mass, Adoration & Rosary but also to Catholic Social Teaching & aiding the poor, often at great inconvenience & expense to himself. An outdoorsman & practical joker, he wasn't afraid of a fistfight, AND he smoked a pipe.

ncregister.com/features/pier-…

Interview Dr Peter Kwasniewski at Sanctus Ranch youtu.be/90DCBo3Ag_U?si… via YouTube Peter Kwasniewski

My keynote address at Sanctus Ranch is now available for viewing.

youtube.com/watch?v=VOmUsB…

The “Team Francis” Guide to Evangelizing on Twitter:

1. Ignore the arguments of those who disagree with you, no matter how scholarly or respectfully presented

2. When you can’t ignore them, try to shout them down with the accusation of “dissent”

3. When that doesn’t work,…

This week at NLM: pictures of the ambitious Marian painting-cycle under way for the monastic church of the Benedictine Monks of Norcia. The style could be described as neo-Renaissance. See the article for more photos:

newliturgicalmovement.org/2024/05/norcia…

Why I signed the May 2nd statement, and why the situation we are dealing with is unprecedented, which helps explain why unprecedented measures (still entirely in line with Catholic theology) are needed:

traditionsanity.substack.com/p/why-i-signed…