Celebrating One Year of Tradition & Sanity (and a four-question poll at the end)

This one-year-old says Deo gratias!

On April 13, 2023, this Substack was launched with its first article — together with a leap of faith, very little technical know-how, and a loose plan that extended about, oh, a week at a time.

With help from heaven and support from many readers, we have reached the milestone of one year, and we’re still here, with no intention of going away!

• Since April 13, 2023, Tradition & Sanity has published 130 articles and nearly as many voiceovers.

• We have over 5,500 subscribed readers, of whom close to 600 are paying for a subscription (thank you).

• We’re moving toward a million landings on the site (if I’m reading the stats correctly, which can never be guaranteed — I am a Luddite doing my best to catch up with the 21st century).

• We are currently ranking #25 in all Substacks in the Faith & Spirituality category. Given that this category comprises everything that could plausibly or implausibly be connected with Faith & Spirituality — Evangelicals, atheists, Jews, New Age psychics, ecomaniacs, and who-knows-what-ists, from every corner of the inhabited world — that’s quite respectable! (As far as I can tell, there are only 3 Catholic Substacks ranking ahead of this one: “The Pillar”; “Through a Glass Darkly”; and “Letters from a Catholic Feminist.”)

• We added a monthly guest contributor, Julian Kwasniewski.

• And just last week, we added podcast functionality.

Thank you, dear readers, for putting this Substack on the map!

We’ve dealt here with a lot of things. Not in any particular order:

The Eucharistic Revival (what will work—and what won’t) • death and dying • the coronation of Charles III • the Synodal Process • divine drunkenness • integralism’s need for integration • the incorrupt body of Sister Wilhelmina • the Society of St. Pius X • the obligations of churchmen toward the common good • papal infallibility and jurisdiction • hyperpapalism’s likeness to Luther • the deep thoughts of a prisoner discovering tradition • liberal arts colleges • signs of the cross in the Roman Canon • heaven and hell • icons and iconoclasm • angels • Fatima and private revelations • the immutability of God • Vatican II and cultural revolution • Teilhard de Chardin • the Sunday Mass obligation • obedience and autonomy • several great works of art (Bassano, Rembrandt, a 15th-century German) • dressing and modesty • Elizabeth Gilbert • the state of the TLM in Latin America • the Apostle Thomas, Thomas Aquinas, and Thomas Cranmer (not at the same time!) • the circumcision of Christ • Fiducia Supplicans • and, last but not least, cats, espresso, and obscure musical instruments. And there was plenty more, but I didn’t want this paragraph to get too lengthy!

N.B. Newer readers: Take some time to check out the archives — lots there to explore!

The first year’s ten most popular articles were:

• On the SSPX and the Situation of Catholics “in the Trenches”

• How Did the Church Descend into a State of “Managed Decline”?

• The Most Beautiful Thing This Side of Heaven

• The Second Anniversary of “Prison-Guards of Treachery”

• Ten Ways to Get More Out of Mass (Part 1)

• Why Here, and Why Now?

• Teilhard de Chardin: A Key to Understanding Our Jesuit Pope

• Sometimes Even the Brighest Sheen Can Lose Its Mettle

• Whom Would You Trust about Hell—Our Lady or Pope Francis?

• No Eucharistic Revival without Restoration

On Sunday at my local FSSP parish

Thursday Mass

I’ve prayed for you nearly every Thursday of the past year. When I’m at the morning Low Mass, I offer my share in the Holy Sacrifice for “all the readers, subscribers, and benefactors of Tradition & Sanity, and for their families.” I promised I’d do this, and I’ve done it with joy, and will continue to do it. I’ve also prayed for the special intentions that some of you have shared with me.

From a supernatural point of view, we are in a spiritual battle, and we need God’s grace. Every day. This Substack is not just about ideas; it is about realities that bear on our salvation, and on the good estate of the entire Church. Prayer is not an afterthought.

Me, sometimes, when not in the choir loft

The nitty-gritty

I am writing three articles a week these days (apart from Julian’s monthly piece). This occupies a good deal of my work time. I take this Substack very seriously and want to give you consistently thoughtful work, from angles you won’t often see (or maybe ever see) elsewhere.

Each piece I publish is backed by research. The artwork takes a long time to pick out, because I seek images that are beautiful, striking, and germane. And as my readers know, I read every comment and respond to most of them. Tradition & Sanity is half of my workweek now.

I’ve been very grateful for the support of my paid subscribers, now 581 in number, out of ~5,500 total subscribers, that is, a little over 10%.

That means roughly 1 out of 10 of you are paying to keep this Substack going. It has no other funding than you. There are no ads on this site (isn’t it a relief not to have them aggressively trying to get your attention?). No chanceries, non-profits, or thinktanks are underwriting this project. It’s between me, the writer, and you, the readers. And it will be sustainable for me in the long run only if enough people sign up for a monthly or annual payment.

Can I count on more of you swelling the ranks of the 10%?

Could we double that number?

If you enjoy reading Tradition & Sanity—if you benefit from it—if you appreciate the work you find here—please consider taking out a paid subscription.

With 3 articles per week, or over 150 per year, that comes to circa 60 cents per article at the monthly rate, or 50 cents per article at the annual rate. Would you put a few quarters and dimes in my tip jar if I happened to be serving you a good, strong cup of Tradition & Sanity at a Catholic café?

Or (to keep up this café metaphor), would you be willing to buy me a large latte once or twice a month, if you had a chance?

That, dear readers, is the price I’ve set for this Substack. It seems reasonable. That’s more or less what I pay for my favorite Substacks by other writers. I believe in supporting good writing, so if you think my writing is any good, now is the time to take the plunge and show me that you’re willing to back it.

. . . Not to mention that, in doing so, you will gain access to all past articles, since the archives are available in full only to paying readers.

And if there are a few of you out there who are willing and able to become Patrons (that’s $250/year), know that I am especially grateful for your generosity. It was precisely the pledges from a core group of Patrons a year ago that convinced me that it was possible and right to continue. Thank you! I was glad to be able send each of you an inscribed and signed copy of The Once and Future Roman Rite.

Anyone who knows me well knows that I am uninterested in everything to do with numbers and money, except when cornered by the IRS and forced to disgorge, or when trying to figure out which home repairs can’t be delayed any longer — you get the idea. Many of my students have readily applied to me the old “absent-minded professor” label.

The point is, I hate to plead for subscriptions, but once in a while I need to do so, because, after all, I am trying to make a living as a writer.

If you have already subscribed and wish to do something more, you could give gift subscriptions to friends, family, clergy, whom you think would appreciate Tradition & Sanity.

I don’t need patronage at nearly this level… (source)

A brief poll of my readers

I do wonder about a few things — and that’s why I’m going to poll you! (This poll will be live for a week, and should take only a minute to complete.)

First, as you know, I’ve been reading my Monday & Thursday articles out loud for quite some time now, and I’m happy to keep doing it if you are benefiting from the voiceovers & podcasts, but I want to make sure enough of you are taking advantage of it to make it worth my while. (Bizarrely, Substack does not give its user any way to monitor how often the on-site voiceovers are accessed, so on that side there’s no information for me to go on, except what you tell me.)

Second, I worry that I’m posting too much, given all the demands on our time nowadays. So:

Third, as a trained academic, a former professor, and a writer of books, I do tend to write rather lengthy pieces, at least as compared with the “optimal 2,000 words” recommended by some members of the Substack community. I do want to be sensitive to how my readers are engaging with (or not engaging with) the content — and if there is something I can do to make that relationship better, I want to know it!

Let me ask you, then:

Lastly, I wonder about the days of the week on which I’m posting. Originally, I picked Thursday in honor of the Most Holy Eucharist. Then I started a weekly roundup on Saturday. Then I added Monday (which some commentators out there say is a bad day for posting, since… “it’s a Monday”). Finally, I changed the roundup to Friday, thinking it better than Saturday.

But frankly, I don’t know what’s best for most readers, or even if there is a “best.” I’m shooting in the dark. So, then:

Thanks for taking the poll!

If you have any further thoughts or suggestions, please let me know:

Once again, I’m glad to have you as part of the Tradition & Sanity fellowship!