MAJOR NEWS: Entering a New Era with Tradition & Sanity — and Adding Writers!

There is much to announce on our second birthday - including 25% off on paid subscriptions until May 8th!

With the death of Pope Francis on April 21, we are truly entering a new era — and Tradition & Sanity is poised to be a vital part of it. In this post, I will explain why. I humbly ask you to read all that follows.

On Palm Sunday, April 13, 2025, Tradition & Sanity silently marked its second anniversary. I was going to mention this in a post right around that time, but, what with Holy Week, and then the pope’s death, let’s just say it’s been a whirlwind!

Beginnings

I want to go back a moment to the beginning. In this Substack’s inaugural post on April 13, 2023, I laid out a programmatic statement:

No fruit can be expected from a tree cut off from its roots or its branches. Our commitment to the great inheritance of faith and reason that is Catholicism is a matter of fidelity to the gifts and calling of God, which are irrevocable. What was sacred, remains sacred and great; what was true remains true; and so with all the treasures we have received.

Receiving and handing on is the natural way in which man lives as a rational, social, linguistic animal, engendering a society and simulaneously a culture at the heart of it; and since grace builds upon nature, the same is true of the Christian life: we live as members of the Mystical Body by receiving gifts and handing them on. That, in fact, is the Marian way of life.

I added:

The more rabidly secular and ecclesiastical figures attack all that is sacred and great, the more intense is my desire to explain, defend, and promote it across multiple media: books, articles, lectures, interviews, social media, and music — and certainly I am not alone in this deeply necessary and thrilling work, as we joyfully witness the wonderful renaissance of Catholic thought and culture taking place all around us, in the most unlikely places (unlikely, that is, from a modernist’s point of view).

I believe I have kept my promises as to the wide range of topics that would be considered here, and the larger purpose Tradition & Sanity would serve.

And I would like to thank you, dedicated readers — and especially all the paying subscribers — for making this Substack flourish.

Good News

At our first anniversary, things were looking good: in April 2024, we had about 5,500 readers and 600 paid subscribers. At that time we ranked #25 in all Substacks worldwide in the Faith & Spirituality category.

A year later, we have more than 11,000 readers and just over 1,000 paid subscribers. We have doubled or nearly doubled our numbers. And now we rank #22 in Faith & Spirituality.

Since the time of its launch, Tradition & Sanity has published 366 articles and nearly as many voiceovers, which have also reached countless people through podcast distribution.

This shows that Tradition & Sanity is here, and here to stay! DEO GRATIAS.

More Good News: Adding Writers

I launched this Substack as a venue for my own writing — and it will continue to be that, as I will always write the majority of the posts.

But, as frequent readers know, I’ve also always made a point of sharing the work of other Catholic thinkers whom I respect and admire. As I said in the inaugural post, “I am not alone in this deeply necessary and thrilling work.”

Last year, my son Julian, a fine writer himself, joined me, contributing once or twice a month (a little less lately as he finishes a major construction project, but he’ll still be here).

As our audience and influence grow, so also, I believe, should what we offer to the public grow in its diversity and range.

I am therefore very pleased to share the news that several superb Catholic writers have agreed to be regular contributors to Tradition & Sanity. Some of them will already be known to you; all are well worth your time. Here’s the roster so far:

Other guest contributors will join from time to time. I’m excited to open this platform to trustworthy traditional voices from whom we can all learn — indeed, from whom I have learned much, which is why I invited them on board! — and thus to expand its reach and repertoire.

We Need Your Help

The authors named above are, like me, wordsmiths who write for a living, and, accordingly, I’m not asking them to contribute for free!

To expand in the aforementioned way, we need to increase the number of our paid subscribers.

Right now, the proportion of paid to free readers is about 9.3%. That is, not quite 1 out of 10 of our readers at this time sustains the work that goes into producing Tradition & Sanity.

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, plundering your online behavior to guess your interests or weaknesses?). Believe me, no Catholic institutions, chanceries, non-profits, or think tanks are underwriting this project, as they consider trads to have the cooties and to be untouchables.

Tradition & Sanity is a venture of writers and readers, that’s all.

And it will be sustainable in the long run only if enough people sign up for a monthly or annual payment.

I understand. Times are tough. There are a lot of Substacks (more every day). But if you value and benefit from what you find here — and if you’d like to see it grow and expand, for the sake of spreading the traditional Catholic message far and wide — please take out a paid subscription. It is crucial to our survival and flourishing!

For the second anniversary of TRADITION & SANITY, we’re offering, from May 1 to May 8, a special LIFETIME DISCOUNT of 25% off:

“Why should I subscribe?”

Well you should ask. I would ask the same of any other Substack. It seems best to alllow my readers to answer the question.

Here’s one reader explaining why he loves The Weekly Roundup [TWR], published nearly every Friday:

When I thanked Stephen for his kind words, he added:

Another reader sent me this via email:

Permit me to apologise for the intrusion of yet another message, though I write compelled by a genuine sense of gratitude and admiration. I have lately found myself deeply absorbed in your writings — both the vivid historical analyses and the courageous normative witness you bear in defence of the traditional Latin Mass. Your work has stirred something both intellectual and devotional in me, for which I am sincerely thankful.

Providentially, I have discovered the traditional Mass here in Düsseldorf, and it has been a profound joy to attend the Holy Sacrifice in this form. I am increasingly persuaded that the old rite is not merely a treasure of the Church, but a school of reverence and spiritual order.

Thank you once more for your excellent work and luminous witness. I count it a blessing to have encountered your thought.

And yet another reader:

I don’t want to make this post too long, but I could quote many testimonials like this. To God be the glory!

Now, if you think these folks are speaking the truth, or if you’ve had a similar reaction yourself, then…

Take advantage of this rare and steep 25% discount to enable Tradition & Sanity to continue well into the future:

Boost Catholic Tradition up and up

Earlier, I mentioned that Tradition & Sanity is #22 of all Substacks worldwide in the Faith & Spirituality category.

If you look at what that gigantic category comprises, you will find apocalyptic ravings, feminists looking for religion, “healers” and astrologers, apostate priests, ecomaniacs, New Agers, Zionists, Buddhists, David Bentley Hart, and a lot more. In fact, as far as I can tell, there are only two Catholic Substacks that rank higher: The Pillar (no surprise there), and Emily Stimpson Chapman.

What this means is that traditional Catholicism, or Catholic traditionalism (whichever you prefer), has a prominent place on Substack. This is what serious Catholics want, what they are looking for, what they are amazed to find exists, and what the Church, in its better days, simply was.

I rejoice that there are so many fine traditional Catholic Substacks, and I do my best to showcase their work — think of how many times we’ve mentioned here The Sacred Images Project, Kmita’s Library, Via Mediaevalis, The Christian Imagination, Analogion, and so many others.

But Tradition & Sanity is, as far as I know, the only traditionalist publication that ranks in the top 100 in its category, and, if we can, we should try to make it even more prominent, to let the voice of tradition be heard loud and clear.

Can we successfully outrank some of the wacky Protestant apocalyptic ravings? The umpteenth attempt at Christianizing feminism? The wonky “religion for unbelievers” gigs? The Buddhist cosmic meanderings? Could we do that?

Maybe we can.

But it will take your subscriptions to do it.

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; and now, with the 25% off deal, that comes to 40 cents per article. Would you put a few 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 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, especially now that we are adding more writers.

Not to mention that, in taking out a subscription, you 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 Guardians of Tradition ($1,000/year), know that the team at T&S will be especially grateful for your generosity. It was precisely the pledges from a core group of patrons two years ago that convinced me it was possible and right to continue. Thank you! I have enjoyed sending patrons copies of my books, inscribed and signed.

And if you’d like to contribute in some other way than with a subscription — either with a single gift or with a recurring one — here are some options:

You could also give gift subscriptions to friends, family, clergy, whom you think would appreciate Tradition & Sanity:

Prayers for you

A year ago, I wrote the following:

I’ve prayed for you [readers] 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.

All this is absolutely true. I am still praying for you on Thursdays at Mass. At the Memento of the living, I offer this Holy Mass for you. That’s simply what I do, rain or shine. I am in your debt, as I couldn’t do this without you.

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 have to do so, because, after all, I am trying to make a living as a writer. And the same holds for the other writers whom I’ve invited, so that Tradition & Sanity can solidly become THE traditionalist Substack par excellence.

So, please, take advantage of this 25% off discount, which lasts for a limited time (May 1 to May 8):

Thank you for reading. May God bless you, and may Our Lady, whose month of May we joyfully enter today, intercede for you and all your loved ones.