I encourage you to read this post to the end, as it contains very important news on every aspect of my Substack—and special offers!
Long-time readers will recall Tradition & Sanity’s inaugural post on April 13, 2023, in which I announced why I was launching it:
I claimed:
In the face of unprecedented attacks on Catholic doctrine, morality, and liturgy, there’s never been a better time to say “What happened?” and “Where do we go from here?”…
The fundamental principle behind this Substack is that which Benedict XVI enunciated on 7/7/07: “What earlier generations held as sacred, remains sacred and great for us too, and it cannot be all of a sudden entirely forbidden or even considered harmful. It behooves all of us to preserve the riches which have developed in the Church’s faith and prayer, and to give them their proper place” (Con Grande Fiducia).
I call this the “sacred and great” principle.
To my mind it covers far more than liturgy—even if liturgy is the still point, the axis around which Catholicism revolves, both here on earth and in the world to come where the Lamb once slain, bearing His glorified wounds, receives the homage of all creation and offers its worship, gathered into His Heart, to the Father Almighty. No, the principle goes well beyond this, permeating the whole of reality.
All of the riches that have developed in the Church’s faith and prayer, indeed all of the riches that have developed beneath her protecting mantle and under the shadow of her wing—the fine arts, the great music, architecture, painting, sculpture, and poetry, the luxuriant garden of patristics, the towering fortresses of scholastic philosophy and theology, the schools of spirituality, devotions of every sort, the “other modern” that consists of fruitful engagements with tradition, the nearly infinite ramifications of the multitudinous epiphenomena of Catholicism—yes, it behooves us to preserve all of this, to ponder what is good, noble, true, right, beautiful, and holy, and to give it a proper place in our hearts, in our churches, in our world.
That was almost three and half years ago.
And now, over 600 (!) posts later, I believe, before God, that I have remained true to what I set out to do. Nor has the mission become any less urgent; if anything, the contrary.
Tradition & Sanity started from scratch, and slowly grew until it ranked high among all the “Faith & Spirituality” Substacks the world over (and we still rank high). Thanks to an ever increasing number of subscribers, I was able to invite guest contributors whose work has added richness and variety—among them, Angela Cuba, Joseph Shaw, Sebastian Morello, Fr. Thomas Crean OP, Anthony Jones, Esther Berry, Linton Hatcher, Jeremy Holmes, and Thomas Storck.
The Pelican Phase of Tradition & Sanity
About a year ago, on October 7, 2025, a group of Catholics launched a major initiative called Pelican+. It quickly gained momentum and popularity. Our vision was to create a new platform that would offer features and advantages that other platforms lacked.
On the one hand, we created what we set out to create: the Pelican+ app offers users many different kinds of podcasts, articles, and interviews, a large library of written and recorded prayers, a library of Gregorian chants and sacred music, a library of ebooks and audiobooks including the Gospels, Roman Martyrology, and Butler’s Lives, a full series called Coffee & Catechism, daily liturgical calendars (pre-55 and 1962), Divine Office prayers in multiple formats, programs for families and children, the entire vault of Mass of the Ages… and a lot more. In fact, if you were to visit the app every day and watch or listen to one thing, it would take years to go through all that we have there. And we are still adding on to it, week by week.
On the other hand, we underestimated a few realities that became apparent over time.
First, many Substack users are very attached to this platform, which has been a crossroads of serious writing and reading for many years now. And even though AI slop began to seep in like uncontained sewage, Substack took the remarkable step of identifying the AI slop. Yes, it’s a very crowded space these days, with more noise and distraction than used to be the case, but overall it’s a good platform and I do understand why many readers of Tradition & Sanity simply didn’t want to transition over to Pelican.
Second, we underestimated the extent to which some of the readers of Tradition & Sanity were only ever interested in this Substack, and not in the other content we made available on Pelican. They wouldn’t have objected to it, of course, but they simply weren’t “into” it. Instead, they came here to read my work (and, probably, the work of those who directly write for me), and they wished to support me financially. In other words, their focus was on Dr. K’s work, not on Pelican+.
Thus, it was a mistake to try to elevate Pelican+ over Substack in such a way that readers were faced with an “either/or”: either you read my work at the new place, or you don’t gain full access to it. As a result, a good many readers de facto gave up access to my paywalled writing, and perhaps some walked away in frustration. I apologize for that, and I think readers who have remained here will be happy with what I am announcing today.
I’d also like to issue a heartfelt apology to any readers who were confused or stymied or frustrated by any aspect of the Substack/ Pelican relationship—e.g., a subscription unexpectedly running out, or not being able to access one or the other platform when you thought you should be able to. If anyone has any questions at all, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me.
Another very unfortunate thing is that, at one point, Pelican suffered a data loss that affected a good many of my older articles, such that the full text can no longer be found either there or here. We’ve worked on recovering the data but it’s a long road.
In short: Pelican+ is still in operation; it still offers individuals and families access to extraordinary traditional Catholic content; I am still connected with it, still recommend it, and am still posting my T&S articles on it. I encourage you to check out what it offers, because its sum-total of offerings is unique in the world of Catholic media.
Returning to Substack as the Base
That being said, my focus as an individual writer has returned to this Substack. This has several practical consequences.
Firstly, the revenue that comes to this Substack will be used exclusively to support me, my apostolate as a defender of Catholic tradition, and my occasional guest writers. This Substack is no longer integrated into Pelican+ as a “tributary”; it is an independent, self-governing website. Thus, your paid subscription here is a crucial way of supporting me and my team. If you like the work I do on behalf of the TLM and everything else true, right, holy, beautiful, and good, this is the most direct way to support it.
Tradition & Sanity is still going strong, thanks be to God, and thanks be to you! But I will be honest and tell you that we’ve seen a lull, and my goal is to restore T&S to its full glory as a major vehicle for spreading the good news of tradition.
Secondly, you’ll see periodic discounts and special offers, connected (naturally!) to the liturgical year. If we’re going to rebuild this Substack, we need large numbers to invest in it.
Thus, for the first week of the month of Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary, I am offering a 25% discount on all paid subscriptions, which will give you full access to the twice-weekly paywalled articles as well as the plentiful and valuable archives:
(Don’t forget that I record a voiceover for every Monday and Thursday article; if you subscribe, you’ll gain access to those podcasts—which many have told me are very handy for commutes, household chores or yardwork, long drives to Mass, or even homeschooling enrichment!)
Thirdly, I am reactivating the “Guardian of Tradition” membership level, for those who wish to invest more significantly in the future of Tradition & Sanity. Those who choose that option will receive, if they wish[*], an inscribed and signed hardcover copy of my latest book, Mystic Rose in God’s Fair Garden Growing: Our Lady on Prayer, the Mass, and Union with Christ. (I’ll say more about this new book below.)
[*] I will reach out privately to ask an address to ship it to.
A Work of Liturgical Prayer
Early on, I promised my readers that I was going to pray for them each week. Here’s what I said on the one-year anniversary of this Substack:
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.
I returned to this theme on the second anniversary:
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.
And, indeed, that has remained true: every Thursday I offer my share in the Mass and Holy Communion for you and your intentions. I view this as a collaborative enterprise. If you are a Catholic, we are members of the same Mystical Body; grace circulates among us as our lifeblood. (And if you’re not a Catholic, I still pray for you, that one day we may belong to, and partake of, the same body.)
On that same second anniversary, I also wrote the following, which I couldn’t really improve on:
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 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 special offer of 25% off, which lasts for a limited time (October 1 to October 8):
More personal & professional posts
Fourthly, you will see an increase of the kind of personal and professional posts I used to make at my Substack, announcing upcoming lectures, highlighting new books of mine or books published by Os Justi Press, and sharing a miscellany of items of potential interest to tradition-loving Catholics.
Again, this Substack is where to go, now, if you wish to follow and support my work specifically and personally.
I hope, in short, to make this Substack more like it was “in the old days,” and I am counting on you to help me achieve this relaunch and revitalization.
One last point and a very important one: I have NEVER used AI to compose any article here, and I never will. The same rule holds for all the contributors to T&S. This is our sworn guarantee. I once caught a contributor using it, learned my lesson (as you can read here), and removed all his items from the archives.
New book on Our Lady
I’m delighted to use this post as the occasion for announcing my new book: Mystic Rose in God’s Fair Garden Growing: Our Lady on Prayer, the Mass, and Union with Christ (Arouca Press, 2026). You can see the full cover spread above.
The description:
The Blessed Virgin Mary is the authoritative guide to living the Christian faith—above all, when it comes to its pulsing heart, the Holy Mass.
Thus claims Dr. Kwasniewski in this refreshing book, which weaves together theological, liturgical, and devotional insights into Our Lady. Disclosing the subtle splendors of the Holy Rosary, the author draws out its intimate kinship with the Latin Mass and shows the place it ought to have, next to the Divine Office, in a Catholic’s life of prayer; he discovers unsuspected riches in the familiar Leonine prayers; he unfolds the meaning of select Marian feasts and apparitions, specifying the obligations a Catholic has toward approved private revelations.
Nor do these pages shy away from controversial questions, such as: why Fatima deserves to be accepted and Medjugorje rejected; how the vision of Knock provides a key to understanding the crisis through which we are passing; why the traditional Roman Rite is profoundly Marian in its principles and practice, whereas the modern rite imposed in 1969 is anti-Marian, endangering the Church’s vocation as virgin, bride, and mother; and why the Holy Theotokos should be held and hailed as mediatrix of all graces and co-redemptrix.
And since the Queen of Heaven is “all beautiful,” the book pays her loving homage with dozens of full-color artworks to nourish the imagination.
Mystic Rose in God’s Fair Garden Growing will help Catholics come to a deeper appreciation of—and an ever more constant reliance upon—“the mother of fair love and of fear, of knowledge and of holy hope.”
The Table of Contents:
The book features over 40 color illustrations. The luxuriant layout, with wide margins and handsome typography, is a joy to behold.
Here are a few of the left/right spreads as samples (the colors are more vibrant on the printed copy than in these screenshots):
Alex Barbas (director of Arouca Press) and I worked overtime to have Mystic Rose ready for the month of Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary. We are taking orders, and we’ll ship the books as soon as they are in stock!
If you’d like a signed copy, you can get it from the Os Justi Press site.
If you’re a customer in Canada and you’d like to give your business directly to the publisher, your best bet would be Arouca Press, located in Ontario.
If you live outside of North America, the Amazon site nearest you is the best way to get this book without paying exorbitant shipping.
***N.B. Fulfillment of orders will take place later in October.
I hope you’ll consider picking up a copy of Mystic Rose for meditation, to enrich your understanding and love of our heavenly Mother and Queen.
A Last Appeal
From today until October 8, I am offering Tradition & Sanity at 25% off:
To long-time subscribers; to new subscribers; to everyone who has ever supported this apostolate, thank you, and may God bless you!
I’ve left the comments open to everyone; feel free to give me feedback below.
I have been praying the 55 office and all I hear is just, justice, and just. My prayer life is on rocket fuel, thank you, and am a Kennedy kid, I relate to him most.
Excited to see the new book! Ive already placed my order over at Os Justi 😉. For me personally at least, I’m glad to support you and your work more directly over here on this platform. God Bless!