Preferential Option…What Is It?

November 2, 2023

By Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira Preferential option for the nobility. At first glance this expression may startle readers familiar with the more common phrase often used Pope John Paul II: “preferential option for the poor.” Nevertheless, what inspires this book is precisely a preferential option for the nobility. The objection may be raised that, ex […]

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The Institution Of All Souls’ Day

November 2, 2023

It was St. Odilo of Cluny who first appointed one day every year to be set aside in a special manner for prayer for the faithful departed. It happened that a certain religious belonging to France was returning home from Palestine, where he had gone to visit the places consecrated by the foot steps of […]

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November 2 – His mother celebrated his death as if it were a wedding

November 2, 2023

Blessed John Bodey, Martyr, born at Wells, Somerset: 1549; died at Andover, Wilts., 2 November, 1583. He studied at Winchester and New College, Oxford, of which he became a Fellow in 1568. In June, 1576, he was deprived, with seven other Fellows, by the Visitor, Horne, Protestant Bishop of Winchester. Next year he went to […]

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November 3 – Patron of Buckingham

November 2, 2023

St. Rumwold of Buckingham His father was king of Northumberland, his mother a daughter of Penda, king of the Mercians. He was born at Sutthun, and baptized by Widerin, a bishop, the holy priest Eadwold being his godfather. He died very young on the 3rd of November and was buried in Sutthun by Eadwold. The […]

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November 3 – Patron of hunting

November 2, 2023

St. Hubert, Confessor, thirty-first Bishop of Maastricht, first Bishop of Liège, and Apostle of the Ardennes, born about 656; died at Fura (the modern Tervueren), Brabant, 30 May, 727 or 728. He was honored in the Middle Ages as the patron of huntsmen, and the healer of hydrophobia (rabies). He was the eldest son of […]

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November 3 – The Battle of Mentana

November 2, 2023

It was a dark and gloomy morning, pouring rain, when this little army of some five thousand men filed out of the Porta Pia in a colorful parade, Pius IX’s Swiss General Rafael de Courten’s papal troops leading and the French contingent bringing up the rear…. Famous since classical times as a suburban retreat some […]

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November 4 – Her gentleness changed his heart

November 2, 2023

Bl. Frances d’Amboise, Duchess of Brittany, afterwards Carmelite nun, born 1427; died at Nantes, 4 Nov., 1485. The daughter of Louis d’Amboise, Viscount de Thouars, she was betrothed when only four years old, to Peter, second son of John V, Duke of Brittany, the marriage being solemnized when she had reached the age of fifteen. […]

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November 5 – Her name means “God is an oath”

November 2, 2023

St. Elizabeth, (God is an oath—Ex., vi, 23). Zachary’s wife and John the Baptist’s mother, was “of the daughters of Aaron” (Luke, i, 5), and, at the same time, Mary’s kinswoman (Luke, i, 36), although what their actual relationship was, is unknown. St. Hippolytus (in Niceph. Call., Hist. Eccles., II, iii) explains that Sobe and […]

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October 30 – St. Marcellus the Centurion, Martyr

October 30, 2023

The birthday of the emperor Maximian Herculeus was celebrated in the year 298, with extraordinary feasting and solemnity. Pompous sacrifices to the Roman gods made a considerable part of this solemnity. Marcellus, a Christian centurion or captain of the legion of Trajan, then posted in Spain, not to defile himself with taking part in those […]

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Conviviality Among Men Always and Necessarily Produces a Scale of Degrees and Differences

October 30, 2023

Pius XII says in his allocution to Fiat workers on October 31, 1948: “Human society always produces, of necessity, a whole scale of degrees and differences in physical and intellectual qualities…” “The Church does not promise the absolute equality that others claim, for she knows that human society always produces, of necessity, a whole scale […]

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October 31 – He forced the devil to build a church

October 30, 2023

St. Wolfgang, Bishop of Ratisbon (972-994), born about 934; died at the village of Pupping in upper Austria, 31 October, 994. The name Wolfgang is of early German origin. St. Wolfgang was one of the three brilliant stars of the tenth century, St. Ulrich, St. Conrad, and St. Wolfgang, which illuminated the early medieval period […]

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All Saints’ Day: How many saints were noble?

October 30, 2023

All Saints’ Day: Is Being Noble and Leading a Noble’s Life Incompatible with Sanctity? by Plinio Correa de Oliveira The current misunderstanding of nobility and the analogous traditional elites results largely from the adroit but biased propaganda spread against them by the French Revolution. Such propaganda, continuously disseminated throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries by […]

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November 1 – Warrior bishop

October 30, 2023

St. Genesius (of Lyons) (Or GENESTUS.) Thirty-seventh Archbishop of Lyons, d. 679. Feast, 1 November. He was a native of France, not of Arabia or Armenia as is sometimes stated and became a religious and abbot (not of Fontenelle, but) attached to the court and camp of Clovis II where he acted as chief almoner […]

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November 1 – For saving her people, she was made their judge

October 30, 2023

Deborah the Prophetess (also known as Debbora the Judge, Deborah the Matriarch) Prophetess and judge: she was the wife of Lapidoth and was endowed by God with prophetic gifts which secured for her the veneration of the divided Israelitic tribes and gave her great authority over them. Her wisdom was first displayed in settling litigious […]

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The Marquess of Pontelena checks the absolutism of Joseph I, King of Portugal

October 26, 2023

Being in conversation with some nobles, Joseph I, King of Portugal, commented on a monarch’s authority over his subjects. The Marquis of Pontelena dared to suggest that there are limits to that power. The king, not willing to admit any such checks, retorted: “If I were to order you to throw yourself into the sea, […]

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The Important Mission of Nobility Today – Interview with Professor Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira

October 26, 2023

Catolicismo magazine, no. 511, July 1993 (www.catolicismo.com.br) CATOLICISMO: Why have you chosen the nobility as the theme for your most recent book? Prof. Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira: It seems to me that at present, the attitude of public opinion toward the nobility is much less marked by the errors of the French Revolution than it […]

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Royal Forums: The Duchess of Braganza Presents the Order of St. Isabel to European Royals

October 26, 2023

According to the Royal Forums: On October 27, the Duchess of Braganza conferred the Order of Saint Isabel upon several European royal ladies in recognition of their philanthropic work. The ceremony was held at the Portuguese Catholic Cathedral of Rome, Italy. It was followed by a luncheon hosted in the Portuguese Embassy. Also present for […]

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October 27 – Apostle of Africa

October 26, 2023

Sts. Edesius and Frumentius Tyrian Greeks of the fourth century, probably brothers, who introduced Christianity into Abyssinia; the latter a saint and first Bishop of Axum, styled the Apostle of Abyssinia, d. about 383. When still mere boys they accompanied their uncle Metropius on a voyage to Abyssinia. When their ship stopped at one of […]

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October 28 – Saint, Soldier, Statesman

October 26, 2023

Saint Alfred the Great In this incomparable prince were united the saint, the soldier, and the statesman in a most eminent degree. Sir Henry Spelman (Conc. Brit.) gives us his character in a rapture. “O, Alfred,” says he, “the wonder and astonishment of all ages! If we reflect on his piety and religion, it would […]

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October 28 – Col. John W. Ripley: Uncommon Valor

October 26, 2023

Col. John W. Ripley: Uncommon Valor By Jeremias Wells An American Knight When a society no longer respects and honors the fighting men willing to shed their blood for its principles, the fault lies not with the fighting men but with society itself. Ingratitude is a subtle vice, but a vice nevertheless. Saint Thomas Aquinas […]

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October 29 – One of the Martyrs of Douai

October 26, 2023

Blessed Edward Waterson Born at London; martyred at Newcastle-on-Tyne, 7 January 1594 (1593 old style). A romantic episode marks this martyr’s early career, for as a young man he travelled to Turkey with some English merchants, and attracted the attention of a wealthy Turk, who offered him his daughter in marriage if he would embrace […]

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October 23 – Knight, Lawyer, Governor, Ambassador, Friar, Prisoner, Reformer, Crusader General, Renaissance Saint

October 23, 2023

St. John of Capistrano Born at Capistrano, in the Diocese of Sulmona, Italy, 1385; died 23 October, 1456. His father had come to Naples in the train of Louis of Anjou, hence is supposed to have been of French blood, though some say he was of German origin. His father dying early, John owed his […]

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October 23 – Made eunuch because he was prince

October 23, 2023

St. Ignatius of Constantinople Born about 799; died 23 October, 877; son of Emperor Michael I and Procopia. His name, originally Nicetas, was changed at the age of fourteen to Ignatius. Leo the Armenian having deposed the Emperor Michael (813), made Ignatius a eunuch and incarcerated him in a monastery, that he might not become […]

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October 24 – Confessor to the Queen

October 23, 2023

St. Antonio María Claret y Clará Spanish prelate and missionary, born at Sallent, near Barcelona, 23 Dec., 1807; died at Fontfroide, Narbonne, France, on 24 Oct., 1870. Son of a small woollen manufacturer, he received an elementary education in his native village, and at the age of twelve became a weaver. A little later he […]

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October 25 – The original hood

October 23, 2023

Hugh Capet King of France, founder of the Capetian dynasty, born about the middle of the tenth century; died about 996, probably 24 October. He was the second son of Hugh the Great, Count of Paris, and Hedwig, sister of Otto I, German Emperor, and was about ten years old when he inherited from his […]

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October 25 – Crispin Crispian shall ne’er go by, but we in it shall be remember’d

October 23, 2023

Martyrs of the Early Church who were beheaded during the reign of Diocletian; the date of their execution is given as 25 October, 285 or 286. It is stated that they were brothers, but the fact has not been positively proved. The legend relates that they were Romans of distinguished descent who went as missionaries […]

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Henry V ‘secret’ chapel opened for Agincourt anniversary

October 23, 2023

According to BBC News: Westminster Abbey is opening Henry’s V’s chapel…to mark the 600th anniversary of the Battle of Agincourt. The chapel was built within the shrine of Edward the Confessor. Henry V ordered the chapel’s construction so prayers could be said for his soul after he died. The Battle of Agincourt took place on […]

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October 25 – Memorial of Forty Martyrs of England and Wales

October 23, 2023

February 27 – Are You Hiding a Priest? May 4 – They believed in the religious exemption, but only at first May 22 – Queen’s Confessor                June 19 – Execution of second group of those who believed in the religious exemption, but only at first August 30 – She smuggled a priest out of prison

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St. Lawrence and the Siege of Székesfehérvár

October 19, 2023

…The October of 1601 came – that same month, thirty years ago exactly, the Turks had their pride broken at Lepanto. Now they had crossed the Danube, and in numbers, variously estimated between 80,000 and 90,000, they were drawn up a few miles from Albareale. Laurence, on horseback, in his Capuchin habit and cross in […]

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Superior-inferior, a participation of life

October 19, 2023

The influence of the greater over the lesser, and in its own way that of the lesser over the greater, was exercised in function of a relation of Christian affection established on both parts. An affection that bore the effect of mutual dedication and confidence, and which even formed a true society made up of […]

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Pierre Toussaint: Loving, Dedicated, Generous Self-Denial in the Service of His Noble Mistress (cont.)

October 12, 2023

Very early in the morning, before beginning his work, Toussaint could be seen going to Saint Peter’s Church on Barclay Street where every day for sixty years he attended Holy Mass (daily Communion becoming a custom of fervent Catholics only after the pontificate of Saint Pius X [1904–1914]) and prayed his rosary. Only after this […]

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Letter From The New To The Old Whigs (1791)

October 12, 2023

A true natural aristocracy is not a separate interest in the state, or separable from it. It is an essential integrant part of any large body rightly constituted. It is formed out of a class of legitimate presumptions, which, taken as generalities, must be admitted for actual truths. To be bred in a place of […]

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Venerable Pierre Toussaint Finds an Ingenious Way to Succor an Impoverished French Lady

October 5, 2023

His ingenuity in contriving means of assistance to others was remarkable. A French lady, who was much embarrassed in her circumstances by the depreciation of her small property and the failure of her rents, consulted Toussaint on the possibility of doing something for her support. He suggested her teaching French. She said very frankly, that […]

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Cities, regions, and family

October 5, 2023

What are the proportional limits of a city? [O ser possivel enumerar as principais familias que a compoem.] The pyramidization of the families came to extend its ascendency to the region to such a degree that a known French sociologist gave, as the only definition of a region possible, as that zone which is dominated […]

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October 5 – William Hartley

October 5, 2023

Ven. William Hartley Martyr; b. at Wyn, in Derbyshire, England, of a yeoman family about 1557; d. 5 October, 1588. At eighteen he matriculated at St. John’s, Oxford, where he became a chaplain. Being ejected by the vice-chancellor, Tobie Mathew, in 1579, he went to Reims in August, was ordained at Châlons, and returned to […]

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The Death of the Cid in Valencia

September 28, 2023

For five years the Cid remained in peace and strove to serve God and keep the Moors quiet, so that Moors and Christians dwelt as if they had always lived together; and they all loved and served the Cid with wonderful good-will. When these five years were over, tidings came that King Bucar of Morocco, […]

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Tradition and Egalitarian Modernism

September 28, 2023

Queen Elizabeth II, accompanied by the Maharaja of Jaipur, rides atop a splendidly decorated elephant during a trip to India. The natural distinction of the Queen and the majesty of the Crown are deservedly enhanced by all the resources of a refined art that combines richness and good taste. Thus, almost intuitively, the people understand […]

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October 1 – Blessed Ralph Crockett

September 28, 2023

Blessed Ralph Crockett English martyr, b. at Barton, near Farndon, Cheshire; executed at Chichester, 1 October, 1588. Educated at Cambridge, and ordained at Reims in 1585, he was captured on board ship at Littlehampton, Sussex, 19 April, 1856, with three other priests, Thomas Bramston, George Potter, and his fellow martyr, Edward James (b. at Breaston, […]

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In honor of its 400th anniversary, Palace of Versailles will reopen Gallery of the History of the Palace

September 21, 2023

“In honor of this exceptional anniversary, the museum is currently undertaking a complete renovation of the Gallery of the History of the Palace, which will reopen to the public in September 2023. This gallery will serve as an introduction to a visit to the Palace, covering four centuries of the history of Versailles, tracing, up […]

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Pierre Toussaint: Loving, Dedicated, Generous Self-Denial in the Service of His Noble Mistress

September 21, 2023

France at that time was mistress of the islands of Martinique, Guadeloupe, and Saint Domingue (present-day Haiti). These Caribbean possessions, until then prosperous and tranquil, deeply suffered the disturbances of the French Revolution. The slaves and the mestizos rose up against their masters and employers with the intention of shaking off their yoke, just as […]

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The cat is a living plaything

September 21, 2023

Those men that interest themselves solely with great things are not great men. Great men are those who know how to see great horizons also in little things. The cat is an animal extraordinarily rich in aspects.It is a miniscule beast of prey, a tiger in miniature, which is seen at times snatching something up, […]

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September 23 – Pioneer missionary of the Flatheads

September 21, 2023

Gregorio Mengarini Pioneer missionary of the Flathead tribe and philologist of their language, b. in Rome, 21 July, 1811; d. at Santa Clara, California, 23 September, 1886. He entered the Jesuit novitiate in 1828, when barely seventeen, and later served as instructor in grammar, for which his philological bent particularly fitted him, at Rome, Medina, […]

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Pope Pius IX Loses Rome: The Porta Pia Is Breached and the Papal Zouaves Lay Down Their Weapons

September 14, 2023

At 5:15 a.m. on 20 September 1870, the observatory of Santa Maria Maggiore warned the Ministry of War that the enemy batteries had attacked Porta Pia which, because of its position, constituted the most vulnerable point of the city. . . . As he talked to the diplomatic corps . . Cardinal Antonelli arrived with […]

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The very rich moral significance of simple household objects

September 14, 2023

by Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira The very rich moral significance of simple household objects number of beings in which all the perfections are distributed. The beauty in this latter is much greater. For this reason God created the world with very diversified perfections. The rule of diversification is in the variety. This multiplicity forms a […]

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September 17 – Viollet-Le-Duc

September 14, 2023

Viollet-Le-Duc, Eugène-emmanuel, architect, archeologist, and author, b. in Paris, January 27, 1814; d. at Lausanne, September 17, 1879. He gained a high reputation by his intelligent comprehension of medieval Gothic architecture and by his restorations of structures built in this style. He was a pupil of Leclere; he made long journeys for the purpose of […]

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September 14 – Pope Adrian VI

September 14, 2023

Adrian VI, Pope, the last pontefice barbaro (Guicciardini, XIV, v), and the only pope of modern times, except Marcellus II, who retained his baptismal name. succeeded Pope Leo X, from 9 January, 1522, to 14 September, 1523. He was born of humble parentage in Utrecht, 2 March, 1459. He lost his pious father, Florentius Dedel, […]

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September 12 – Beheaded after a false accusation

September 11, 2023

Flavius Marcellinus Date of birth unknown; died 12 September, 413. He was a high official (tribunus et notarius) at the court of Emperor Honorius, and possessed the confidence of his imperial master owing to his good sense, and unblemished conduct. In 411 Honorius sent him to Africa as plenipotentiary judge, to preside and pass sentence […]

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One Year On: How the World Remembered Queen Elizabeth II

September 8, 2023

In this short documentary, the Royal Family Channel looks back on the twelve days of mourning that followed the tragic death of Queen Elizabeth II. Piecing together exclusive royal footage, interviews and news coverage, we remember the moment that shook the world one year on. Thursday 8th September 2022, 6:30pm, the news that everyone knew […]

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King Bucar From Africa Besieges the Cid in Valencia

September 7, 2023

At this time the Moorish king, Bucar, across the sea in Morocco, remembering the oath he had taken to his brother, King Yucef, that he would take vengeance upon the Cid, ordered proclamation to be made throughout all the dominions of his father that he wished for a great army to go against the Cid. […]

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The Fight Between Equality and Inequality Is the True Religious Battle of Our Day

September 7, 2023

What is at stake here is not insignificant. Ultimately we are dealing with an issue of aesthetics, of a love of simplicity and diversity, of a love of equality and inequality. Besides this, at a deeper level, it is a religious and moral issue as well. It is an aesthetic-moral-religious issue whose perfection is a […]

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A Chaplain Is Admitted Into the Order of Malta

August 31, 2023

The Mass being over, Monsignor Magyari, escorted by his sponsors, crossed to kneel before the Grand Master, who asked him, “What is your request?” “I ask to be received and admitted into the company of brothers in sacred religion of the hospital of St. John of Jerusalem.” “The request you make was refused to certain […]

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Employees and members of the family

August 31, 2023

No one has described the Portugese family as it lived in colonial Brazil better than Debret. He portrays a family of a certain category going out for a walk. The father, with his somewhat Napoleonic, bicorn hat goes in front, a patriarch lost in the mists. Behind him, single file, comes the entire family. And […]

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The Death of Maria Theresa

August 24, 2023

Maria Theresa’s health, undermined by so many fatigues, so many maternal and political anxieties, so many cares of all kinds, failed visibly. For a long time she had suffered from catarrh; it seemed as though an internal fire consumed her. On Nov 24 1780, she fell quite ill. Violent attacks of coughing, and continual suffocation, […]

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Dignity and Restraint of the Past: Impudence and Triviality of Today

August 24, 2023

By Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira Scenes from the “belle epoque”. In the background of the first, a building both harmonious and grave. A long cortege of graciously-dressed ladies use from it. And, in the front, wearing a crown and dressed in an ermine mantle, a lady unites personal beauty with an elegance, richness and restraint […]

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The Birth of the Dauphin

August 17, 2023

At three o’clock the new-born child was baptized in the chapel of Versailles by the Cardinal de Rohan, grand almoner. A Te Deum succeeded the baptism, and in the evening there were fireworks on the Place d’Armes. The celebrations were as splendid as ingenious. The arts and crafts of Paris spent considerable sums to go […]

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The Reign of Mary will be the civilization of admiration

August 17, 2023

We desire a culture in which everything is conceived in function of degrees of perfection, everything ordered according to the sublime in its respective genus. Admiration is the sole true planner in life. It plans, directs, and helps us to feel our way. [faz intuir o nosso caminho] Admiration is our Star of Bethlehem. All […]

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Incognito, Venerable Pierre Toussaint Aids an Impoverished French Gentleman

August 10, 2023

A French gentleman, whom Toussaint had known in affluence, a white man, was reduced to poverty; he was sick and suffering, craving a delicacy of food which he had no means to procure. For several months Toussaint and Juliette [Toussaint’s wife] sent his dinner, nicely cooked, in such a way that he could not suspect […]

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CONCLUSION

August 10, 2023

We have seen some aspects of the bad influence that the social transformations of the last two centuries, characterised especially by industrialisation and urbanisation, have had over the internal structure of the family. This shaking of the traditional institution of the family had, and continues to have, profound repercussions in the social order. Before concluding, […]

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El Cid’s Daughters Marry the Princes of Aragon and Navarre

August 3, 2023

While this Persian was still in Valencia, news came that the Princes of Aragon and Navarre were coming to their marriage. The Prince of Navarre was called Don Ramiro; and he of Aragon was named Don Sancho, and was the son of the King Don Pedro, whom the Cid had once made a prisoner; and […]

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The Traditional Family Vis-à-Vis the Nuclear Family

August 3, 2023

In the Traditional Family, there are usually many children. *  In the Nuclear Family, there are few children. * *  * The Traditional Family is normally made up of three generations interrelating amongst each other. *  In the Nuclear Family, there is normally no interrelationship between three generations. * *  *  In the Traditional Family, […]

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