TheTradStore

The Trad Store is an apostolate of Christian warfare, waged primarily with words, in honor of the Word whom we worship. We offer swag for the Christian soldier that fearlessly proclaims the truth of right religion, right culture, and right sentiments. Whereas a number of other venerable outfits market products that focus on images, we stick with words because there is no direr task today than to proclaim the truth in the marketplace without rest and without compromise. This proclamation can best be accomplished not with images but with words.

It does not take an overly keen eye today to see that the battle lines are drawn. And yet the first precept of the Christian soldier is that the battle begins within. The primary battleground is within. The man who sets his sights on heaven enters a duel to the death: a duel with his baser self, with the seducing world, and with the prowling devil.

The hallmark of a Christian soldier is his joy. For this reason, we take for our patron Don John of Austria (1547–1578), the last knight of Europe, who at 24 led the forces of the Holy League to defeat the Turks at the Battle of Lepanto, thus saving Europe from Muslim rule. Shortly before engaging the Turkish naval fleet, overcome with the exhilaration of fighting evil, which we call battle-joy, he danced a galliard on the prow of his flagship and led his troops in the rosary. It is precisely this unity of joy and devotion to Our Lady that marks all we do at the Trad Store.

We are warriors now, fighting on the battlefield of faith,
and God see all we do;
the angels watch and so does Christ.
—What honor and glory and joy to do battle in the presence of God
and to have Christ approve our victory.

Let us arm ourselves in full strength
and prepare for the ultimate struggle
with blameless hearts, true faith, and unyielding courage.
—What honor and glory and joy to do battle in the presence of God
and to have Christ approve our victory.