Marie-Antoinette: Lent and Abstinence

From East of the Sun, West of the Moon, via Vive la Reine:

At Versailles, Lent would have been marked by sermons given at least once a week, depending on who was chosen to give the special sermons and how often they were able to–or wanted to–preach. Marie Antoinette wrote to her mother on March 15th of 1773 on the subject:

This Lent we have a very good preacher three times a week; he talks of the good moral principles in the Gospels and tells everyone many truths; however I prefer the Massillon series of sermons for Lent, because they are more to my taste.

The ‘Massillon’ Marie Antoinette referred to in her letter was Jean-Baptiste Massilon (24 June 1663 - 28 September 1742); a famous bishop and preacher, well known for eloquent and poetical sermons which deal less with questions of dogma and more with issues of compassion, morality and humanity.

One of Massilon’s Lent sermons, ‘On the Fast of Lent,'  was possibly written for a sermon given at the chapel of Versailles–it certainly seems as if he was targeting those in the upper reaches of society, in any case. His words may have resonated with the young Marie Antoinette, who had been exposed to the hypocrisy of many courtiers–including those among her new family–at Versailles; who herself was turning frequently to amusements and pleasures, perhaps to occupy her mind with something other than her sorrows; and who wrote to her mother that she did not always find abstaining from meat to be easy. Perhaps Massilon’s words reminded her that, despite her mild complaints about abstaining from meat, that if those who had almost nothing gladly fasted from meat during Lent, that she–who had everything at her fingertips–could certainly abstain as well.

Of particular interest is a passage, targeted at those who complained about the Catholic tradition of abstaining from meat during Lent and sought dispensations for avoiding it:

Were you, however, to examine impartially into the state of your health, you perhaps would discover that the constant aversion you feel for self-denial and penance, has led you into an error on this subject; and that you imagine that your constitution is weak, because you never have had piety and resolution sufficient to induce you to try its strength.

If this be the case, as it probably is, can you pretend that the very reason which makes penance more necessary, is a sufficient plea for a dispensation? Your imaginary weakness is itself a crime, and ought to be expiated by extraordinary austerities, instead of exempting you from those which are common to all the faithful.

If the Church were to make any distinction among her children; if she was inclined to grant privileges to some, and none to others, it would be to those whose lowly arid dependent station exposes them to the hardships and fatigues of toilsome labour who suffer from the severities of the seasons, from hunger, from thirst, from public oppressions, and from private wrongs who have only a distant view of the pleasures which this world affords and whose happiness has attained its greatest height when a bare sufficiency is procured for themselves and families. But as for those on whom the world has lavished its choicest gifts whose greatest unhappiness arises from the satiety and disgust which is inseparable from sensual felicity, they can pretend to no other distinction than that of increased austerity, and a prolongation of the canonical rigours of penance.

But what is their conduct? The opulent, the independent, the higher classes of society the men who alone seem to need repentance the men for whom this penitential time is principally intended, are almost the only ones who plead for a dispensation; whilst the poor artisan, the indigent labourer, who eats his bread in the sweat of his brow whose days of feasting and merriment would be to the rich man days of penance and mortification, whilst he, I say, bows down with respect and submission to this holy law, and even in his poverty retrenches from his usual pittance, and makes the time of Lent a time of extraordinary suffering and penance

But, my God! the time will come when thou wilt openly espouse the cause of thy holy law, and confound the advocates of human concupiscence. The Pharisees in the gospel disfigured their faces, in order that their fasting might be remarked by men: but this is not the hypocrisy of the present day; no: after a year spent in excess, in murmurings, and in sin, the pampered disciples of a crucified Jesus put on a pale, a weak appearance at the commencement of this holy time, for the sole purpose of setting up a plausible pretext to violate in peace the law of fasting and abstinence.

The full sermon can be read here. (Read more.)

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Democrats Defund DHS

 From AMAC:

Democrats seem determined to undermine homeland security – now defunding DHS, which includes a wide swath of federal law enforcement. The potential for national disruption is high. Democrats target ICE enforcement of administrative warrants and deportation orders, but most Americans want rule of law.

In a credible February poll, 73 percent of Americans think entering the US illegally is “breaking the law,” 61 percent support “deporting” illegal aliens –  95 percent of Republicans, 64 percent of swing voters – and 58 percent reject Democrat calls to “defund ICE,” with 54 percent expressly supporting ICE.

In states like Maine, a Democrat-dominated “sanctuary” state, citizens support ICE, 84 percent in one poll supporting ICE across the state. Yet Democrats persist.

Democrats are now blocking all DHS funding – including for ICE, Customs and Border Patrol, Transportation Security Administration, US Secret Service, US Coast Guard, FEMA, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency, National Infrastructure Protection Center, National Infrastructure Advisory Council – which advises the president on national cybersecurity threats.

While “essential personnel” continue to work unpaid, Democrats have adopted a lose-lose posture. They seem content to allow threats to proliferate as and if manning falls, to attack federal law enforcement – ICE – which has public support.

As of Monday, February 16, the Associated Press is reporting neither congressional Democrats nor the White House see “signs of compromise … in their battle” over ICE, which has now triggered another indefinite “partial government shutdown.” (Read more.)

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How the Kingdom of Aragon Built a Mediterranean Empire

 From The Collector:

In the 9th century, the County of Aragon was part of the Frankish dominion, ruled over by the Carolingians. Its people had weathered the storm that accompanied the fall of the Roman Empire and the ensuing chaos afterwards. In the 900s, Aragon came under the rule of the Kingdom of Pamplona (also known as Navarre). The county’s capital was located in the small city of Jaca in the northeast of the Iberian Peninsula.

After the death of King Sancho III of Navarre in 1035, his kingdom was partitioned into multiple territories. One of the territories contained Sobrarbe, Ribagorza, and Aragon, all of which went to different nobles. However, the rulers of Sobrarbe and Ribagorza both died, enabling Sancho’s illegitimate son Ramiro to annex both territories into his realm. Despite being nominally linked to Navarre, Ramiro’s expanded Aragon now became one of the larger states in the region.

Ramiro never personally called himself the King of Aragon, although his subjects referred to him as king, and he is known to history Ramiro I of Aragon. His rule was brief and focused on expanding the kingdom’s borders. In 1063, he died while unsuccessfully besieging the city of Graus from the Castilians. He was succeeded by Sancho Ramirez, his eldest son. (Read more.)

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"If Ever I Cease To Love"

It is Mardi Gras. "If Ever I Cease To Love" was once the theme song of Mardi Gras in New Orleans. It is a song which does not make sense, but then neither does love, most of the time. Tomorrow it will be Lent.

In a house, in a square in a quadrant
In a street, in a lane, in a road.

Turn to the left on the right hand
You see there my true love's abode

I go there a courting, And cooing to my love like a dove;
And swearing on my bended knee, if ever I cease to love,
May sheep-heads grow on apple trees, If ever I cease to love.

Chorus:
If ever I cease to love, if ever I cease to love,
May the moon be turn'd to green cream cheese,
If ever I cease to love

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Marco and Munich

 From Tierney's Real News:

Marco Rubio just gave a keynote address at the 62nd Munich Security Conference in Europe, the premier global forum for international security policy.

His speech is one of the best speeches I’ve ever heard against Godless Communism - and it succinctly explains the nightmare and foolishness of Europe (and America) abandoning God and national sovereignty to appease the atheist one-world-order Globalists - in 20 minutes.

If you only listen to one thing this weekend - let it be this. In fact, I think this speech is so powerful of an explanation that it should be played in every Christian church in America on Sunday morning. I’m not kidding.

Rubio said that Europe and U.S. belong together bound by “centuries of shared history, Christian faith, culture, heritage, language, ancestry” and that since WW2 mistakes have been made:

• Outsourcing “our sovereignty to international institutions”

• Imposing energy policies that impoverish our people “to appease a climate cult”

• Opening doors to mass migration “that threatens the cohesion of our societies, the continuity of our culture, and the future of our people.”

Rubio says “We owe it to our people to face those facts and to move forward to rebuild.”

Some highlights:

MARCO RUBIO: “We in America have no interest in being polite and orderly caretakers of the West’s managed decline!

We are prepared to do this alone but it is our preference, and our hope, to do this together with you, our friends in Europe.

America was founded 250 years ago, but the roots began here on this continent long before. The men who settled and built the nation of my birth arrived on our shores carrying the memories, the traditions, and the Christian faith of our ancestors as a sacred inheritance, an unbreakable link between the old world and the new.

We are part of one civilization, Western civilization. We are bound to one another by the deepest bonds that nations could share, forged by centuries of shared history, Christian faith, culture, heritage, language, ancestry, and the sacrifices our forefathers made together for the common civilization to which we have now fallen heir.

And if at times we disagree, our disagreements come from our profound sense of concern about a Europe with which we are connected, not just economically, not just militarily. We are connected spiritually and we are connected culturally. We want Europe to be strong. We believe that Europe and the West must survive.” (Read more.)

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Chevalier de Bayard: The Knight Without Fear and Beyond Reproach

 From The Medieval Scholar:

Pierre Terrail, known as Chevalier de Bayard, a man who’s resolve was unyielding. Praised by his contemporaries for his gaiety and kindness he was known as “The Good Knight.” Fearless and unwavering in battle, he’d be remembered as the knight without fear and beyond reproach. Bayard, a descendant of a noble French family with a strong military tradition, was born at Château Bayard in Dauphiné, near Pontcharra in southern France. His family had a history of sacrifice in battle, with three generations of his Terrail ancestors falling in combat from 1356 to 1465. 

Bayard began his career as a page to Duke Charles I of Savoy, but in 1490, the Duke passed away. At just thirteen, Bayard impressed King Charles VIII of France with his exceptional horsemanship during a display for the Duke of Savoy, earning him the nickname “piquet” which means spur. In 1490, Bayard began serving as a man-at-arms in the household of Louis de Luxembourg, seigneur de Ligny, a close confidant of King Charles VIII of France. Even in his youth, Bayard was admired for his good looks, charm, and skill in jousting. On July 20, 1494, Bayard took part in a tournament in Lyons attended by King Charles and his court. Although not yet eighteen, he won the highest honors, impressing the king once more. (Read more.)

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Marie-Antoinette and Carnival

I usually do not use photos from the 1938 Marie Antoinette film; the costumes were glitzy and the wigs, too platinum. However, Norma Shearer's portrayal of Marie-Antoinette was soulfully authentic; the photo above captures the zest of the young Dauphine taking Paris by storm at Carnival. As a young girl, Marie-Antoinette embraced the festivities of Carnival with alacrity, especially the masked balls. Since members of the royal family were constantly surrounded by semi-liturgical ceremonies, at the masked ball the princes and princesses could engage in something vaguely resembling normal human interaction. The wearing of a mask, although it did not always endow total anonymity, lightened the tight protocol so that royals could mingle and converse with others in society.

In February of 1773, Marie-Antoinette wrote to her mother Empress Maria Theresa, relating how she went with her husband the Dauphin Louis to the Opera ball in Paris:

We went- M. le Dauphin, the comte, and comtesse de Provence and I- last Thursday to the Opera Ball in Paris; we kept the utmost secret. We were all masked; still, we were recognized after half an hour. The duc de Chartres and the duc de Bourbon, who were dancing at the Palais Royal right next door came to meet us and asked us pressingly to go and dance at Madame de Chartres's; but I excused myself from it as I had the King's permission for the Opera only. We returned here at seven and heard Mass before going to bed. Everybody is delighted with M. le Dauphin's willingness to have this outing since he was believed to be averse to it. (Secrets of Marie Antoinette: A Collection of Letters, edited by Olivier Bernier. New York: Fromm International, 1986, p. 102)

In January of 1774, Louis and Antoinette once again ventured incognito into Paris to the Opera ball, accompanied by Louis' two brothers and their wives. Here is Comte Mercy's description of the event in a letter to Empress Maria Theresa:

The three Princes and Princesses came on the 30th of January to the masked ball at the Opera; measures had been so well taken that they remained a long while without being recognized by anyone. M. le Dauphin [Louis] behaved splendidly; he went about the ball talking indiscriminately to all those he met on his path, in a very gay and decorous manner introducing the kind of jests suited to the occasion. The public was enchanted with this conduct on the part of M. le Dauphin, it made a great sensation in Paris and they did not fail, as always happens in these cases, to attribute to Madame la Dauphine the improvement they noticed in her consort's way of showing himself....

The Princes and Princesses came back a second time to the Opera ball on Sunday, the 6th of this month [February]; but this time their presence was less well concealed and consequently there was a greater influx of people to the theater. However, nothing improper or embarrassing resulted, and Madame la Dauphine, who did not unmask, drew on herself all the applause and admiration with which all the public always hastens to do homage to her, both owing to the people to whom she spoke and the things she said to them. (Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette before the Revolution by Nesta Webster, p. 21)

It was at the Opera ball on January 30 that Marie-Antoinette chatted with Count Fersen behind her mask, in the presence of her husband and in-laws, but no eyebrows were raised by this playful incident. The Empress Maria Theresa was more concerned with her daughter getting sick from exhaustion than with anything else, and at the end of the 1773 Carnival wrote: "Thank God it is all over...." (Secrets of Marie Antoinette, p. 104) Later, she expressed reservations about the young Queen's taste in fashion. On March 5, 1775, after Louis XVI had ascended the throne of France, the Empress penned:

Thank God the endless Carnival is over! That exclamation will make me look very old, but I must admit that all those late evenings were too tiring; I feared for the Court's health and for the order of it's usual habits, which is an essential point....In the same way I can't prevent myself raising a point which many gazettes repeat all too often; it is the coiffure you use; they say that from the forehead it is thirty-six inches high, and with so many feathers and ribbons to adorn it! (Ibid.,p.159)

Marie-Antoinette responded by saying:

Although Carnival did amuse me a great deal, I agree that it was time it was ended. We are now back to our usual routine....It is true that I take some care of the way I dress; and, as for feathers, everyone wears them, and it would be extraordinary not to wear them. Their height has been much curtailed since the end of the balls....(Ibid., 160)

After Marie-Antoinette became a mother in December of 1778, her participation in Carnival was greatly mitigated, since she preferred not be too far away from her babies at night. It is sad that the enjoyment of the masquerade balls during her teenage years would later lead to many false rumors about her lifestyle. Share

"Bus Tape" Hoax

 From Tierney's Real News:

FLYNN: “Mike Pence and Paul Ryan wanted Trump out. They had a plan for when Trump steps down, they would step in.”

In other words, Pence didn’t just decide to become a traitor on J6. He was a traitor from the very beginning working with Paul Ryan and his pals in the Koch-funded Freedom Caucus.

Why is this important? Because many of the same bizarre elements and people involved in the Guthrie case were also involved in the “bus tape” hoax. CONNECT THE DOTS WITH ME.

In 2018, I suggested - in my first blog - that the “infamous” bus tape that was released on Trump right before the 2016 election could have been engineered in the NBC studios at the Today Show and used to smear and set up Trump - to force him to step out of the race.

If the hoax worked and drove out Trump before the 2016 election in November - it’s obvious that Pence would step up and run for President - instead of Trump - and Speaker Paul Ryan would be his VP - line of succession. (Read more.)

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C.S. Lewis and the Greatest Arthurian Epic

 From The Library of Lewis and Tolkien:

Violent, lewd, celebrating deception and sexual immorality on the one hand; gracious, sensitive, revering mercy and humility and rejecting all that is crude, ugly, and obscene on the other — it would be natural to conclude that Ascham and Lewis were talking about two different books, two different portrayals of the Arthurian legend. Lewis must be demonstrating the way such stories could appear in a noble and Christian light, contrary to the book lambasted by Ascham.

The only problem is that Ascham and Lewis were not discussing two different books. They were both describing — or claiming to describe — the same book: Sir Thomas Malory’s 15th-century Arthurian epic, Le Morte d’Arthur.

Malory’s Le Morte d’Arthur is a massive, sprawling narrative that chronicles the rise, decline, and eventual downfall of Camelot — the adventures, and later the breaking, of the fellowship of the Round Table. All of what we regard today as the classic, quintessential features of the Arthurian story are there (and then some): Arthur’s sword Excalibur; the wizard Merlin; the Lady — really Ladies — of the Lake; the quest of the Holy Grail, the healing of the Maimed King and restoration of the Waste Land; Lancelot and Guinevere’s love affair; the rebellion of Arthur’s ill-begotten son, Mordred; Arthur’s final departure over the waves into the distant isle of Avalon. More than any other single work, Le Morte d’Arthur is the one that later storytellers have most drawn upon, whether Tennyson’s cycle of blank-verse poems Idylls of the King, T.H. White’s novel The Once and Future King, or John Boorman’s 1981 film Excalibur. (Read more.)

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