Tea at Trianon: Our Lady of Guadalupe

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Tuesday, December 12, 2006

Our Lady of Guadalupe

Don Marco at Vultus Christi has some beautiful thoughts on the Patroness of the Americas, whose feast we celebrate today. For anyone interested in the traditions of the sacred liturgy and true spirituality, I highly recommend Don Marco's site. There is food for thought and meditation there everyday. Share

4 comments:

Anonymous said...: Lovely pic you have there of Our Lady of Guadalupe. This evening I dug out my copy of the old September 2001 issue of Soul Magazine (by the Blue Army) because I remember that really cool article about Our Lady and Islam. Have you ever seen it? The call for conversion for the Muslims from both Fatima and Guadalupe is remarkable, and the connection to the Rosary as the means of doing that -- very powerful. I found the article online.
http://www.ewtn.com/library/mary/olislam.htm

The thing that really gives me goosebumps is that this came out in the September 2001 issue; just in time for all the 9/11 events. Heavenly timing, I'd say!; December 12, 2006 at 1:28:00 PM EST
elena maria vidal said...: Thanks for the link, Georgette! Yes, it is amazing how all of these things are connected with Our Lady and her apparitions.; December 12, 2006 at 1:31:00 PM EST
Anonymous said...: I attended freshman year at a Catholic high school outside of Chicago. We had students of Hispanic heritage in our high school and this special day was recognized at the school Mass on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. It was wonderful!
I had to change high schools after the school year ended since my dad received a job tranfer. This post brought back this memory as I read it--thank you!; December 12, 2006 at 4:59:00 PM EST
elena maria vidal said...: Yes, Elisa, it is beautiful to see the devotion of our Hispanic brethren. Our Lady of Guadalupe is also patroness of the Philippines, and her image was carried on board the flgship of Don Juan of Austria at the battle of Lepanto at the defeat of the Ottoman fleet.

Georgette, I meant to mention that I borrowed the picture from Don Marco the Vultus Christi site.; December 12, 2006 at 5:07:00 PM EST