Tea at Trianon: Pray for priests

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

Thursday, January 4, 2007

Pray for priests

Let us begin the New Year with special prayers for all of our priests, especially those who have fallen in any way and those who are no longer in the active ministry, for whatever reason. They remain our brothers, our fathers. Let us also pray for those who may have contributed to the departure of an ordained man from his ministry. It is not for us to judge or condemn, but neither is it for us to celebrate such situations. Here is a prayer to Saint Joseph from Don Marco. Share

2 comments:

Anonymous said...: Elena, are you referring to those who have hurt many innocents because of abomniable behaviors? I pray for them but it is hard to think of such abusers as my "brothers."; January 5, 2007 at 11:20:00 AM EST
elena maria vidal said...: Wordsmith, we must be in constant prayer and reparation over those extreme cases, those abominations, which have so wounded the Body of Christ. Judgment belongs to the Lord and to Him alone.

However, I was also thinking of the "milder" scandals, such as a priest leaving the ministry because he has found True Love and wants to get married. Such defections from the pastoral service, even when legitimized by canon law, are often a source of confusion, shock, and disillusionment to the faithful. Many lay people are not "sophisticated" enough to shrug away their feelings of betrayal and should not be censured for having strong reactions. Prayer is the best remedy.; January 5, 2007 at 1:21:00 PM EST