Tea at Trianon: Blessed Marie of the Incarnation

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

Wednesday, April 18, 2007

Blessed Marie of the Incarnation

Terry reminds us that today is the feast of Blessed Marie of the Incarnation, Barbe Acarie (1566-1618). She was a happily married wife and mother, very well-off. Her husband did not like it that she was reading romance novels all day and encouraged her to read spiritual books instead. She became very devout and was instrumental in bringing the Discalced Carmelite Nuns into France. She later became a widow and then a nun herself. She was a Carmelite lay sister and humbly performed all the menial tasks of the monastery, in spite of her past privileged life. Share

4 comments:

Anonymous said...: I'm reading Cathleen Medwick's "Teresa of Avila, The Progress of a Soul," and marvel at her establishing "houses" all over the place. It makes me wonder, in these terribly thinning times, if monastic reform of faith is more greatly needed than ever, and how we who applaud it may approximate it somehow..

Just one more reason that I pray not only "Lord, give us priests (and nuns!)" but also, "Lord, give us books!" The internet will never replace books. And shouldn't.

I thank you, too, for writing books. It is verrrry hard work, but what love it can both be and effect.

Love,
Carol; April 18, 2007 at 12:15:00 PM EDT
elena maria vidal said...: Thank you, Carol, for your kind words. Yes, we need more monasteries. They were always cultural centers of learning and spirituality, catalysts for peace.; April 18, 2007 at 12:21:00 PM EDT
Terry Nelson said...: Thank you for the link. :); April 18, 2007 at 2:27:00 PM EDT
elena maria vidal said...: Thank YOU, Terry, for your wonderul blog and great articles!; April 18, 2007 at 2:34:00 PM EDT