Tea at Trianon: Mt. Carmel Novena, Day 1

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

Saturday, July 7, 2007

Mt. Carmel Novena, Day 1

The novena to Our Lady of Mt Carmel begins today (if you want it to end on the 15th; if you want it to end on the 16th, then it begins tomorrow.) The Carmelite Scapular was given to the world as a symbol of the protection and help of the Holy Mother of God when no other help is available, particularly at the hour of death. As Our Lady stood at the foot of the Cross, she stands with the Church in the present ordeals; she stands with each of us.

Let us pray for the implementation of the Summorum Pontificum and for all the needs of God's Church. Most especially, let us remember the needs of the Christians in the Middle East, especially those in Iraq, whose sufferings increase daily. Let us pray for each other.

Novena Prayer to Our Lady of Mt. Carmel
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2 comments:

Melody K said...: Thank you for the link to the novena, Elena. That is a beautiful picture of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel!; July 7, 2007 at 5:39:00 PM EDT
elena maria vidal said...: Thanks, Melody! It is from a Spanish holy card.; July 7, 2007 at 9:09:00 PM EDT