Tea at Trianon: The Mariensäule

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

Friday, September 7, 2007

The Mariensäule

Today the Holy Father visited the column in Vienna dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. It bears the following inscription:

To God, infinite in goodness and power, King of heaven and earth, by whom kings reign; to the Virgin Mother of God, conceived without sin, by whom princes command, whom Austria, devoutly loving, holds as her Queen and Patron; Ferdinand III, Emperor, confides, gives, consecrates himself, children, people, armies, provinces, and all that is his,and erects in accomplishment of a vow this statue, as a perpetual memorial.

Pope Benedict XVI spoke the following beautiful words:

The Mariensäule, built by the Emperor Ferdinand III in thanksgiving for the liberation of Vienna from great danger and inaugurated by him exactly 360 years ago, must also be a sign of hope for us today. How many persons, over the years, have stood before this column and lifted their gaze to Mary in prayer! How many have experienced in times of trouble the power of her intercession! Our Christian hope includes much more than the mere fulfilment of our wishes and desires, great or small. We turn our gaze to Mary, because she points out to us the great hope to which we have been called (cf. Eph 1:18), because she personifies our true humanity!

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3 comments:

Anonymous said...: Wasn't that 'liberation' from conquest by Moslems? We surely need Her intercession during these times.; September 8, 2007 at 9:43:00 AM EDT
elena maria vidal said...: Ferdinand III's great achievement was the Peace of Westphalia in 1648 which finally brought an end to the horrors of the Thirty Years War. Yes, the Empire was delivered from being taken over by the Moslems on several occasions, the most famous being on Sept 12, 1683 during the reign of Ferdinand's son, Emperor Leopold I.; September 8, 2007 at 10:09:00 AM EDT
Vara said...: Not only did the Hapsburgs hold back the Islamic hordes, they struck back! There is a soldier's song in German, "Prinz Eugen der edler Ritter" ("Prince Eugene the Noble Knight") which tells of the Hapsburg victory over the Ottoman oppressor at Belgrade. I heard it at a "Zapfenstreich" (evening retreat ceremony) whilst I was on active service in Europe some thirty years ago, and I have never forgotten the tune since! Something to sing with vigour today, wot?

Sometimes, there are GOOD endings to bad beginnings! Or, in other words, God DOES deliver!

Vara; September 8, 2007 at 4:32:00 PM EDT