Tea at Trianon: Being in Love

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

Laudem Gloriae shares a poignant quote from Robert Hugh Benson's Come Rack, Come Rope, which should be kept in mind when discussing priests who leave their vocation in order to embrace matrimony. It concerns a young lady whose sweetheart wants to become a priest, and although she knows she will always love him, she sees the sacrifice that must be made so that God can be best served. She decides that "a broken heart and God's will done would be better than that God's will should be avoided and her own satisfied." (Ch. 5, III)

Being a Catholic sometimes means not being able to marry the person one loves, at one's convenience, if at all. For that matter, sometimes we are prevented from marrying the person we might want to marry just by the circumstances of life. Sometimes, it is not the will of God that two people be together. It must be realized, however, that there are many levels on which love can be expressed. The highest expression of love is to pray for the sanctification of the beloved person's soul.

Some excellent commentary on the matter of priestly defection HERE. Share

7 comments:

Anonymous said...: There is nothing like marriage to ruin a good relationship. Just kidding!; November 7, 2007 at 5:15:00 PM EST
Allison said...: Thanks for introduing me to the orthometer blog...lots of interesting perspective from that Priest!; November 7, 2007 at 6:46:00 PM EST
elena maria vidal said...: You're welcome! I just discovered it myself!!; November 7, 2007 at 6:54:00 PM EST
Pilgrim said...: In fact, I would add that the young lady in Fr. Benson's book knows of her lover's vocation to the priesthood and helps him accept it before he does.
True love.; November 8, 2007 at 2:16:00 AM EST
elena maria vidal said...: Exactly. When you really love someone, you want what is best for them.; November 8, 2007 at 8:30:00 AM EST
Anonymous said...: as fr. corapi says, "when you love someone you desire for them to get to heaven"; November 8, 2007 at 10:41:00 AM EST
elena maria vidal said...: Amen!; November 8, 2007 at 10:47:00 AM EST