Tea at Trianon: A Sign of Hope

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, November 8, 2007

A Sign of Hope

Last weekend, at the Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation banquet in Pittsburgh, we had the pleasure of hearing a talk given by Gianna Jessen, a very inspiring young lady. As an infant, Gianna survived a saline abortion and now she works for the protection of the unborn. She talked about how life is such a gift from God and how trials are a gift from Him as well, including her cerebral palsy. She did not mitigate the difficulties of living in a world of pain and sin. There are tears, sufferings and rejections to be faced when walking with God, but also a joy which the world cannot take away. Gianna exudes joy. What a powerful witness! Share

2 comments:

Anonymous said...: I've heard of her! She was the subject of an article in the "Catholic Review" a few years ago. Amazing story!; November 8, 2007 at 12:53:00 PM EST
Anonymous said...: INDEED!; November 8, 2007 at 1:07:00 PM EST