Tea at Trianon: The Holy Father to Young People

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

Sunday, April 20, 2008

The Holy Father to Young People

Fr. Mark offers some reflections on Pope Benedict's powerful words. Here are thoughts on the beautiful Mass at St Patrick's Cathedral as well. And Father Mark has a quote from the Pope's writings:

A Church which only makes use of 'utility music' has fallen for what is, in fact, useless. She too becomes ineffectual. For her mission is a far higher one. As the Old Testament speaks of the Temple, the Church is to be the place of 'glory', and as such, too, the place where mankind's cry of distress is brought to the ear of God.The Church must not settle down with what is merely comfortable and serviceable at the parish level; she must arouse the voice of the cosmos and, by glorifying the Creator, elicit the glory of the cosmos itself, making it also glorious, beautiful, habitable, and beloved.
~Joseph, Cardinal Ratzinger

Terry Nelson said...: Elena - you may know this, would Bl. Kateri have worn European clothes, or was her dress always that of native Americans? I would be interested in painting her in European clothes.; April 20, 2008 at 11:40:00 AM EDT
Terry Nelson said...: LOL! I meant to post my question on the previous post.; April 20, 2008 at 11:41:00 AM EDT
elena maria vidal said...: I don't know, Terry. I am away from home this weekend but will look it up when I get home and have more time.; April 20, 2008 at 5:35:00 PM EDT