Tea at Trianon: Blessed Titus Brandsma

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, July 27, 2008

Blessed Titus Brandsma

Here he is in his prison uniform. Blessed Titus was a towering intellect as well as a man of humor, wit and sanctity. He stood up to the Nazis; they put him in Dachau and performed experiments upon him. Before he died, he handed his rosary to the prison nurse and she was converted. He is a saint for our time.

Although neo-paganism no longer wants love, history teaches us that, in spite of everything, we will conquer this neo-paganism with love. We shall not give up on love. Love will gain back for us the hearts of these pagans.

~ Bl. Titus Brandsma, from the Carmelite Proper of the Liturgy of the Hours

EC Gefroh said...: Elena, I first read about Bl. T.B. in Fr. Boniface Hanley's Ten Christians or his second book. Thanks for posting a little more on him.; July 27, 2008 at 5:13:00 PM EDT
elena maria vidal said...: You are welcome, Esther! Our Carmelite spiritual director just lent me the most wonderful biography of Bl. Titus, including many of his writings! I can't wait to read the whole thing!; July 27, 2008 at 5:26:00 PM EDT
Unknown said...: I remember first reading about this wonderful Carmelite priest as a young boy. Bl. Titus was certainly an inspiring sight with his round spectacles, ever-present pipe and briefcase.

Likewise, I was saddened when I first learned just how bad the general state of things was in the Netherlands, but felt strongly compelled to pray to Bl. Titus for the conversion of his beloved homeland and for all of Europe, and to encourage others to do so, as well.; July 27, 2008 at 11:51:00 PM EDT