A place for friends to meet... with reflections on politics, history, art, music, books, morals, manners, and matters of faith.
A blog by Elena Maria Vidal.
"She was not a guilty woman, neither was she a saint; she was an upright, charming woman, a little frivolous, somewhat impulsive, but always pure; she was a queen, at times ardent in her fancies for her favourites and thoughtless in her policy, but proud and full of energy; a thorough woman in her winsome ways and tenderness of heart, until she became a martyr."
"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."
"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
A Note on Reviews
Unless otherwise noted, any books I review on this blog I have either purchased or borrowed from the library, and I do not receive any compensation (monetary or in-kind) for the reviews.
Nowadays mourning seems to have dissappeared, the funeral happens and life returns to normal and the dead are rarely spoken of again. The bereaved are expected to pull themselves together and get on with life.
As a priest it is pretty obvious this can have pretty serious effects on people's psychological health, if there is no public outlet for grieving it tends to have a greater internal effect, it gets bottled up. I can't help but think a bit of black crepe might save a great deal on counselling fees.
Traditionally the Church gave a lead. Some places on the continent the catafalque was rarely taken down and black rather than green was the default colour of vestments.
I have been told that the current vesting options for funerals: black, purple and white were introduced to mark the gradation of different stages of mouning.
Black the traditional colour for the actual Requiem, purple for the months-mind, first anniversary etc.white as was traditional for a child, and if appropriate to mark the end of formal mourning.
How very true that the modern lack of mourning within the Church has become all too common. In addition to the interior effects that lacuna impresses on those still on earth, it is a terrible disservice to the deceased in the after-life. That is, allusions to the need for prayers for the soul of the faithful departed either do not exist or they are opaque; thus, the Funeral Rite becomes a celebration of the temporal life instead of the Sacrifice offered for the needs of the individual soul for whom the Mass is said. There is nary a reminder for the absolute need for continued prayers for the loved one who has passed into the next life.
How many departed souls must languish in purgatory because there are no continual Masses and private prayers (like the Rosary) offered for their eternal rest. Too, those prayerful actions possess a 'double-effect,' as it were, in that they offer spiritual consolation to mourning family and friends.
Our Lady of Sorrows, pray for us! Marianna Bartold
Elena, astute observations there. My elderly father died recently, only 3 weeks ago, and there was a family disagreement (thankfully a minor one) on what to call the program and what songs to sing. My two sisters wanted to entitle the program "A Celebration of Life," they wanted to feel good about his life instead of saddedened by his death. I gently said that a requiem mass is for praying for the repose of the soul of the departed. There will be a time to celebrate his life later, but for now, please let's allow ourselves to grieve the loss of our father. Remember Ecclesiastes! Where in our modern society is open grieving acceptable anymore? Not many places! I was able to sway them.
I was also able to persuade them to select beautiful, traditional Catholic hymns. We had a choir and we sang "How Great Thou Art", "Ave Maria", "Panis Angelicus" and "In Paradisum" from the Faure requiem). The music was so beautiful that many people were openly weeping. We needed that!
Yes, many Catholics have truly forgotten what a funeral is for.
Thanks to you all for your thoughts! I sometimes wonder if many of our modern neuroses are due to a lack of the tangible symbols of grief, all of which were/are present in the classic Roman liturgy. And even in the secular realm, people no longer wear mourning or have public expressions of sorrow. We are a very repressed society, for all of our license. Not to mention the spiritual benefits for the dead of praying for them, since through the sacred liturgy we have a connection with those who have gone before. May all the faithful departed rest in peace.
Marie-Antoinette "en gaulle" by Elisabeth Vigée-Lebrun
#1 in Kindle Biographies of Royalty!
Marie-Antoinette, Daughter of the Caesars: Her Life, Her Times, Her Legacy
An Audible Bestseller
Marie-Antoinette, Daughter of the Caesars: Her Life, Her Times, Her Legacy
An Amazon Bestseller
Trianon: A Novel of Royal France
My Queen, My Love: A Novel of Henrietta Maria
Available from Amazon
The Saga of Marie-Antoinette's daughter, Marie-Thérèse of France
A Novel of the Restoration
In Kirkus Top 20 for 2014! And #1 in Kindle Historical Mystery, Thriller & Suspense Fiction
"In every Eden, there dwells a serpent . . . ."
#1 in Kindle History of France!
The Night's Dark Shade: A Novel of the Cathars
Listen to Tea at Trianon Radio
All about Marie-Antoinette!
Join me on Facebook!
Elena Maria Vidal Author Page
Join me on X!
@emvidal
Visit My Tumblr!
East of the Sun, West of the Moon
St. Teresa of Avila, pray for us!
"...Bud forth as the rose planted by the brooks of waters. Give ye a sweet odor as frankincense. Send forth flowers, as the lily...and bring forth leaves in grace, and praise with canticles, and bless the Lord in his works." —Ecclesiasticus 39:17-19
The fact that a link is provided here in no way constitutes an endorsement of everything on the other end of the link.
Comments Policy
Comments are moderated. If a comment is not published, it may be due to a technical error. At any rate, do not take offense; it is nothing personal. Slanderous comments will not be published. Anonymity may be tolerated, but politeness is required.
I would like to respond to every comment but my schedule renders it impossible to do so. Please know that I appreciate those who take the time to share their thoughts.
4 comments:
Dear Elena:
Thank you for the ever-timely reminder!
How very true that the modern lack of mourning within the Church has become all too common. In addition to the interior effects that lacuna impresses on those still on earth, it is a terrible disservice to the deceased in the after-life. That is, allusions to the need for prayers for the soul of the faithful departed either do not exist or they are opaque; thus, the Funeral Rite becomes a celebration of the temporal life instead of the Sacrifice offered for the needs of the individual soul for whom the Mass is said. There is nary a reminder for the absolute need for continued prayers for the loved one who has passed into the next life.
How many departed souls must languish in purgatory because there are no continual Masses and private prayers (like the Rosary) offered for their eternal rest. Too, those prayerful actions possess a 'double-effect,' as it were, in that they offer spiritual consolation to mourning family and friends.
Our Lady of Sorrows, pray for us!
Marianna Bartold
Beautiful post, Elena! Thank you for reminding us of the need to mourn.
Elena, astute observations there. My elderly father died recently, only 3 weeks ago, and there was a family disagreement (thankfully a minor one) on what to call the program and what songs to sing. My two sisters wanted to entitle the program "A Celebration of Life," they wanted to feel good about his life instead of saddedened by his death. I gently said that a requiem mass is for praying for the repose of the soul of the departed. There will be a time to celebrate his life later, but for now, please let's allow ourselves to grieve the loss of our father. Remember Ecclesiastes! Where in our modern society is open grieving acceptable anymore? Not many places! I was able to sway them.
I was also able to persuade them to select beautiful, traditional Catholic hymns. We had a choir and we sang "How Great Thou Art", "Ave Maria", "Panis Angelicus" and "In Paradisum" from the Faure requiem). The music was so beautiful that many people were openly weeping. We needed that!
Yes, many Catholics have truly forgotten what a funeral is for.
Thanks to you all for your thoughts! I sometimes wonder if many of our modern neuroses are due to a lack of the tangible symbols of grief, all of which were/are present in the classic Roman liturgy. And even in the secular realm, people no longer wear mourning or have public expressions of sorrow. We are a very repressed society, for all of our license. Not to mention the spiritual benefits for the dead of praying for them, since through the sacred liturgy we have a connection with those who have gone before. May all the faithful departed rest in peace.
Post a Comment