Tea at Trianon: Our Lady 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

Saturday, January 17, 2009

Our Lady of Hope

On this day in 1871 the heavens opened at Pontmain in France. Once again, the Blessed Mother gave hope to her children. According to Fr. Mark:

Before the beautiful Lady appeared a blood red crucifix. At the top of the cross, on a white crosspiece, the Name of Jesus Christ was written in red letters. The beautiful Lady grasped the crucifix in both hands and showed it to the children while a small star lit the four candles in the blue oval. Everyone prayed in silence. They sang the Ave Maris Stella. The red crucifix disappeared. The beautiful Lady extended her hands in a gesture of welcome. A small white cross appeared on each shoulder. Everyone knelt down in the snow. A white veil, like a great sheet, covered the beautiful Lady from foot to head. “It’s finished,” said the children. Eleven days later the armistice was signed. The Prussians never entered Laval.

It is also the feast of St. Anthony of Egypt. Share

4 comments:

Lucy said...: Considering the countless miracles and apparitions in France, I just don't understand how today there are so few believers...; January 17, 2009 at 5:24:00 PM EST
elena maria vidal said...: I know. But I think it is starting to turn around a bit......; January 18, 2009 at 12:30:00 PM EST
May said...: Let's hope so. After all, France is supposed to be the "Eldest Daughter of the Church."; January 18, 2009 at 5:47:00 PM EST
VINCE PALLIER said...: THE FRANCE THEN IS NOT THE FRANCE OF TODAY .FRANCE , AS IS THE REST OF WORLD , IS EMBROILED IN VICE SUCH AS NEVER BEFORE SEEN . OUR PRAYER SHOULD BE , AS OUR LADY SAID, COME LORD JESUS ,COME . HE IS THE ONLY REMEDY REMAINING FOR THIS SIN SICK WORLD WE LIVE IN .; February 6, 2009 at 7:39:00 PM EST