Tea at Trianon: Theology for Infants

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 31, 2009

Theology for Infants

Author Regina Doman shares some beautiful ideas on how to introduce small children to God's love, saying:

The most important thing to teach my child remains the most important thing of all in the end: for we never get beyond the love of God. For teaching religion is not merely the passing on of doctrine, but an invitation to a relationship: to prayer, to searching, to receiving, to loving. And it all begins and ends with love.

Lucy said...: Elena, this is the most important gift we can give our children. the best part of it is that when they are young, they are so open and welcoming. Sometime ago, this year, tehre was an article in our National Post describing how children are happier and develop better when they are taught religion from early on. Studies show that they are less prone to aggression and depression as well. They have an anchor of hope. They are naturally open to God. Thanks;-); January 31, 2009 at 10:52:00 AM EST
elena maria vidal said...: You are welcome! Yes, Lucy, they are naturally open to God and how important it is to cultivate the interior life from early on.; January 31, 2009 at 5:12:00 PM EST