Tea at Trianon: Engaging the World

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

Thursday, April 2, 2009

Engaging the World

Being "in the world" and not "of the world" can be a challenge. So can dealing with other Catholic parents. To quote:

It made me sad — and more than a little angry — that such “good Catholic parents” would treat us this way, and weren’t even willing to sit down and talk with us face to face about the situation. How tragic, I thought, that these same people who baked cheesecakes and tartlets by the dozen to raise money for the “children in Africa” couldn’t have more compassion for children seated beside them in the church pew.

Alexandra said...: We have experienced the same here in S.Va. which is why I no longer associate with the Catholic hs groups here. I run from cliques; life is too short, and I want more for my children. Jeremy had a speech delay and was very boy-like when he was younger.

Parents didn't want us around because we didn't measure up.

He is "normalized" now, and a little gentlemen, kind to all, blind to appearances.

It's not just Catholics, this sort of snobbery runs in all circles. It's much worse when associated with Christian groups who are suppose to be witnessing to the faith.; April 3, 2009 at 4:01:00 PM EDT