Tea at Trianon: New Friends from Down Under

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

Monday, April 27, 2009

New Friends from Down Under

Among the many remarkable people I met at the Eucharistic Convention were two Australians, Fr. John Flader and Sr. Trish Franklin. Sometimes moments of grace come to us in the form of consecrated persons, whose witness cannot help but move the soul. One evening our generous hosts took us all out to a lovely Japanese restaurant in Takapuna. I was blessed to have a fascinating conversation with Fr. Flader, who is actually an American and a Harvard graduate, now Director of the Catholic Adult Education Centre of the Archdiocese of Sydney, Australia. Father is also a member of Opus Dei and he knew Saint Josemaría Escrivá. Like his spiritual mentor, Fr. Flader gives clear instruction in matters of faith and morals while witnessing to the truth and beauty of the Catholic teaching.

Sr. Trish is a dynamo who works with the poorest of the poor in Vietnam. I had a long talk with her about many things, and her insights into the problems of life are both wise and shrewd. She takes care of many impoverished and incapacitated children, who suffer from blindness and other ills. As she is quoted on the Convention website: "I don't think I could do this work without my faith, without turning to God every day in prayer. I don't think I'd have any resources if I didn't have faith and prayer." The Loreto-Vietnam Australia Project does phenomenal work, if anyone is looking for a charity in which their donation would go directly to the poorest. Share