Tea at Trianon: Discovering Our Glorious Faith

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, June 4, 2009

Discovering Our Glorious Faith

Today we have a guest post by English journalist and retired headmaster Eric Hester who has reviewed some DVDs by Daphne McLeod.

DISCOVERING OUR GLORIOUS FAITH

By Daphne McLeod (four DVDs from EWTN)

Reviewed by Eric Hester

For those trying to teach the faith there is a dearth of good materials. Of course, there are the catechisms: The Catechism of the Catholic Church and the old Penny Catechism. Both of these are essential and awesome in their depths and simplicity. But there is a shortage of other materials. After all, when the faith was still taught properly in Catholic schools, it was not just a question of The Catechism: children heard sermons from their parish priest about the faith every Sunday; they had parish missions and retreats; and in the schools, the teachers of all subjects incorporated material about the faith into their lessons.

All this has gone. And so these DVDs from EWTN will be literally a Godsend and an answer to prayer to anyone trying to hand on the faith. The format is quite simple: they are DVDs made from Daphne MacLeod’s programs on EWTN. But if they are simple in format and in style, they are profound in their faith. I cannot recommend them too strongly.

First, as anyone would expect who knows Daphne McLeod – a stalwart teacher of the faith in England over the years – they are the real one hundred per cent authentic Catholicity. Not a word is ever ambiguous let alone confusing or misleading. Cardinal Manning said that for the good teacher, the faith should shine out of the eyes, and the Catholic faith shines out of Daphne’s eyes and is present in her voice. In the very first lesson, she explains that she is not going to give out her own views: she is going to proclaim and explain the teaching of the Catholic faith.

This she does, going through four big areas: Almighty God, His Nature and His attributes; The Blessed Trinity; Sanctifying Grace (the Sacrament of Baptism); and the Moral Law The Sacrament of Penance.

In fact, the sacraments are all covered thoroughly in general and as individual entities. So is prayer, Original Sin, Our Blessed Lady, the Blessed Sacrament, original sin and all that should be in a basic course on the faith.

One might think that the format - Daphne’s talking at the camera - might be dull but it never is. Daphne has a most attractive manner and voice. She comes across as a kindly aunt who has discovered the most amazing secret and cannot wait to let everyone know about it. Never is she condescending, but she makes frequent use of anecdotes and homely comparisons to make an explanation. There are good illustrations, but there are no gimmicks and all is most tastefully done with especially good use of great art. The viewer is expected to concentrate and is given help to do so. In total, there are some 13 half-hour talks, but they are subdivided into units of about quarter of an hour.

The DVDs would be especially useful for teachers: those in Catholic schools, those helping at the parish level, home schoolers, or simply parents who want to pass on the faith to their own children. They are not designed mainly for children, though even young children would benefit from watching some parts and older children – from fifteen years onwards – could simply watch the lot, preferably with an adult present to discuss and to explain.

I should encourage anyone interested to obtain the set: you will not be disappointed.