Tea at Trianon: Externals

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

Friday, February 26, 2010

Externals

Do they really matter in the liturgy? They do indeed. As John Zmirak writes: "The old liturgy was crafted by saints, and can be said by schlubs without risk of sacrilege. The new rite was patched together by bureaucrats, and should only be safely celebrated by the saintly." Share

5 comments:

Enbrethiliel said...: +JMJ+

What a great quote from Zmirak--and what a fantastic article! I'm so glad I clicked on the link.

Yes, it is true that liturgical externals are essential. Someone who says, "As long as the rubrics are followed and the Eucharist is valid, that's okay," is doing the Church an intellectual disservice.

I don't read Inside Catholic, Elena, so I must thank you for linking to it here at Tea at Trianon. =); February 26, 2010 at 1:46:00 PM EST
elena maria vidal said...: You are welcome, E.!; February 26, 2010 at 2:26:00 PM EST
God Alone Suffices said...: Thank you so much for linking this article, Elena! :) I showed it to my fiance and he thought it was the best Pro-TLM article he's ever read! As a budding Traditionalist, I found this article wonderfully refreshing (the comments, however...not so much).; February 26, 2010 at 4:56:00 PM EST
Julygirl said...: The spectacle of the Mass should speak to one's soul as well as one's mind. In general, our 'modern' world wants to throw out everything ethereal and replace it with practicality.; February 26, 2010 at 9:39:00 PM EST
Christina said...: In general, our 'modern' world wants to throw out everything ethereal and replace it with practicality.

Yes, and if you dare suggest that the Mass should be beautiful and that churches should be beautifully decorated, you are immediately accused of being a "snob" or worse!

I'm reading a wonderful book by Fr. Thomas Dubay, The Existential Power of Beauty. I've just finished the chapter in which he talks about the inability of some people to appreciate beauty, because they have not learned how to respond to it. It seems very appropriate to this discussion.; February 27, 2010 at 4:39:00 PM EST