Tea at Trianon: God Is

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

Sunday, October 13, 2013

God Is

And that is enough. Vultus Christi quotes Mother Mectilde de Bar:

I am certain that if we had but a little more faith we should often see miracles in our affairs, but the greatest one of all would be peace and tranquility deep within. I have an ardent desire that you should possess this state, that you should be so intimately united to Jesus as to be unalterable in the midst of the vicissitudes of this life, which is composed of vanity, inconstancy, and affliction of spirit. This is why one must cling to it but in passing, making use of things as if not using them, remaining free in the midst of obstacles, leaning on this infallible truth: God is. It is on this truth that I humbly besought you to spend a quarter of an hour each day, occupying yourself with it in faith. This is how: at the hour of the day that is most free and convenient, you must shut yourself up in a room where, kneeling, or seated if you cannot do otherwise, and by a simple act of faith, believe God present in the inmost part of your soul, believe in Him without making distinctions, in all His attributes and divine perfections. One can say, “My God, You are, I believe that You are, and I believe myself to be utterly nothing in Your holy Presence.” After these words, or others that the Holy Spirit inspires, remain in silence in a profound respect of His infinite grandeur, humbling yourself profoundly, leaving aside every operation, reasoning, and consideration, so as to allow yourself to be plunged into this adorable All. During this quarter of an hour, hold captive the acts of the mind, so as to feel only the delicate touches of the Holy Spirit in the intimacy of the heart. Do not think this a waste of time. You will see that this quiet prayer [oraison] contains an inexhaustible treasure of grace but, as the beginnings are a little difficult, you will do it for only a quarter of an hour, but this must be without fail, and if you do me the favour of coming to visit, we will speak about it more particularly. Let us learn to live here below like the saints in heaven and do on earth the exercise that we hope to do throughout all our eternity. Let us love, adore, and possess within us the same God who is the glory and the felicity of the blessed. So be it. (Read more.)