Tea at Trianon: Three Paths to Interior Peace

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

Saturday, May 30, 2015

Three Paths to Interior Peace

From Catholic Exchange:

Remember, God does not exist in chaos, though the enemy does. Our Heavenly Father created the Earth in six days using a gentle pattern. We must model our own lives after this. It does no good for us to constantly chase distractions and diversions, which are the devil’s playground to foster restlessness within us.

Instead of filling our lives with mental and visual clutter, why not begin by decluttering and simplifying? Create a sacred space, and use it. Daily. In our Information Age, it’s crucial that we schedule time for solitude: reflection, supplication, and most especially listening to God with our hearts. God does not speak to us in the thunder or the rustling wind. He speaks to us softly, sometimes barely audibly. And I believe the purpose for this is so that we discipline ourselves to pause, listen, and wait for His response.

And He will respond if we do this.(Read more.)