Tea at Trianon: Rebuilding the Culture

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, July 6, 2015

Rebuilding the Culture

From Wildflowers and Marbles:

We can expose our children to beauty in ordinary moments of the day – playing classical music, showing beautiful pieces of art, exposing them to beautiful and rich ideas through their reading. And we don’t need anything crazy or expensive to do this – we just have to make a place for beauty in the day.

We can teach our children that objective truth exists, help them recognize it so they know it (and so that they know when something isn’t true), and it will permeate our family culture so that they can grow into it and bring it with them in the culture-at-large, imbuing their own family culture with truth. When we do this making use of the Sacraments of the Church our efforts are supernaturally charged! And this simply means:

Build a family culture of prayer – pray the Rosary as a family!

Go to Mass as often as you’re able (and yep – I’ve got a toddler, so I KNOW what Mass is like with littles and bigs and in-betweens and chatty kids and hungry kids! I know! It’s all brainstorm-able. All train-able. All necessary!).

Pray an Act of Contrition every evening and encourage Confession.

Look for and embrace the graces available through the Sacrament of Matrimony – this means actively carving out time for you and your spouse! Brainstorm this – it’s worth it! Have dinner after bedtime! Get a babysitter and go out for cocktails and dinner and rock some heels when you go out…ok…or at least rock the wedges that you can wear without twisting your ankle and transforming your evening into a memorable visit with the staff of the ER! Wear perfume again…every day…while you’re doing dishes!!! Make time for the hard conversations – even if your house is full of teens and toddlers and it’s challenging to find a single space in the house for private conversation (not even the bathroom…you’re shaking you’re head…you know what I mean, don’t you?), much less a quiet, uninterrupted moment in time to string four words together! (Ahem…the van in your garage has locking doors and you can bring the baby monitor with you if needed. Just sayin!)

Brainstorm this a little and find a few simple ways to stretch forward in this and grow your family culture! If society is targeting the family, you’re gonna need all the tools in your arsenal to firmly stand your ground as a family – including, but not limited to…heels, perfume and a good red wine never hurt! (Read more.)