Tea at Trianon: Daily Examen

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 7, 2016

Daily Examen

From Aleteia:

It was the middle of a frigid and hard Chicago winter—one where you don’t see the sun for weeks on end—and I was commuting downtown to a freelance job. But every night I would pray the Daily Examen, which is an integral part of the Spiritual Exercises. The simple process consists of five steps:

Become aware of God’s presence by looking back on the events of the day. Ask God to give you clarity and understanding.

Review your day with gratitude by focusing on the day’s gifts. Notice the small things—God is in the details.

Pay attention to your emotions. St. Ignatius believed that we detect the presence of God in the movements of our emotions. By reflecting on our feelings we can become more aware of ways God is leading us.

Choose one feature of the day and pray from it. Ask the Holy Spirit to direct you to something during the day that God thinks is particularly important.

Look toward tomorrow. Ask God to give you light for tomorrow’s challenges. Seek God’s guidance. Ask him for help and understanding. Pray for hope.

This simple daily exercise helped me to see my life more clearly, and helped me to live more intentionally. I started noticing God everywhere—in a conversation I had with a friend, and the bright red cardinal perched on a branch on a cold winter day. (Read more.)