Tea at Trianon: The Guadalupe Mysteries

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, December 24, 2016

The Guadalupe Mysteries

From Church Pop:

New and evolving technological developments pertaining to Our Lady of Guadalupe are discussed in detail in Guadalupe Mysteries: Deciphering the Code. For example, it wasn’t until 1929 when the official Basilica photographer Alfonso Marcue Gonzales first discovered an image in the eyes of the Blessed Mother of Guadalupe. As technology improved, several studies were conducted into these images. In 1979, a Peruvian engineer, Jose Aste Tonsmann, discovered a group of 13 people in Mary’s eyes, a discovery that was confirmed in 2006 by another engineer using the most up-to-date technology. It is believed that these people represent those who were present at the very moment when Juan Diego presented the image of Our Lady to Bishop Zurmarraga who didn’t seem to believe him at first.

It’s confounding because the image’s iris measures only 5/16 of an inch, and easy to believe the author’s contention that no human could have painted “such a precise image on such a small surface, observing virtually 100 percent conformance with the laws of optics, which were not known until the nineteenth century.”

Another fascinating fact has to do with the material on which the image is presented. The tilma was constructed of agave thread. This type of material isn’t durable; it’s expected to wear out within 20-40 years. But the material on which appears the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe is virtually unscathed after nearly 500 years, which is miraculous, especially since no real effort at preservation has been made. In fact, it didn’t even have the protection of a glass encasement during the first 100 years of its existence. Instead, it was exposed to incense, candle smoke and other unfavorable elements.

There was a time when pilgrims were able to directly touch, kiss and even place their faces directly against the tilma, yet no marks were left on the material. The image famously survived at least two episodes that should surely have been destructive. One includes dynamite that exploded after being placed by the altar where the image hung. Not even a scratch was left on the protective glass while windows were shattered in nearby houses.

In 1791 nitric acid was accidentally spilled on part of the image while the frame was being cleaned. This accident should have instantly put a hole in the fabric. Instead, only minor damage was done in the form of stains, and even those eventually faded. (Read more.)