Tea at Trianon: Baby Jesus Still Reigns in Post-Christian America

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

Friday, December 15, 2017

Baby Jesus Still Reigns in Post-Christian America

From TFP:

Even now, the most powerful nations bow before Him. Let them consider the fact that for decades, the Christ Child has found shelter in the White House. The United States is the most powerful nation in the world. Its president is the most powerful world leader. And yet in the house of the President, a crowned Christ Child occupies a place far more honorable and important than that reserved for the president himself. He resides there as king, and the house is decorated at its best to pay Him homage. No foreign leader is treated with more honor and respect than this tiny Child.

Indeed, this Christmas, this Presence shines with particular pomp and splendor. There is open mention of Christmas in addresses and greeting cards. It is as if some forbidden decree has been lifted. This year’s refreshing celebration, while not ideal, reflects a desire of countless Americans that He be treated in a privileged way. This new splendor is welcomed by a society long stifled by politically correct diktats.

For too long, the nation has suffered by those in power who have tried to minimize the event. They have even tried to make it non-religious or politically correct. They have avoided mentioning Him by name. But the force of that compelling grace of Christmas has proven stronger. No president has dared to expel the Child from the inn. For decades, the beautiful Nativity Scene has always been set up. While failing to acknowledge Him properly, there at least has always been room in the White House Inn—even in supposedly post-Christian America. (Read more.)