Tea at Trianon: The Christian Life Is a Constant Battle

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

Thursday, May 30, 2019

The Christian Life Is a Constant Battle

From Catholic Exchange:

Jesus teaches that his followers should keep watch and stay awake. When we do so we place ourselves in the position to know when the serpent shows up and it gives us the weapons we need to crush its head while it strikes at our heel. Then we will know how to decipher, discern, and choose the author of life over the author of lies.

A vigilant soul will utilize proper discernment during the everyday moments of life. Discernment is a major theme of the pope’s exhortation and it is how he chooses to come to a close. Discernment is not figuring out what else we can get out of life, but a recognition of how we can accomplish our mission given to us by God (#174). Through proper discernment we know what to do, how to do it, and when to do it. The Lord works in his own time and calls us to a holy patience that trusts completely in his ability to conquer. This allows us to reign victorious with the Lord. (Read more.)