Tea at Trianon: Our Lady of the Rosary and the Philippines

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, November 21, 2019

Our Lady of the Rosary and the Philippines

From Aleteia:

In 1593, Don Luis Perez Dasmarinas was appointed the Spanish governor in the Philippines. Soon after his appointment, his father passed away, and he asked his trusted assistant, Captain Hernando Coronel, to have a sculpture made in his honor. Captain Coronel commissioned an immigrant Chinese artist to do the job. The man was also a convert to Christianity and had a sincere love for the Blessed Virgin.

The sculptor (whose name, unfortunately, has been lost to history) carved the statue out of hardwood. It was four feet, eight inches tall. He crafted the face and hands of the Blessed Virgin and the entire Child Jesus from solid ivory. The features of Our Lady’s face and the Child Jesus’ face reflect the sculptor’s ethnicity. Governor Dasmarinas loved the statue and dedicated it to his late father. The statue was called Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary. Not long after, it was given to the Dominicans, and it was placed in the Church at Santo Domingo.

Some years later, the Dutch Republic wanted to establish a quicker trade route to Asia. The most direct route would be through the Philippines, and so they wanted to conquer the country. This would require a formidable naval fleet, which they formed. The Dutch began their attacks in 1646.

The Filipino forces had only two galleons to go against the enormous Dutch fleet. They prayed before the statue of the Blessed Virgin, requesting that she intercede for them in their impending battle. Having placed themselves under the protection of Our Lady of the Rosary, they began to pray the Rosary over and over. They promised that if they were victorious they would make a barefoot pilgrimage toward her shrine in Santo Domingo church in Manila.

Five major naval battles ensued, and the tiny Philippine naval force, a combination of Spanish and Filipino sailors, turned the Dutch forces back each time. Only 15 members of the Spanish navy were lost. When the Dutch finally surrendered, the remaining Filipino and Spanish sailors, fulfilling the vow they had made, walked barefoot in gratitude to the Shrine of Our Lady in Manila. The Blessed Mother was given the name of La Naval and from then on was known as Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary of La Naval of Manila. (Read more.)