Tea at Trianon: The Promise of a Post-Covid Church

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, September 5, 2020

The Promise of a Post-Covid Church

From Crisis:

In the age of Covid-19, many predict that steady decline will enter freefall. With bishops throughout the developed world imposing restrictions on distributing the Eucharist and celebrating Mass, many Catholics have stopped coming to Mass—some, no doubt, permanently. This can be seen with many parishes reopening only to see a small fraction of members return. It was assumed a signup sheet would be necessary to respect mandated capacity limits, but this has not been necessary for many churches that frequently have only a handful of people attending Sunday Mass.

While one could attribute such a contraction in church attendance to fears over catching the virus, it would probably be more accurate to say that the virus may expose a serious weakness in the Church itself. For decades, convenience and compromise have been the guiding lights of Catholic evangelism. Enterprises claiming to advance the New Evangelization were frequently accompanied by a focus on positive emotions and a vapid “family friendly” atmosphere. As soon as serious adversity struck and these conveniences were momentarily removed, many Catholics left (and continue to leave) the Church without a second thought.

On one hand, this contraction of the Church represents a massive drawback for individuals and communities. On the individual level, the loss of faith endangers the soul in this world and the next. Without the grace of the sacraments, the wisdom of Holy Scripture, and the example of the saints, many will fall into serious emotional and psychological hardship. The vacuum left in people’s hearts will leave them vulnerable to crippling addictions, narcissism, and despair. The absence of transcendent values will result in mediocre lifestyles devoid of accomplishment or meaning. (Read more.)

Are we in apocalyptic times? From Return to Order:

The real battle in today’s society is between two contrary visions of life. One side groups together Ten Commandments Americans—those who still value the remnants of Christian civilization centered on the God-given institutions of family, community and faith. They defend the philosophical framework of Western thought and recognize God’s sovereignty over His creation.
The other side’s flag represents an aggressive anti-Christian civilization based upon postmodern thought and extreme individualism that questions all certainties, values and narratives. It recognizes no masters save the unbridled passions burning like demons within each soul.

In the ever-shrinking center is a decadent society that is being forced to choose which way it will go. The liberal establishment and media favor the anti-Christian side. The battle is playing out in the streets of Portland or other cities where rioters now roll out guillotines, burn flags and Bibles, and unabashedly attack the forces of law and order. They shout, “Death to America!” These disrupters follow the script of countless other revolutionaries of the past, attempting to terrorize complacent and decadent societies into submitting to totalitarian agendas. (Read more.)