Tea at Trianon: Banners of the King

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 23, 2024

Banners of the King

ATTENTION Catholics! It is almost June, Month of the Sacred Heart of Jesus! Let us all fly Sacred Heart banners from our homes as a Christian witness and in thanksgiving for the religious freedoms we enjoy, when freedom for Catholics has not always been the case. Banners available here and here.

Here is a letter I am sending to the local newspaper:

Today I was sent a YouTube video of the Easton Town Council discussing a proposal to ban support for ideological causes. I assume this is a matter of taking fiscal responsibility. I understand that rents and taxes in Easton are high. Although I do not live in Easton, I shop there and am always disappointed when I see empty storefronts, especially if a shop or restaurant that I really liked has gone out of business. So I applaud the Council for choosing to focus public funds on building a climate for prosperous businesses rather than spending money on ideological causes.

One council member mentioned that, for Roman Catholics, June is the traditional Month of theSacred Heart of Jesus. Yet in spite of the growing number of Catholics in Easton, as we continually welcome new citizens from South of the Border, it would be inappropriate for the Town of Easton to hang Sacred Heart Banners from all the lamp posts. Catholics understand this, and no Catholic would ever see the absence of Sacred Heart banners as a sign of hatred. Private citizens, of course, are welcomed to show their support for causes by hanging banners in their yards, and one sees Ukrainian flags everywhere. If someone does not have one, it does not mean they hate Ukrainians.

As a Catholic, I am thinking of getting a Sacred Heart banner for my house. Catholics suffered persecution even in Maryland, which had been founded as a refuge for them by the Calvert family in 1634. Catholicism was banned when the Puritans took over in the 1650’s. The ban lasted more than a hundred years. When our parish church of St. Joseph’s was founded in 1765 in Cordoba, MD it had to be disguised as a farm house. Catholics did not have emancipation in America until we won our independence from Great Britain in 1781. For Catholics, displaying a Sacred Heart banner can be a sign of thanksgiving for the religious freedoms we now enjoy, and which we hope to preserve. Banners are available at many sites online, including Printerval.