Tea at Trianon: Politics and Catholicism

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

Monday, July 29, 2024

Politics and Catholicism

"Call to Arms" by Edmund Blair Leighton

With an especially stormy election season already in progress, we once again see on display the disdain which many people have for the American political progress. I think some of my co-religionists long for some mythical Catholic kingdom where there was no political in-fighting, no crassness or crudeness, no mob acclaim for a popular leader. Such a place never existed, I am afraid. The politics surrounding the papal throne for two thousand years has at times resembled The Godfather, Parts I, II, and III. A great deal of scheming and bribery surrounded the election of the Holy Roman Emperor. Every medieval kingdom belonging to what we call Christendom had its murders and back-stabbing. Even Camelot had its intrigues.

I have noticed that many devout people seem to shun politics like the plague, not wishing to sully themselves and their holy thoughts with the its grubbiness. I do not blame them. I sought the refuge of a cloistered monastery when I was twenty-five so I would never have to think about politics again. Having no vocation to the cloister, and realizing that I had to make a go of it, not in the France of King St. Louis, but in Maryland, USA, in the mid-90's, I began to follow the political news. It became a matter for my prayers, more than it had been in the past.

However, as the years passed, my roles changed. On becoming a wife, mother, homeowner, homeschooling parent, single-mother, and care-giver, the events of the world of politics became more a matter of concern. When you are trying to launch a young person into the world you have to care that crime is on the rise and that going into Baltimore may mean a carjacking.You have to find out if there is anything you can do, other than intense prayer, to make the country, state and county a better, safer place. So I have gradually become more and more active in local politics, as my family and work duties permitted. I found that there is much to be done. Signs to be posted, letters and articles to write. We always need more volunteers. With so much a stake, good, honest people really need to become more involved.

When you live in a country which is on the path to losing its national sovereignty due to the bad policies of the Left, and when the radical Democrats are pushing the trans agenda as well as abortion without limits, then action is required. When you realize that we are in a war, a war of words but a war nevertheless, then that is the time for citizens of a free country to act. Prayer is vital in this current battle, which is essentially spiritual warfare above all else. In an election where every vote counts, we are fighting to win hearts and minds, and such battles are fruitless without prayer.

While the longing to withdraw from the world and retreat into the desert like the old saints and prophets can be overwhelming at such a time, we are reminded that even Elias became politically involved for the sake of his people. Likewise from even the early Church saints were called to political action, even to the leading of armies. As Catholics we know that patriotism is a virtue akin to piety, and while it may be lived out in a monastery by monks and nuns, the laity is called to take an active role. St. Francis de Sales wrote of this extensively in Introduction to the Devout Life. Being holy is performing the duties of our state in life. A nun may retreat from battle. But if a soldier flees from battle, abandoning his comrades, it is not a virtue but a vice. We are in a huge battle of words, being fought in the media and online. All are needed. Every citizen in a country where the people have a say in their own government have a duty not only to be informed but to act when necessary.