Tea at Trianon: Abomination of Desolation

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

Tuesday, December 10, 2024

Abomination of Desolation

"When therefore you shall see the abomination of desolation, which was spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place: he that readeth let him understand." ~ St. Matthew 24:15

I wrote to the Frederick News-Post in response to the announcement of opening of The Wye Oak Tavern in the former Visitation Academy Chapel. It seems the local parish priest tried to have the sacred images removed to avoid profanation, but the Frederick Historical Society would not let them be taken down. Unbelievable. Here is my letter:

It is with pure horror that I viewed the photo of the Visitation Academy Chapel turned into a bar, in the Tuesday, December 3, 2024 edition of the Frederick News Post.. Any Catholic, especially anyone who ever worshiped there, would surely feel the same. I went to daily Mass in that chapel, as well as to funerals, baptisms, First Communions, and weddings, including my own. I would never be able to stroll in for a drink and neither would anyone in my acquaintance. What is called a "de-consecration" we call a desecration. Because that chapel was consecrated to God alone and, according to canon law, should have been dismantled before being sold for secular use. I do not blame the builders or new owners; those responsible belong to the Archdiocese of Baltimore who sold holy ground for profane purposes. Well, I guess they really needed the money. I do wish that the statues of the angels and the painting of the Holy Family over the altar had been removed. Surely some church would have wanted to buy them. Oh well. Whatever happens in that bar occurs in the sight of the angels.