Tea at Trianon: The Biblical & Historical Significance of Bread

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

Wednesday, May 7, 2025

The Biblical & Historical Significance of Bread

From Mater et Magistra:

Bread appears throughout Scripture as a sign of sustenance and spiritual nourishment. Jesus teaches us to pray, "Give us this day our daily bread" (Matthew 6:11), reminding us to trust God for both physical and spiritual needs.
The most profound Christian connection to bread is in the Eucharist. At the Last Supper, Jesus broke bread and said, "This is my body, which is given for you" (Luke 22:19). Through the mystery of transubstantiation, simple bread becomes the Body of Christ, the Bread of Life (John 6:35).
Historically, bread-making has evolved from simple unleavened flatbreads to modern loaves. Many ancient civilizations, including the Israelites and early Christians, relied on bread as a daily necessity. Read more.)