Tea at Trianon: The heroism of St. Jeanne d'Arc

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 23, 2007

The heroism of St. Jeanne d'Arc

In the following days, I will be posting some articles in honor of the Maid of Orleans, in preparation for her feast on May 30. So often her feast happens around Pentecost, which is very appropriate. Few persons have so completely incarnated in themselves what it means to be a soldier of Christ. Jeanne left everything behind to follow God's call, although she was very feminine and excelled at household tasks, such as spinning. For Jeanne to leave her orbit required superhuman fortitude and courage. She was called as a consecrated virgin to symbolize the Church and the direct intervention of God. The saint inspired heroism in those around her, and had many brave companions, including some Scottish knights. Here is an article about the Scots who fought for St. Joan.

Here is the novena prayer in honor of the peasant girl whose appearance on the stage of history confounded the wise and the great, and still does. Share