Tea at Trianon: The Annunciation

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, March 25, 2009

The Annunciation

The solemnity of the Annunciation is today. Here is a reflection from Divine Intimacy by Father Gabriel of Saint Mary Magdalen, OCD:

The Angel's explanation does not prevent future events and circumstances from remaining hidden and obscure to Mary. She finds herself face to face with a mystery, a mystery which she knows intuitively to be rich in suffering; for she has learned from the Sacred Scriptures that the Redeemer will be a man of sorrows, sacrificed for the salvation of mankind. Therefore, the ineffable joy of the divine maternity is presented to her wrapped in a mystery of sorrow: to be willing to be the Mother of the Son of God means consenting to be the Mother of one condemned to death. Yet Mary accepts everything in her fiat: in the joy as well as in the sorrow of the mystery, she has but one simple answer: "Behold the handmaid of the Lord."

Hans Georg Lundahl said...: Happy Annunciation Feast!; March 25, 2009 at 6:41:00 AM EDT
Anonymous said...: It is a Joyful Sorrow. The Annunciation is March 25th in the Orthodox Church as well. Even though it is during Lent, Orthodox Christians are told to celebrate with joy. May I, like Our Lady the Theotokos, be able to say to the Lord, "Be it done to me according to Thy Word."; March 25, 2009 at 6:47:00 AM EDT
elena maria vidal said...: Happy Feast to you all!

Yes, Juliana, although the Annunciation is a joyful mystery from the moment Our Lord was conceived His sacrifice on our behalf had begun. "Behold I come to do your will, O God."; March 25, 2009 at 8:19:00 AM EDT
Anonymous said...: The reflection is lovely---how blessed we are to have such a mother!
Happy feast day, Elena!; March 25, 2009 at 9:17:00 AM EDT
BelgieRoyalist said...: My goodness, I had quite forgotten. I'll have to get going now (rushes out the door>>>>); March 25, 2009 at 12:51:00 PM EDT
Anonymous said...: Happy Feast of the Annunciation! Thank you for this lovely reflection.; March 25, 2009 at 1:49:00 PM EDT
May said...: Happy Feast Day to all!; March 25, 2009 at 7:40:00 PM EDT
Anonymous said...: Thank you, Elena!

Troparion Tone 4
Today is the beginning of our salvation
and the manifestation of the mystery which is from eternity.

God Bless,
Juliana; March 25, 2009 at 8:41:00 PM EDT