I have always felt that Maxime de la Rocheterie's description of Marie-Antoinette is one of the best: She was not a guilty woman, neither was she a saint; she was an upright, charming woman, a little frivolous, somewhat impulsive, but always pure; she was a queen, at times ardent in her fancies for her favourites and thoughtless in her policy, but proud and full of energy; a thorough woman in her winsome ways and tenderness of heart, until she became a martyr. ( The Life of Marie-Antoinette by M. de la Rocheterie, 1893) Marie-Antoinette spent the first fourteen years of her life in Austria, worshiping in Rococo churches and listening to the music of Haydn and the Italian composers. Architecture and music in that time and place celebrated the glory of God in the beauty of His creation. As Queen, her desire to promote beauty around her, especially in the lives of those whom she loved, was an outgrowth of the culture in which she was raised. She loved theater, acting, o...
Colleen,
ReplyDeleteI love that phrase! "Thin places" is a perfect way of decribing those special times and places where we especially sense God's presence :)
Colleen,
ReplyDeleteI'm with Mary- that is a wonderful phrase. Fr. Joseph Homick writes about how God "lifts the veil" for us in certain ways. It is the same idea- it allows us to have those very special "God Moments" or as you call them Sabbath Moments.
Thanks for this beautiful article and for helping us to be more aware of those thin places.