Baleful News

By now, everyone and his mother has heard of Christian Bale's arrest and release over allegations of verbal assault against his mother and sister. Far be it from me to fuel speculation over private matters, but as a longtime fan of Bale's work, I do feel the need to at least clarify things on his behalf.

Firstly, the complaint involved verbal assault; no physical violence was involved. In other words, Bale gave them a tongue lashing during a disagreement, and that's about all. If verbal assault were a criminal offense in the United States, half the country would be in jail (including me, if my mother were ever callous enough to file a criminal complaint against me, which she isn't). Bale categorically denies any physical violence was involved, and denies the assault allegations.

Secondly, the law in England allows one to arrest a suspect before questioning him, unlike in the U.S., where one must first charge a felon before arrest. After he voluntarily came to the police station by appointment, he was released after questioning. Although his mother filed the complaint Monday, the police thought the matter unimportant enough to let him come in Tuesday afternoon.

Thirdly (and, as far as I'm concerned, most importantly), what mother would ever file a criminal complaint against her son over a verbal altercation, and on the night of the biggest premiere of his life, knowing it might damage his career and, even worse, his good name? Bale has no criminal record, and is known to live a clean life, avoiding partying and drugs, and spending free time with his wife and three-year-old daughter. His mother, who has been largely uninvolved in his life since he moved Stateside to live with his father at age 16, led a rather unconventional life as a circus dancer, a life in which she immersed her son. According to news updates, he has been estranged from her for years, and the night of the altercation, she provoked him by insulting his wife and saying other outrageous things to him. He came to his wife's defense.

Having had intimate experience with certain in-laws, I am fully aware that all mothers are not what they ought to be. One in-law in particular practically abandoned her son when he was a child so she could continue her life of drugs and partying, went on to marry four times, and in her old age has never apologized for her behavior. She was declared an unfit mother and he was given over to the care of his grandparents, who raised him in a loving and stable home. I thus have no illusions that all 61-year-old mothers are sweet, selfless human beings willing to sacrifice all for their children. I make no accusations against Bale's mother, of course, as it's not my place, but I do feel it necessary to speak in defense of Bale, as so many have already jumped to conclusions and unfairly judged his character over this.

A Worthy Cause

Kline is a modern-day David standing up to Goliath; there are few attorneys out there willing to fight the abortion industry as he has, but this battle is far from over. The deadline to contribute is the 22nd. You can learn more at www.StandwithPhill.com.

Gerald Warner of The Telegraph shares his thoughts on Bastille Day:

Bastille Day or, as the comic singers who take it seriously prefer to call it, the Fête de la Federation, is the embarrassing event that exposes the cultural, moral and constitutional bankruptcy of what was once the greatest civilisation in Europe.

When you are reduced to celebrating the murder by the canaille of Paris in 1789 of the French equivalent of the Chelsea Pensioners, you are inadvertently advertising the sinister origins of the dysfunctional state you are trying to prop up with a mythology as grotesque as it is pathetic. The Umpteenth French Republic is the one entity whose absorption by the European Union is not to be regretted.

Pompous parades will today celebrate the event that triggered the French Revolution, that is to say, the most appalling bloodbath anterior to the Russian Revolution. Seven prisoners were released from the Bastille—four counterfeiters, an accomplice to murder and two lunatics—whose return to the community was hardly beneficial. The attack on the prison, reserved for the well-off, was orchestrated by the Marquis de Sade and Camille Desmoulins on behalf of the Nine Sisters masonic lodge.

There followed the September massacres, the marriages républicains in which people of opposite sexes were stripped naked and lashed together in obscene postures before being drowned, mothers forced to watch their children being guillotined and the massacre of 400,000 Catholic royalists—the majority of them women and children—in La Vendée. Sounds like the perfect excuse for a celebratory knees-up.

There are two countries called France. One is the sluttish Republic—"Marianne"—the other is the timeless, civilised doyen of Christendom, the nation of Clovis and St Louis, of the Valois and Bourbon kings, the Catholic and monarchic civilisation that fell with Charles X in 1830 but still defiantly survives in many enclaves. That pulse will beat quietly today while the heirs of the sans-culottes strut their stuff, proclaiming French nationalism under the figurehead of a Hungarian president and his Italian wife.

It is all hollow, even on their terms: the lodges and the heirs of the Jacobins have migrated to Brussels and are working on a more ambitious project, still aimed at the de-Christianisation of Europe and the elimination of freedom and tradition. France without its monarchy and the Church of which it was proudly termed the Eldest Daughter is a desert.

Today is when the posturing Pantaloons bedecked with tricolour sashes enjoy their 15 minutes of fame. God send, at some time in the future—however distant—the restoration of the glittering monarchy whose downfall in blood is so vulgarly celebrated today. Long live the present-day heir of the Bourbons, the Duc d'Anjou, rightful King of France. Vive Louis XX.

Well-said. (The coat of arms above is that of la Département de la Vendée.)

140 Rue du Bac

One hundred years ago this July, the Church gave formal approval to the Association of the Miraculous Medal, formed after St. Catherine Labouré received visions from the Blessed Virgin Mary to strike a medal in her honor. The medal quickly proliferated, and has now been distributed to the furthest parts of the world.

You can read a wonderfully detailed account of the saint's life and visions written by Fr. Joseph Dirvin here, "the full and authoritative story on the life and works of St. Catherine."

Several months ago on our pilgrimage to Paris, one of our first stops was the Chapel of the Miraculous Medal on 140 Rue du Bac, in the 7th arrondissement.


It's easy to miss this little grotto in the heart of the city. The street is just as any other street in busy Paris, and apart from this little plaque on the entrance, there is little else to mark the site.


Just inside the entrance above the front gate is this statue of the Virgin with St. Catherine. “I’ve been made guardian. The protection of God is always there!”


“It’s in this chapel that in 1830 the Immaculate Virgin, Mother of God, manifested herself to Sister Catherine Labouré and gave to the world the Miraculous Medal.”


Interior of the chapel.


Incorrupt body of St. Louise de Marillac. (Apologies for the grainy photo; I couldn’t get any closer.) [Thank you, Fr. M, for the correction.]


As at so many other shrines, plaques line the wall donated by the faithful.

On July 18th, 1830, the Blessed Virgin made these predictions:

The times are very evil. Sorrows will come upon France; the throne will be overturned. The whole world will be upset by miseries of every kind.

Indeed, it occurred just as She said. Only ten days later, the House of Bourbon would fall, Charles X being forced to abdicate his throne in favor of the House of Orléans. To this day (ignoring the Napoleonic pretender), the two claimants to the French throne descend, one from the House of Bourbon (Louis-Alphonse), the other from the House of Orléans (Louis-Philippe), the Orléanists claiming Louis-Philippe’s right is rooted directly in the July Revolution and Charles's abdication. The Legitimists, who support Louis-Alphonse (Louis XX), claim abdication does nothing to altar the Bourbon’s rightful succession (Guy Stair-Sainty seems to take the same view). You can see a photo of Louis XX with his family here.

Mary continued her predictions:

You will recognize my coming, you will see the protection of God upon the Community, the protection of St. Vincent upon both his Communities. Have confidence. Do not be discouraged. I shall be with you. It will not be the same for other communities. There will be victims.... There will be victims among the clergy of Paris. Monseigneur the Archbishop . . . My child, the cross will be treated with contempt; they will hurl it to the ground. Blood will flow; they will open up again the side of Our Lord. The streets will stream with blood. Monseigneur the Archbishop will be stripped of his garments....

Our Lady foretold the martyrdom of Monseigneur Darboy, Archbishop of Paris, forty years later during la Semaine Sanglante (“The Bloody Week”), when the Paris Commune took prominent Catholic clergy hostage to negotiate with the government. When nothing came of it, the communists shot him. From the eyewitness account of Mgr. Darboy’s martyrdom:

Monseigneur Darboy stepped forward, and addressing his assassins, uttered a few words of pardon. Two of these men approached the Archbishop, and in face of their comrades knelt before him, beseeching his forgiveness. The other Federals at once rushed upon them and drove them back with insulting reproaches, and then, turning toward the prisoners, gave vent to most violent expressions. The commander of the detachment even felt ashamed of this, and, ordering silence, uttered a frightful oath, telling his men that they were there “to shoot those people, and not to bully them.” The Federals were silenced, and upon the orders of their lieutenants, loaded their weapons. Father Allard was placed against the wall and was the first shot down. Then Mgr. Darboy, in his turn, fell. The whole six prisoners were thus shot, all evincing the utmost calmness and courage.

In one of the side chapels of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris stands a statue in homage to this martyr, poised to give his executioners a blessing.



As a remedy to such evils, Our Lady encouraged all to come to the foot of the altar at the Chapel of the Miraculous Medal and there beseech graces for themselves and for the whole world. The Miraculous Medal was also given as a remedy for the conversion of souls. In the U.S., you can order them here. In France, they can be ordered here.

La messe traditionelle à Paris

For the first time in decades, Mass in the extraordinary form will be held at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris on Tuesday, June 17th, at 7:30 p.m. If you happen to be in Paris, this is not to be missed!

Pour la première fois depuis quelques décennies, la messe solennelle selon la forme extraordinaire du rite romain sera célébrée dans l’église Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris le mardi 17 juin à 19 h 30. Si vous êtes à Paris, c'est un évènement à ne pas manquer !

Lourdes

Nightly Marian procession in front of the Basilica

The crown jewel of our pilgrimages, we spent several days in Lourdes last week before preparing to return to the States. More photos and commentary to follow in the busy weeks to come... (Mais soyez patient ; nous serons très occupés avec notre déménagement.)

Les Buissonets

Lisieux Part I

Before marriage, Louis Martin and Zélie Guerin attempted the religious life—Louis with the canons of St. Bernard Hospice in the Alps, and Zélie with the Daughters of Charity. Both were rejected. Louis was told he should complete his studies, and in Zélie’s case, the Mother Superior told her without hesitation that such was not God’s will. Rather, the two would later meet in Alençon and marry. Louis was then an expert watchmaker, and Zélie ran a successful lace-making business. Both were profoundly Christian, with a deep devotion to their faith and a desire to follow God’s will.

They were married for nineteen years, and together had nine children, three of whom died in infancy and a daughter who died at the tender age of five. One can read from Mme Martin’s letters to her brother her intense anguish over the loss, one by one, of her children, and her resignation to the divine will. She ultimately succumbed to cancer, and died when her youngest child was only four. Monsieur Martin would also suffer greatly toward the end of his life. After offering himself up to God as a victim soul, he was quickly heard: arteriosclerosis led to mental instability and delirium, and a stroke would cause paralysis. Finally, a heart attack ended his life.


M and Mme Martin’s suffering would not be in vain. Their remaining five daughters all entered the religious life, and their youngest would one day come to be called by Pope St. Pius X “the greatest saint of modern times.” St. Therese of Lisieux, so called because of the town the Martin girls would call home after the death of their mother, grew up in the red brick house she knew as Les Buissonets. Of her parents, Therese would later say, “The Good Lord gave me a father and a mother more worthy of Heaven than of earth.”


The home is stately, but much smaller within than one imagines, consistent with many nineteenth-century French homes. The staircase, for instance, is small and so narrow it can fit only one person at a time. If you’ve seen the recent film Therese, it’s quite obvious they filmed in an American period home, as the rooms and staircase are much more spacious. Another inaccuracy in the film is that it shows a horsedrawn carriage leaving from the front of Les Buissonets, when in fact there is no drive at all; in fact, a red brick wall blocks access to the home, save for a small portal.


The fireplace before which Therese would receive her great Christmas grace: the end of her scrupulosity and excessive sensitiveness.


The house itself remains largely unchanged. Here is the dining room in its original state, where Therese shared her last emotional meal with her family before entering Carmel. On the mantle is a clock made by Mr. Martin.


The bed where Therese lay mortally ill in her youth, and a replica of the statue of Our Lady, whose miraculous smile cured Therese. Known as Notre Dame du Sourire (Our Lady of the Smile), the original sits above the reliquary of St. Therese in the Carmel of Lisieux.


Statue of Ste-Jeanne d’Arc on the dresser opposite the bed.


Louis Martin’s room next door.


St. Therese’s childhood room is next to her father’s, and has been turned into something of a museum and religious store. Here you can see her First Communion dress, and the outfit she wore upon entry into Carmel.


Below her dress is the crucifix she received at her First Communion from her sister Léonie. Therese kissed it as she lay on her deathbed, and bequeathed it to her first “spiritual son”, Father Bellier, a missionary priest in Africa with whom she corresponded. It would be returned in 1907.


Her tea set and picnic ensemble.


The cage where she kept her beloved canary, a chess set, crucifix, and writing desk.


The backyard is spacious, and full of little gravel paths that wind past shrubbery and beneath trees. A memorial has been built of the moment St. Therese revealed to her father her wish to enter Carmel.


“The little garden of Therese.”


“One of the altars that little Therese called marvelous.” Though difficult to see, here is a small crèche that was made in one of the nooks in the backyard and has been preserved.


One of the many garden paths Therese and her father would walk together in the evenings.


Anterior view of Les Buissonets


Les Buissonets, with the cathedral spire visible in the background. It is the church the Martins regularly attended (Mr. Martin donated the gorgeous marble High Altar there).


Marie lays flowers at the foot of St. Therese’s statue near the home's entrance.

Leaving Home--to Go Back Home...

In a few short weeks, we make the long flight back to the United States. Am I glad to be returning to America? Yes and no. I'll be coming back home, but I'll also be leaving my other home. Being born French, having spent life here as a little girl, I will leave a part of myself here. There will be a thousand things about France I shall miss--most especially the language, hearing it all around me every day, seeing it on every sign. There’s no need to mention the wine, cheese, bread, pastry, yogurt (even the frozen dinners here are amazing; I’ve never tasted microwaveable meals so delicious). We’ve made some wonderful friends here we’ll miss, have met wonderful priests, attended a wonderful parish (which put the kibosh on the annoying stereotype that the faith is dying in France). I’ll miss the incredible churches and buildings, the beautiful architecture, the sheer living history of this and so many other cities, and, of course, all the holy sites we’ve been able to visit. Spiritually speaking, it’s been a rich year. It’s impossible to recount the graces with which we’ve been showered since our arrival.

I do look forward, though, to a more affordable lifestyle back in the Midwest. With the strengthening Euro and the declining dollar, our money goes fast here. And there are things I miss about the States: a good authentic Mexican taco; barbeque babyback ribs; Chinese take-out; even pizza. I know: how could I possibly crave such mundane fare when I’ve got boeuf bourgignon, oeufs de meurette, and hachi parmentier at my fingertips? Those are lovely, and we’ve enjoyed them all year; being deprived this long, though, of the fare one takes for granted Stateside has made us miss it. Politically speaking, I’ve been about a million miles removed. I’ve been keeping vague track of the American presidential race from a distance, though I can’t say I’m terribly excited about either candidate. Here in France, the press seems more interested in Sarkozy’s personal affairs than policy.

Coming here to live, we knew we’d have to make some sacrifices, and we’ve been perfectly happy to do it. We’ve had no car, so we’ve partaken of public transport everywhere; we have no oven, so everything has been cooked on a two-range stovetop with limited utensils; we’ve had no proper beds, and have instead slept on a canapé lit we bought at IKEA. And, because our apartment came unfurnished, we had to supply the rest ourselves; with limited funds, that meant a very spare (but spacious) apartment for the year, a very small refrigerator that required frequent trips to the grocery store for restocking, and no dryer (which meant, yes, daily hanging wet clothes on a rack). Thus, there are certain comforts we have gone without—but to live in France it was certainly worth it, and I have no complaints. I do admit, though, that it will be nice to return to the things that make life a little easier. And, quite frankly, now that je suis enceinte, it becomes even more imperative I return to the States and to a healthcare network I am familiar with (and that speaks English). I have no problem giving birth in France, but if complications were to arise, I'd prefer being able to understand absolutely everything the doctors and nurses were to say to me, and not just the majority of it.

Before reaching all those creature comforts, however, we’ll have to overcome the hurdle of a nine-hour plane flight with two bright and lively toddlers. Thus I found this article on how to keep children somewhat quiet on board very helpful.

Hutchinson Middle School Harasses a Sixth-Grader for Wearing Pro-Life Shirts

The St. Thomas More Law Center has just filed suit against Hutchinson Middle School on behalf of “K.B.”, a sixth-grade boy who has been the subject of continual harassment by school employees for daring to wear pro-life t-shirts to class.

School officials, including the principal and several teachers, on over a dozen occasions during April 2008, told “K. B.” not to wear the t-shirts, publicly singled him out for ridicule in front of his classmates, removed him from class, sent him to the principal’s office, forced him to turn his pro-life t-shirt inside out, and threatened him with suspension if he did not stop wearing the offending pro-life t-shirts.

I always find a brief, respectful letter expressing concerns to those in authority can make a difference; on almost every occasion that I’ve written an e-mail expressing my outrage over unconstitutional harassment, I get a response. Educational institutions, whether they be primary schools or universities, are especially concerned about their reputation, so the more they are inundated with notes of disapproval, the more likely they are to reform their behavior. Therefore, I leave to you, dear readers, the following contact information:

Keith Kamrath, Chairman of the School Board: kkamrath@hutchtel.net

Julie Ashbaugh, Vice Chairperson of the School board: ashbaugh@hutchtel.net

Daron VanderHeiden, Superintendent of Schools: daronv@hutch.k12.mn.us

Allen Stoeckman, Assistant Superintendent of Schools: allens@hutch.k12.mn.us

Todd Grina, President of Hutchinson Middle School: toddg@hutch.k12.mn.us

Bill Carlson, Assistant Principal: billcn@hutch.k12.mn.us

The Priest Game

Want to get your children interested in a vocation while having fun? The Priest Game, the first board game put out by Catholic Kids’ Games, is a hit among youngsters (even as early as 2 years of age). One family describes their experience:

There are many things I love about this game… First, it’s a great teaching tool on our priests and the Mass. Every thing that is used in the Mass or by our priests is on one of the cards with beautiful pictures and the proper names and simple descriptions that even Therese can understand. I have certainly learned quite a few things. Even my beloved husband who is an installed acolyte has learned a thing or two from this game. The prayers, especially those for our priests are lovely and a great encouragement to pray for them…. In addition, the game comes with a 3 part DVD on the Mass Explained that Fr. Tim did for his television show, “Inspired by This Confidence.” One of my favorite parts of this DVD is when he explains the prayers the priests prays as he is vesting himself for Mass. It gave me an even more profound love and respect for the priesthood.

You can order it for $25 here.

Kansas Governor Corruption Scandal Update

Another Update: Gov. Sebelius claimed the private soirée held on April 9, 2007 with Dr. Tiller was “reimbursed by the Greater Kansas City Women’s Political Caucus.” It turns out it was indeed reimbursed—only ten days ago, well after the photos exposing her steak-and-lobster party with Tiller made national headlines.

"Once our office started looking into records surrounding this auction reception it was determined that the policy in place for reimbursement on political events was not followed due to staff turnover and the length of time between the purchase of the auction item (September, 2005) and the date the reception was scheduled (April, 2007)," reads the explanation from Sebelius' spokeswoman Nicole Corcoran.

So far as they know, reimbursement has been timely received on all other taxpayer-funded events held at the mansion. Some wonder whether or not the governor’s explanation is entirely truthful, or just a fabricated cover story to save her reputation. The inside source that leaked the photos and was present at the party insists it was an invitation-only event held expressly to honor Dr. Tiller, and not a charity auction prize.

Original Post: Governor Sebelius is seen in this video defending her story that Dr. Tiller attended a Greater Kansas City Women’s Political Caucus Torch Dinner and bought the charity prize of an evening at her mansion. The only problem with this story is that receipts from the 2006 Torch Dinner (it couldn’t have been 2007, because that was held months after the private soirée at the Governor’s mansion) do not list Dr. George Tiller or his wife, nor his abortion clinics or affiliates as having bought anything. In addition, Gov. Sebelius claims the taxpayer-funded dinner at her mansion was a political event, and was therefore reimbursed by the GKC Women’s Political Caucus; there are no documented reiumbursements, however, from the Women’s Political Caucus to Kansas State in 2006 or 2007.

This is looking worse and worse for Governor Sebelius. If she is not outright lying, then at the very least she should have had the wisdom to tactfully turn down the charity auction prize Tiller won, knowing he was under criminal investigation and thus risking—as she has so done—the appearance of impropriety. But until the Governor can produce objective evidence to back up her claim that the private dinner was not held specifically in Tiller’s honor, her office is beginning to smell pretty rotten…

National Review has a good article summarizing the power and corruption of the abortion industry in Kansas, and how it has ruined at least one good man’s career, with the help of Gov. Sebelius.

Market Day

I took the children to Les Halles, the covered market, today. Friday morning seems a good time to go, as not only are all the stands open within, the building is surrounded on all sides with stands selling fresh fruits, vegetables, herbs, and flowers for wonderful prices. Inside, you’ll find butchers, fishmongers, and cheesemakers, and a nice little Oriental grocer who sells all the little obscure sauces, powders, and noodles impossible to find in regular grocery stores.


Interior of Les Halles, on a day less busy. Built in 1886 by the same man who built the Eiffel Tower, it’s a bustling market center four mornings a week. All around Les Halles, you’ll find flea market booths selling clothes, linens, antiques, and books.


A nearby stand sells olives of all sorts, dried fruit, biscuits, cheese, beer, and jam.


Dijon being Dijon, you’ll find every variation of Dijon mustard under the sun (except American, of course). Dijon mustard is made with black mustard seeds. The crushed seeds are soaked and fermented in a liquid (depending on the type of mustard, it may bed vinegar, white wine, or verjuice grape, a grape that never reaches maturity, retaining a degree of acidity that lends to mustard’s piquancy). After exposure to an enzyme (mryosynase), an essential oil is procured that gives mustard its piquant flavor. It was Jean Naigeon, a Dijonnais, who in 1752 substituted verjuice grape with vinegar in which to ferment the mustard seeds, and thus was born world-renowned Dijon mustard.


Du pain! Undoubtedly a staple I will miss on our return Stateside…


Saucisson sec. I adore a good smoked sausage—not the pasty Pepperidge Farm summer sausage logs, but a chewy, dark rosette, or a sweet and spicy chorizo. In the states, a log can cost an arm and a leg, but here you can get them for a pittance, and in so many varieties it’s hard to choose.


A honey stand, selling every sort of honey and beeswax candles.


Biscuiterie & Confiserie. The one candy stand in Les Halles; I can’t imagine anything more fun than making and selling candy for a living.


Dried fish, olives, and wine.

Kansas Governor Corruption Scandal

Several weeks ago, Archbishop Naumann bravely issued a public letter asking Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius, a pro-abortion Catholic, to refrain from receiving Holy Communion until she had publicly renounced her position on abortion. God bless him. This came after two private requests had gone ignored. It hardly seems the Governor will change her position anytime soon, though; not only is she pro-choice, many think she is in the pocket of the abortion industry. As Robert Novak has written:

Sebelius's connection with abortion is more intimate. She is allied with the aggressive Kansas branch of Planned Parenthood in a bitter struggle with antiabortion activist District Attorney Phill Kline. There is substantial evidence she has been involved in what pro-life advocates term "laundering" abortion industry money for distribution to Kansas Democrats.

Kansas is the home of the infamous late-term abortion mill operated by Dr. George Tiller, who has performed abortions on fetuses of up to 39 weeks’ gestation. It is well-known that Tiller’s contributions to the Governor’s campaign (as well as to pro-choice Democrats in the Kansas Legislature) have been significant. For several years now, he’s been embroiled in a criminal investigation involving charges of having performed illegal abortions. And the Governor, whose position should be one of impartiality, was recently discovered to have held a private party at her mansion expressly in Dr. Tiller’s honor (steak and lobster were on the menu). What’s more, she refuses—in violation of the Kansas Open Records Act—to disclose the cost and source of funding for this event. Little surprise; if it turns out she held a secret soirée in honor of the most controversial abortionist in the nation at her home, all at taxpayers’ expense, citizens would be none too pleased, and her bias in favor of the abortion lobby would be confirmed.

In any case, these photos prove the event took place. As the saying goes, a picture speaks a thousand words.

Update: Governor Sebelius's office released receipts of the April 2007 event that shows it was indeed paid for by taxpayers. The Governor is now doing damage control: her office (rather ridiculously) asserts the event was a charity auction prize and that Sebelius had no control over who her guests would be that night. This is expressly contradicted by the source who took the photos at the party, saying the guests were by special invitation only. In any case, a month later, Sebelius celebrated her birthday with a Planned Parenthood fundraiser.

Legionary of Christ Father Edward McNamara, professor of liturgy at the Regina Apostolorum university, discusses some of the liturgical changes implemented by our Holy Father:

The increase in some aspects of solemnity in papal liturgies is perhaps even more noteworthy. The Holy Father and his personally appointed master of liturgical celebrations have clearly opted to restore some elements that had fallen into disuse, in order to give more splendor to the rites.

This can be seen in the style of albs, surplices and vestments used in the celebrations. In some cases this means using older vestments from the pontifical sacristy such as the magnificent golden miter used in the elevation of new cardinals. This miter, emblazoned with the figure of Our Lady of Guadalupe, had been a gift from Mexican Catholics to Blessed Pope Pius IX.

The violet cope used for this year’s Palm Sunday procession was a new and faithful replica of one that had belonged to the renaissance Medici Pope Leo X. The custom has also been revived of having two cardinal deacons, in miter and dalmatic, accompany the Pope in these processions to hold the cope.

The practice of placing the crucifix at the center of the altar in front of the celebrant is certainly a personal initiative of Benedict XVI.

He had already made this suggestion as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger in his book “The Spirit of the Liturgy.” For him this practice is a means of creating a “liturgical east” that helps the celebrant to concentrate on the essential meaning of the sacrifice of the Mass even when celebrating facing the people.

Lisieux

One of the saints who has revolutionized my understanding of God is St. Therese of the Infant Jesus and the Holy Face. Last week we made the four-hour train ride to the heart of Normandy to visit the hometown of this beloved saint. In the background you can see the dome of the Basilica built in St. Therese’s honor.


If you ever come by this way, we cannot recommend highly enough the lovely Ermitage Ste-Thérèse, a retreat center for pilgrims in the heart of the city, wedged between the Carmel, the Basilica, and Les Buissonets, the childhood home of St. Therese. The sisters who run the Basilica, from Asia, Africa, and South America, were friendly, cheerful, and ever helpful.


St. Therese greets you on the way in.

The Ermitage is run by the Missionary Workers of Donum Dei, founded by French priest Marcel Roussel-Galle, born in 1910. Père Roussel had the greatest devotion to St. Therese, second only to his love of the Blessed Virgin, and founded a community based on St. Therese’s offering to Merciful Love. Their work was to convert pagan souls to Christ, through young women consecrated to God and vowed to virginity. Their first conversions took place among the prostitutes in Pigalle, and quickly spread among pagan souls in the suburbs, the sick in hospitals, students in schools… Foundations were multiplied, spreading to other continents. In the 1980s, the community was enlarged to include youth and families who wished to consecrate their lives to spreading devotion to Merciful Love. Before his death, Père Roussel entrusted the spiritual family to the order of Carmel.


The chapel of the Ermitage, dedicated to Notre Dame du Sourire, Our Lady of the Smile, a reference to the statue of the Blessed Virgin in the Martin’s home that, in a miraculous vision, smiled at Therese when she was mortally ill and cured her.


View from one of our windows, with the roof of the Carmelite chapel in the near distance.


On the same street as the Ermitage, only a few yards away, is the Carmel that St. Therese entered, and where she is buried.




The façade of the Carmelite chapel (the grounds, as you can see, are undergoing renovation).


The chapel up close, with St. Michael standing guard.


Interior of the Carmelite chapel, where St. Therese attended Mass every day. It has unfortunately undergone one of those minimalist renovations so many old churches have suffered from, its pews and kneelers taken out and replaced with plain benches, its stone tiles gutted, leaving only the bare unpainted concrete, and its beautiful white walls covered up by alternating wooden panels. In truth, I couldn’t tell if it was a finished renovation or if it was temporary, that’s how clumsy it looked. You can see in the distance a floating, crucifixless Jesus. I believe this was the carving on the original crucifix behind the altar, removed and placed on its own during the renovation.


Fortunately, the statue of St. John of the Cross was kept, as was that of the mother of the Discalced Carmelite Order, St. Teresa of Avila, on the other side of the entrance.


Here lie under the reliquary of St. Therese of the Infant Jesus the Reverend Mother Agnes of Jesus (Pauline), Sister Marie of the Sacred Heart (Marie), Sister Genevieve of the Holy Face (Céline), sisters of the saint


The wax statue is fashioned after the saint at the moment of her death, a delicate smile on her face. The saint is buried below. Engraved along the top of the case are her words: Je veux passer mon ciel faire du bien sur la terre; “I want to spend my Heaven doing good on earth.” Above her is the actual statue of Notre Dame du Sourire, the one that cured St. Therese during her illness.


To the Blessed Therese, all my gratitude for a healing obtained by her intercession. Queen Amelie of Portugal, Princess of France, May-September 1923


Among the other plaques: Gratitude to St Therese for her protection during the war, 1914-1918. D.G.
To the angelic virgin of Lisieux who sacrificed herself for priests. Gratitude for my healing. Father C.


A stained glass panel of the saint with her father.


A statue of St. Therese (you will find her statues everywhere in Lisieux) outside the Carmelite chapel.

To be continued…

La Fête-Dieu

De l'Évangile au Quotidien:

Nous devons l’origine de la « Fête-Dieu » ou « Fête du St sacrement du corps et du sang du Christ » à une révélation faite à soeur Julienne du Mont Cornillon vers l'an 1210. Cette révélation demandait l’institution d’une fête annuelle en l'honneur du Saint Sacrement de l'autel. Malgré une vive persécution contre soeur Julienne et ceux qui souhaitaient que cette fête se répande, le diocèse de Liège l'institua vers l'an 1245 puis l'Eglise universelle ajouta cette fête au calendrier liturgique par le pape Urbain IV qui la rendit obligatoire pour l'Eglise entière en 1264. Voici un extrait de la Bulle d'Urbain IV pour l'institution de la Fête-Dieu dans l'Eglise universelle.
...
Jean XXII, en 1318 ordonna de compléter la fête par une procession solennelle où le très Saint Sacrement serait porté en triomphe. On fait une procession solennelle le jour de la Fête-Dieu pour sanctifier et bénir, par la présence de Jésus-Christ, les rues et les maisons de nos villes et de nos villages.

Here in Dijon the Eucharistic Procession will take place on the lawn of Place des Feuillants, the birthplace of St. Bernard of Clairvaux, whose extensive grounds sit on a hill overlooking all of north Dijon.


Place des Feuillants from the bottom of the hill.


Signs point the way on the hike up


Stone steps leading up to the grounds of the basilica


Birthplace of St. Bernard; only the square tower of the original medieval chateau remains. To the right is the basilica built in the saint’s honor, which fell into disuse for some time but in 2001 was given to the care of the FSSP, which holds the extraordinary form of the Mass here every Sunday.


It was in a room at the base of this medieval tower, the only remains of St. Bernard’s home, that he was born in 1090.


St. Bernard of Clairvaux, doctor of the Church, founded 163 monasteries throughout Europe. His parents were among the highest ranks of nobility (his mother Aleth of Montbard is beatified). Before St. Bernard was born, a pious man predicted the saint’s great destiny. St. Bernard was known for having a tender devotion to Mary, and some say no one has written more beautifully of her than he. He founded his first Cistercian monastery at Clairvaux (which his father and all five brothers entered as religious). At the Council of Troyes he was appointed secretary, where he outlined the rule for the Knights Templars, the model of French nobility. St. Bernard was later decisive in healing the schism between the pope and anti-pope, among many other things in this illustrious saint’s life.


The spare interior of the basilica, and the High Altar where Abbé Garban, FSSP priest in Dijon, offers the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass each week.


A plaque in the interior reminds visitors this is a sacred place. “This church, built in 1890 and fully realized in 1990, has been assigned to Christian worship since 2001. The 850th anniversary of the death of St. Bernard was commemorated here in 2003. By decision of the Bishop of Dijon and of the Abbot of Citeaux, Mass is celebrated in this place each Sunday.”


”God lives in silence.” It’s a sign Dad pointed to when daughter was making a bit too much noise in the church…


A chapel dedicated to Notre Dame de Toutes Grâces; the other chapel, dedicated to St. Louis, was built in the little room where St. Bernard was born.


Plaques in recognition of St. Bernard’s aid and intercession


”In my dream, I saw a great red-haired dog.” Blessed Aleth of Fontaine,


View of North Dijon from the steps of the basilica


The only remains of the old monastery built by the Feuillants, a reformed wing of Cistercians who once occupied the grounds; it was destroyed during the Revolution, its stones sold one by one. Now the cloister doorway leads to a forested path and a little grotto of Our Lady.


Wandering


The “Lourdes Grotto” behind the basilica


The adjacent cemetery


St. Bernard church, just a few paces from the basilica, is a diocesan parish. The Eucharistic procession begins from here.


The ancient interior of St. Bernard church


View from the vestibule


Altar to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Sorrowful Heart of Mary


Old kneelers, which look like miniature backward chairs


The stained glass windows cast their shadows on the stone tiles

People visit Paris for many reasons. Some come to enjoy the fine food and café ambiance, others for the burlesque and nightlife, still others to see the historic sights. There are some, though, who come as pilgrims to visit the sacred places—of which there are many in Paris.


The famous steps of Montmartre

As I mentioned in my previous post, we recently made a little pilgrimage to the city of lights, where we stayed at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Montmartre. Paris is a sprawling city, and with only a few days available, we had to choose carefully which sites we would see. One always underestimates the amount of time travel can take crossing the city, and, needless to say, we didn’t make it to all the places we had originally planned. Maneuvering about by the metro is no easy task with two little children and a bulky stroller. Nonetheless, we saw much in the short amount of time we had.


Entrance to the Conciergerie

One place I made a special point of seeing was the Conciergerie, which housed 2,700 prisoners during the Reign of Terror, including our beloved Queen Marie-Antoinette and her husband King Louis XVI for several months before they were murdered. Elena Maria Vidal's Tea at Trianon is an excellent resource on all things relating to the Queen.


In honor of the Queen’s memory, King Louis XVIII ordered the original cell in which she was held to be turned into a chapel. Today, you can see an altar before the entrance to her little prison; the entrance itself is draped in rich black velvet with gold fringe, and bears the royal insignia.


In the little entryway, a plaque commemorates the executed king and husband of Marie-Antoinette.


The Queen’s cell, a truly tiny room, bears three oil paintings in her honor, including one depicting the scene from her last Mass offered by Abbé Magnin, held secretly at midnight in her chamber before she went to the scaffold. You can read about the incredible account here.


The little window that looks out onto the Cour des Femmes has been fitted with stained glass bearing the Queen’s initials.


The Cour des Femmes, or women’s courtyard, where the prisoner was allowed a brief walk each day.


Another view of the courtyard.


The Queen’s window from the courtyard (center). From here in the last days of her life she would gaze out onto the concrete enclosure and remember the liberty, which the revolutionaries loudly proclaimed for France, violently taken from her.


In another section of the Conciergerie, the Queen’s cell has been faithfully replicated. Here, one can see a statue of the Queen meditating before a crucifix on her table, while one of the two guards always on duty looks on (in fact, there were four guards, two at a time, who switched guard each day). All the Queen had to protect her modesty was a rude screen set up between her and the male soldiers, who refused to leave even when she had to change dress.


A view of the Queen’s bed.

From Jacques Herissay’s essay on the Queen and her final Mass:

The Conciergerie thus sees on this night the unfurling of the most unexpected of spectacles, a spectacle that, if they could have suspected it, would have made foam with rage the Héberts, the Chaumettes, the Chabots, the Clootzes, the Momoros, these fools who believed they could forever abolish the beliefs of the past.

The little wooden table has been transformed into an altar, two trembling lights brighten the pale face of the priest, whose voice is going to call down Our Lord in the Host; behind, lost in shadow, Marie-Antoinette, Miss Fouché, and the two soldiers kneel, following, without misssing a single thing, the liturgical gestures and words; then, when the moment for communion comes, the queen, the first, approaches the Holy Table, then it is Miss Fouche's turn, and finally, very humbly, the guards receive their God.

Nothing is suspected; the cell's vaults will keep their secret, and, the ceremony now ended, when Fr. Magnin and his companion return to their lodgings, Marie-Antoinette, remaining alone with her guardians, will have the long hours to pray to Him Who will give her the strength to climb, to the end, her calvary.

Jacques Hérissay, Les Aumôniers de la Guillotine, Chapitre II, 1963



Marie-Antoinette, priez pour nous!

Paris’s Best-Kept Secret

As no one reads this blog, I surmise it will remain a secret… Ephrem, la maison d’accueil, or retreat house, of the Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Montmartre, is run by the Benedectine Sisters of the Sacred Heart, and welcomes pilgrims to the heart of Paris for a mere thirteen euros per person.


Ephrem

C’est vrai, mes chers amis; for a piddling thirteen euros (equal to about $20 US), you can have a nice, clean, comfortable, private room with all-day, all-night access to the Basilique du Sacré-Coeur on the holiest hill in all of la Ville-lumière. If you are familiar with prices for Paris lodgings, you will realize this is more than a steal; it is downright immoral--except for the fact that the retreat center welcomes only pilgrims, and usually only those committed to spending some time in adoration in the basilica (where Our Lord has been adored exposed on the gorgeous High Altar for over a century, since 1885). But for Catholics, this is no burden.


Basilica gargoyles

Here is where we recently spent several days on our pilgrimage to the City of lights. Nine years ago, my husband proposed to me on this very hill, before this very church; as we were yet unconverted, we knew nothing of the sacred history of Montmartre--the hill of martyrs, where the first bishop of Paris, St. Denis, was beheaded for the faith, and numerous martyrs followed in his footsteps through the centuries--neither did we know Our Eucharistic Lord just a few yards away within, keeping watch over the city, and over us.


Marie standing on the very spot overlooking Paris where my husband proposed

Who would have known we would return to this place nine years later, married, Catholic, with children who will be raised in the faith we have come to love? A strange coincidence related to our nuptials occurred during our stay: the pastor who married us passed away. If you could kindly offer up a prayer or two for the repose of his soul...


Michael struggling up the thousand steps to the Basilica


View from Ephrem's entrance, with the connecting passage to the sanctuary visible

After my little ones were soundly slumbering, I stole off at midnight to spend some time in adoration. All was dark and silent in the hallways and the stairwell, and the only light in the third-floor passage connecting the retreat house to the Basilica came from the moon and the streetlamps outside. Everything was shadows, including the immense sanctuary. Anyone who has ever visited the basilica knows how expansive, ornate, and luminous is its mosaic interior, and always, always full of tourists (though crowds aren’t as circus-like as at Notre-Dame Cathedral). Imagine now entering the Basilica in the dead of night, entirely alone, with all the lights off and everything dark except for the little candles flickering in the side chapels, and the sole light left on is above the High Altar, shining softly on the gold monstrance, blending with the lights of the six gargantuan candles flanking both sides. Ah, an overwhelming and lovely experience!


Another view from Ephrem


Carmel

Right across the street from the Basilica, directly behind it, is the little Carmel of Montmartre, built with the same white travertine. Unlike the uncloistered Benedictines, whom you will see all over the Basilica, the Carmelites live in quiet contemplation shut behind its high stone walls, praying, sacrificing, and loving hidden from the world.

Le Pape en France

Pape Benoît fera un voyage apostolique en France en mi-septembre ; il arrivera à Paris le vendredi 12, où il célébrera les vêpres avec des clergés. Dans l’après-midi du samedi 13, il ira à Lourdes pour fêter la 150ème anniversaire des apparitions de Notre Dame. Le soir, il fera une procession mariale aux flambeaux avec les pèlerins. La journée prochaine, il présidera la Messe solonelle, et puis il rencontrera la Conférence des évêques de France. Il retournera Rome le lundi après-midi.

Cher Saint Père, on attend avec impatience votre arrivé !

May 1: Le Fête du Muguet

On the first of May, 1561, King Charles IX of France received some muguet (lily-of-the-valley) for luck, and began the tradition of handing out these flowers to those in his court. In 1889, May 1st was adopted as Labour Day in France, and in the early 1900s, vendors began selling sprigs of lily-of-the-valley in the streets. The French government, usually strict about enforcing vending licenses, gives free reign to any to sell muguet on May Day—the caveat being that it must be wild and not cultivated (which is reserved only for florists). They are also allowed to sell them free of taxation.

No one works on this day (except for café owners), and one traditionally gives a little bouquet of muguet to friends to wish them happiness and good luck. The holiday surely stems in part from Le Fête de l’Ascension, long ago secularized by the state and made into a day of rest and general good will. Other Catholic feast days are still celebrated in France, like Toussaint (All Saints) and the Feast of the Assumption, but likewise have been turned into secular holidays by the state. Catholics, of course, attend Mass on the Solemnity of the Ascension, honoring the real reason behind the holiday: the triumph of Our Lord over death and sin and the perfect accomplishment of His mission in returning to the Father.

Patissier Vannier

One of the many typical patisseries in town, and of particular interest to my husband as it is the name of the French line on his father’s side. The patisseries often double as boulangeries; we often get our baguettes (far more a staple of la vie française than American life) warm first thing in the morning from the patisseries right around the corner from our apartment.

Sunday

The weather was glorious, and so, after Mass, we decided to head back into town for a day’s worth of meandering. After a kebab-frites (shared with the pigeons), the Mr. and Mrs. sat down for a grand café and thé au lait, respectively, on the Place de la Liberté, while the children ran through the fountains on the square.


Marie & Michael gamboling in the water. The Palais des Ducs, seat of the Dukes of Burgundy, is in the background


Afterwards, we visited the old Bernardine monastery. The first order of Cistercian nuns was founded in Tart in 1125, then transferred to Dijon in 1623. The monastery was completed in 1709, enjoying several decades of peace and stability until the Revolution swept through and, as with so many other sacred places, was overtaken, the nuns chased out of town. Today the cloister houses the Museum of Burgundian life, while the chapel houses the Museum of Sacred Art.


Mom and children heading into the museum…


The High Altar of the Cistercian chapel, with a depiction of the Visitation.


Interior view of the rotunda


Le Petit Roi de Grâce. The original is housed in the Carmel of Beaune, a nearby city south of Dijon. It is associated with Ven. Margaret of the Blessed Sacrament, who was shown a vision of the Infant Jesus and taught to say a chaplet in His honor.

Relics Galore!

St. Bernard of Clairvaux was born in Dijon in 1091, and went on to found seventy-two Cistercian monasteries in France during his lifetime. In 2004, this nineteenth century reliquary was processed from the museum to St. Bernard’s birthplace several kilometers away on the 850th anniversary of his death. Unfortunately, instead of remaining there in the basilica built in his honor, it had to be returned to the museum, along with the other sacred items plundered by the government.


Close-up of the reliquary and St. Bernard’s rib.


Bones of St. Bénigne, patron saint of Dijon (scroll down to see the ancient crypt and sarcophagus in which he was buried), of St. Vincent Martyr, and of St. Médard, Bishop of Noyon.


Skullcaps of St. Bartholomew, St. Lucy, St. Victor, and two of the 11,000 virgins


Michael gets past the rope and climbs up the old pulpit. An indication of his future vocation perhaps?


A side room housing, among other things, two glass cases lined with row on row of sacred vessels.


Ciboria, chalices, and patens that once held the Sacred Body and Blood of Our Lord, looted by Jacobins during the Revolution and now sitting behind sterile glass panels rather than in tabernacles and on altars, where they belong.


Anterior view of St. Bénigne Cathedral (our parish), built in the 13th century above the resting place of the saint and martyr.




Descending into the Crypt…


It was about 20 degrees colder down here. To the right is a side altar with an image of the San Damiano crucifix; I'm midway through bowing before it...


Marie lets us know where she is…


The rotunda, where the priests sometimes say their Divine Office.


Sarcophagus of St. Bénigne


This stone is the last remains of the sarcophagus where the body of St. Bénigne rested for centuries—priest, apostle of the country, martyred around the year 200 according to ancient tradition.


Shelter of the Sepulcher of St. Bénigne and of numerous tombs long ago arranged around it, this crypte was, in past centuries, a celebrated center of pilgrimage. Here the Dijonnais and all of Christendom venerated with devotion the relics of the priest-martyr, apostle of the country, and those of St. Jacques, bishop of Toulouse, St. Eustade, first Abbot of the monastery, St. Paschasie, Virgin of Dijon. Here popular homage piously surrounded the tombs of the holy married couple Hilaire and Quiète, the virgine Floride, the holy Fathers Isaac, Argrimus, Garnier the First, bishop of Langres, a saint carrying the name of Radegonde, the Venerable Alette, mother of St. Bernard. On this soil permeated with the virtue of ashes so long kept, flocked by the believing masses for a thousand years and more, the Christian is touched, kneels, and prays.

A kneeler is directly below the plaque for those wishing to pray to the saint of Dijon and the others here honored.

We afterwards planned to take the bus up to Fontaine-les-Dijon, birthplace of St. Bernard, whose once-rundown basilica has been beautifully restored by the FSSP, and where Mass in the extraordinary form is held each week. The children were getting rather tired, though, so we returned home instead for a bit of rest... Perhaps next Sunday!