The Martyrs of Compiegne: Episode Two
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What historical events set the scene in Compiègne in 1790?
Pompey and France, 1790. Revolutionary guards forcefully enter the monastery and seize anything of value, declaring it property of the nation. In Paris, Maximilien Robespierre and the Jacobins conspire to rid France of the church and the monarchs for good. Stripped of the reality they once knew, the Carmelites look to God. Can their cloistered way of life ever return to normal, or is that under threat too?
No, no.
How do revolutionary guards justify seizing church property from the Carmelites?
Inventory every item of furnishing and bring anything of exceptional value to me for confiscation. You heard the director.
It's a violation, Mother. How could you permit these men into our enclosure? Into our chapel? I had no choice, Sister Charlotte. I must obey our government. Please, sir, be careful with those wax figures. Oh, sir, no. I beg you not to touch the tabernacle. It contains the blessed sacrament.
Prioress, you will leave the guards to their duties. I need to interview all 16 of you individually.
Of course, director.
What pressure do the directors and interrogators place on individual sisters?
You can use the library.
The revolutionary government is aware that many nuns have been forced into religious life.
Absolute nonsense.
Sister Constance, surely you long to go back to your family?
I was called here by God, Director. I won't turn my back on him.
Mother Prioress, I strongly suggest you encourage your daughters to leave this monastery and become normal French citizens.
I can tell them of your suggestion, Director, but it is the Lord who instructs them.
It's just you and I here, Sister Euphrasia.
If you have been coerced into that habit... I would shed blood before I would give up this habit, Monsieur.
So, Sister Marie Henriette, I suppose you too are obstinately clinging to your faith.
If the nationalization of our furnishings will help the poor peasants of France, then we give it all willingly. But you must allow us to remain here. Our prayer life is our sacrifice to God.
How do Jacobins like Robespierre and his allies argue for a new civic ‘deity’?
Our witness is deeply reliant on remaining in the cloister.
You're all as stubborn as mules.
My daughters will not abandon God's call.
You think you are liberating us, but you make false judgments about us, sir, because you can't comprehend that we have chosen joy. We are brides of Christ.
Our wish is to live and die in this holy house.
Then so be it. You can stay within these walls, but we will leave you no items of value and no pension to support yourselves. Let's see how long you last.
Another brandy, Monsieur Robespierre? Monsieur Fouquier-Tonville? Why not, eh, Robespierre? Just the one, Antoine. Sante. Sante. The Revolutionary Tribunal were lapping you up tonight. You're certainly the most passionate public speaker amongst us Jacobins. It's no wonder you've made such strides. A conduit for change! Even if you do insist on such old-fashioned clothing. Those knee breeches and that dusty powdered wig are not the style of the revolutionary. Unlike you and the Saint-Colote, Antoine, I value progress, but I maintain a sense of morality. Careful, friend. Those militant citizens of the Saint-Colote are the reason you, me, and the Jacobins are all but running things in Paris. Morality is key to our success, Antoine.
We must have a philosophical alternative to Catholicism. The cult of reason is gaining popularity by the day.
What orders and bans threaten the Carmelites’ cloistered way of life?
The cult of reason is lurid atheist depravity, a recipe for immorality and disorder. The citizens of France need a deity. What deity do you propose? One of the Hindu gods, perhaps? Shall we all worship Ishvara? Don't be ridiculous, Antoine. Social order requires the belief in a godhead, but one that is worshipped with a rational devotion through civic-minded public virtue. without all these statues and relics or pictures of the bleeding heart. You are proposing a kind of utilitarian supreme being? Yes. But in the meantime, King Louie needs to go. We can't truly move forward as a nation while that tyrant remains. Prison and exile won't do. Louie must die so the nation can live.
Satsang with Mooji
Monsieur le Maire, it's the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. We're holding a procession through the cloister.
It couldn't wait, Mother Prioress. As mayor of Compiègne, I should not be giving you warning, but as a faithful Catholic, I had to come.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What historical events set the scene in Compiègne in 1790?
0:03–1:02
2
How do revolutionary guards justify seizing church property from the Carmelites?
1:02–1:43
3
What pressure do the directors and interrogators place on individual sisters?
1:43–2:59
4
How do Jacobins like Robespierre and his allies argue for a new civic ‘deity’?
2:59–4:55
5
What orders and bans threaten the Carmelites’ cloistered way of life?
4:55–9:36
6
How does Mother Prioress interpret a mystic dream calling the sisters to 'Follow the Lamb'?
9:36–13:49
7
What debate emerges among the sisters about offering their lives for France?
13:49–16:04
8
How does the episode foreshadow the Reign of Terror and the guillotine's role?
16:04–18:36