On the name day of Doña Magdalena

Queen Magdalena of Bourbon-Busset and King Xavier I

Translation by: Alférez M. Scullin.

The original article was published by : Círculo Cultural Juan Vázquez de Mella July 22, 2022

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Today, July 22nd, we celebrate the feast of St Mary Magdalen and, therefore, also the name day of Her Catholic Majesty Doña Magdalena de Borbón Busset, the last legitimate Queen of Spain by her marriage to Don Javier I. This date gives us an excellent opportunity to share some reflections in La Esperanza.

Monsignor Ignacio Barreiro Carámbula writes that «hope does not only mean being firmly convinced of the truth of Christ’s promises regarding salvation in Heaven, but also in believing that He will give us the means to achieve that salvation while we struggle in this world». But the world pushes us in the opposite direction: the possibilities of a restoration of the social and political order seem more and more distant, almost unattainable. Many give way to the temptation, always present, to abandon themselves to despair.

Neither are the Carlists free from this temptation. It is true that three lost wars and a hijacked peace are not very encouraging. But «we must also —continues Carámbula— see positive signs in contemporary society. […] It would be very dangerous and, even more, it would endanger our salvation, to be dominated by a totally negative spirit that refuses to see the small signs of hope that the Lord sends us».

The history of Carlism is full of those small signs of hope, signs that have often been embodied by specific people and that have kept the Cause alive for almost two centuries. How many adversities have been resolved with the impetuous decision of a strong soul that doesn’t bend! How many uncertainties have been dissipated with the firm step of an incorruptible spirit! Doña Magdalena belonged to that class of people: with the typical mark of a Carlist, her unconditional support for Don Javier I recalls that of the selfless Doña Margarita de Borbón Parma in her support for Don Carlos VII; and her reaction against the betrayal of her son Carlos Hugo recalls, with even more dramatic overtones, that of an incorruptible Doña María Teresa de Braganza against Juan III. She embodied that hope that is not only a theological virtue, but also a moral virtue that opposes faintheartedness. It is not in vain that the motto of the Bourbon Busset family is, precisely, «Hope».

Today, in addition, we celebrate another important event: the birth of H.R.H Sixtus Henry of Bourbon.

Manuel Sanjuán, Círculo Cultural Juan Vázquez de Mella