While many focus on St. Joan of Arcs brave military campaigns and the unjust trial that led to her death, few recognize that before it all she was a devoted child of God. In fact, it was this deep relationship with Christ that gave her the strength she needed to endure anything.
Pope Benedict XVI explained this side of Joan in a general audience he gave in 2011. He begins by summarizing her holy childhood.
Her parents were well-off peasants, known to all as good Christians. From them she received a sound religious upbringing, considerably influenced by the spirituality of theName of Jesus, taught by St Bernardine of Siena and spread in Europe by the Franciscans.
TheName of Marywas always associated with the Name of Jesus and thus, against the background of popular piety, Joans spirituality was profoundly Christocentric and Marian. From childhood, she showed great love and compassion for the poorest, the sick and all the suffering, in the dramatic context of the war.
This provided Joan with the preparation she needed for what would happen next.
We know from Joans own words that her religious life developed as a mystical experience from the time when she was 13 (PCon, I, p. 47-48). Through the voice of St Michael the Archangel, Joan felt called by the Lord to intensify her Christian life and also to commit herself in the first person to the liberation of her people. Her immediate response, her yes, was her vow of virginity, with a new commitment to sacramental life and to prayer: daily participation in Mass, frequent Confession and Communion and long periods of silent prayer before the Crucified One or the image of Our Lady.The young French peasant girls compassion and dedication in the face of her peoples suffering were intensified by her mystical relationship with God.
What is even more remarkable is how she became an evangelizing force among the French soldiers, encouraging them in the practice of the faith.
For a whole year, Joan lived with the soldiers, carrying out among them a true mission of evangelization. Many of them testified to her goodness, her courage and her extraordinary purity. She was called by all and by herself La pucelle (the Maid), that is, virgin.
Even in the midst of her unjust trial, Joan sought to maintain her love of God, Our Saint lived prayer in the form of a continuous dialogue with the Lord who also illuminated her dialogue with the judges and gave her peace and security. She asked him with trust: Sweetest God, in honour of your holy Passion, I ask you, if you love me, to show me how I must answer these men of the Church (PCon, I,p. 252).
Above all, we should learn from Joan how to be faithful to God in any situation. We cannot rely on our strength, but must rely firmly on God, who will supply us with the courage we need to encounter any obstacle.
Go here to read the rest:
Joan of Arcs spiritual life propelled her to martyrdom - Aleteia IT
- Book Excerpt: One Song - November 7th, 2009 [November 7th, 2009]
- Book Review: The Mitten Tree - November 7th, 2009 [November 7th, 2009]
- Book Review: The Monkey with a Bright Blue Bottom - November 7th, 2009 [November 7th, 2009]
- Book Review: Mama, Will It Snow Tonight? - November 7th, 2009 [November 7th, 2009]
- Book Review: There's No Such Thing as Monsters! - November 7th, 2009 [November 7th, 2009]
- DVD Feature Film Review: Perestroika - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- DVD Feature Film Review: Nothing Like the Holidays - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Spiritual Literacy Blog: Must We Have Bad Music in Public Spaces? - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Book Excerpt: Angels and Dragons - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Book Excerpt: A Soul's Journey - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Book Review: A Book of Hours - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Book Excerpt: A Book of Hours - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Feature Film Review: Storm - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Feature Film Review: Skin - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Book Excerpt: The Anger Diet - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Newsletter: October 31, 2009: The Abbot Who Declared The Hall Is Finished - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Book Excerpt: Suffering and the Courage of God - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Book Excerpt: Life-Changing Affirmations - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- DVD Feature Film Review: The Answer Man - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- DVD Feature Film Review: The Dead - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Book Excerpt: Five Voices, Five Faiths - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- DVD Feature Film Review: Lemon Tree (Etz Limon) - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- DVD Documentary Film Review: Unmistaken Child - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- DVD Documentary Film Review: Food, Inc. - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Book Excerpt: The Workplace Revolution - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Book Excerpt: Journeys of Courage - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Feature Film Review: The Men Who Stare at Goats - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Book Excerpt: The Gift of Prayer - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Feature Film Review: That Evening Sun - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Feature Film Review: The Box - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Relax and Melt into a deep deep meditative state. - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Symptoms of Anxiety - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Nonduality And Spirituality---Enlightenment - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- How Not to Stop Anxiety Attacks---Part 1 - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Natural Treatment for Anxiety disorders--Antidote anxiety - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- What to do When Anxiety Attacks--Antidote Anxiety - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Spiritually charged metaphysical spiritual quote - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Release Technique & Non Duality& Law of attraction - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- NonDuality & Manifestation - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- All Is One, One is All !! - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Worrying about Anxiety---Antidote Anxiety - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Free course on Conquering Anxiety - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Manifesting Prosperity,Love manifesting,Dream Manifesting - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Stress and Anxiety Relief Treatment - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Stress and Anxiety Reduction with Brainwave entrainment - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- How to Remove feeling of Fear and Anxiety - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Relieve Stress:Financial Troubles, Low Self Esteem - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Meditation, Enlightenment & Paradox - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- False beliefs and Emotional Healing to develop emotional intelligence - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Millionaire Mind- Meditations Manifesting Abundance - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Three Essential requirements to learn Self Hypnosis Quickly - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Non duality and manifestation--Law of attraction - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Law of Attraction-- Manifesting Wealth Beyond Reason - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- The Secret Busted--- Flaws of the Secret. - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Book Excerpt: Web of Silence - December 12th, 2009 [December 12th, 2009]
- Living Spiritual Teachers Project: Byron Katie - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Feature Film Review: Before Tomorrow - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Book Excerpt: Sadhu Sundar Singh - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Spiritual Literacy Blog: We May Be Born with an Urge to Help - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Feature Film Review: Everybody's Fine - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Feature Film Review: Brothers - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Feature Film Review: Gigante - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Book Excerpt: When People Grieve - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Book Excerpt: The Light and Fire of the Baal Shem Tov - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Feature Film Review: The Last Station - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Feature Film Review: Up in the Air - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Book Excerpt: Learning to Pray - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Book Excerpt: Beyond Absence - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Book Excerpt: Ecology & Liberation - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Book Feature: The Best Spiritual Books of 2009 (So Far) - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- DVD Feature Film Review: Julie & Julia - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- DVD Documentary Film Review: The Cove - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- DVD Feature Film Review: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Book Review: Spirit of Service - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Book Excerpt: Spirit of Service - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Book Review: The Wolf at Twilight - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Book Excerpt: The Wolf at Twilight - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Book Review: Memories of Muhammad - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Book Excerpt: Memories of Muhammad - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Book Excerpt: Humility Matters for Practicing The Spiritual Life - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]