"Saints of Empowered Prayer: St. Joan of Arc"
St. Joan
of Arc: St. Joan of Arc was chosen for a mission that led only to
disgrace and death. But this was the will of God for her, and she carried out
that will even though it destroyed her. That kind of fidelity should inspire us
in our own carrying out of the will of God no matter the cost! St. Joan of Arc,
the Maid of Orleans, is one of the most striking figures in the history of
Western Christendom, and she has no parallels in secular or sacred history. She
died when she was not even twenty years old, and she made a remarkable
impression on all who knew her--even her enemies.
Joan
was born at Domremy, a village in Champagne on the
banks of the Meuse. She was a high-spirited, religious young girl, deeply distressed
by the state of France which was occupied by the English. The king of England
had overrun France and claimed the French crown. France was caught up in a
civil war. The two contending parties were led by the duke of Burgundy and the
duke of Orleans. When she was fourteen
years old, St. Joan began to hear her "voices," urging her to save France, and
giving her detailed instructions on what to do. The "voices" told her to go to
the leader of the dauphin's forces (the dauphin being the heir to the French
throne). At first Joan was laughed at, yet trying again and telling the leader
of a French defeat that had taken place, he became impressed by her and sent
her to the dauphin accompanied by three soldiers. The dauphin disguised himself
but Joan identified him and revealed to him a secret that convinced him of her
mission.
St. Joan led the French armies to
victories at Orleans and Patay, which were followed
by the coronation of the dauphin at Rheims as Charles VII. An attack on Paris
failed, and at a sortie at Compiegne she was captured by the Burgundians and turned over to the
English. St. Joan was imprisoned, cruelly mistreated, and brought to trial
before the bishop of Cauchon, her captors doing
everything to break her and convict her of heresy. After a trumped-up trial in
which, under pressure, Joan denied her "voices" and then recanted, she was
condemned as a witch and heretic and burned at the stake on May 29, 1431. St.
Joan of Arc was canonized on May 20, 1920 and declared the patroness of France.
Questions:
1)
Has God ever asked me to do something that
seems to be extraordinary and beyond my capability?