From: rich <
richarra@gmail.com>
May 30th - St. Joan of Arc
=C2 (1412-1431)
Who today does not know the history of the Maid of Orleans, who saved
France from the foreign domination of the English, only to be betrayed
by the legitimate prince whom her efforts had crowned at Rheims, then
burnt at the stake on May 30, 1431? Both in the French and English
languages, many books and articles have honored her since her
canonization in 1920 by Pope Benedict XV.
The French Revolution created =E2=80=9CMarianne=E2=80=9D, a mythical young = beauty, as
the symbol of France. A nobler symbol of France is Joan of Arc, who
was not only a real-life patriot but a saint.=E2=80=9CJeanne la Pucelle=E2= =80=9D, as
the French used to call her, was the daughter of Jacques d'Arc, a
peasant farmer of Dornremy, in northeast France. Although she never
learned to read and write, Joan was well-instructed by her mother in
household skills. As a child, she was hearty, happy and helpful. She
became a holy young woman too =E2=80=9C. . . so good,=E2=80=9D those who kn=
ew her
testified, =E2=80=9Cthat all the village loved her.=E2=80=9D
Joan, lived, however, in troubled times. Henry V of England had
invaded France to add it to his kingdom. The dukes of Burgundy,
enemies of the French king, sided with Henry. Although Henry of
England and the mad Charles VI of France died the same year, the war
continued. Charles VII was heir to the French crown, but stuck in the
mud of despair, he practically gave up the fight.
When she was 14, Joan began to have apparitions and to hear voices
that advised her. Eventually the voices identified themselves as those
of St. Michael, St. Catherine, St. Margaret. These =E2=80=9Cinstructors=E2= =80=9D
gradually informed the teenager that she was called by God to a
special mission.
In 1422, the voices came to the point. They commanded her to go to the
French king and tell him that she was sent by God to lead his armies
to victory! When he showed amazement at the command, the saints
assured her that since God had picked her for the job, he would see
her through.
After many initial difficulties, Joan was able to persuade the
general, Baudricourt, to take her to the king. Forewarned, Charles had disguised himself to test her; but the Maid, assisted by her voices,
picked him out at once in the crowded chamber. Startled, the king
asked his council to interview Joan. The councillors were very
favorably impressed and recommended that Charles give her military
authority. So Joan, clad in white armor, rode off at the head of the
regiment to rescue the city of Orleans, which lay under enemy siege.
Although wounded in the affray, Joan succeeded in raising the long
siege of Orleans in just a few days. Then she moved on to Patay, where
her troops achieved another victory. On the strength of these
victories, Charles went to Rheims, where he was crowned king on July
17, 1429. Joan stood beside him at the ceremony, bearing her special
religious banner.
The coronation over, La Pucelle returned to the battlefield. But on
May 23, after leading an unsuccessful sortie out of Compiegne, she was accidentally locked out of the city, and fell into the hands of the Burgundians. The vengeful Duke of Burgundy kept her captive several
months. Then he sold her to the English for a huge price. The
ungrateful Charles did nothing to rescue her.
The English leaders sought Joan's death. They could not condemn her=
on
the basis other victories, but they hit upon another approach, which
would also, they thought, discredit her.
Pierre Cauchon, the pro-English bishop of Beauvais, brought her before
a church court on the charge of witchcraft and heresy. After a rigged
process, the court condemned her as a relapsed heretic, and Joan, at
the age of 19, was burned to death at Rouen on May 30, 1431. She died
with great courage, invoking the Holy Name. Her ashes were thrown into
the Seine River to prevent their veneration.
At length, however, the English forces were driven from France. In
1454, at the insistence of Joan's family, Pope Callistus III ordere=
d a
retrial. Enough of the witnesses of Joan's military career and her
trial were still alive. Their testimony in favor of her orthodoxy and
holiness was absolutely convincing. The pope therefore cancelled the
sentence of the earlier court. Almost 500 years later, in 1920, Pope
Benedict XV canonized the Maid as a saint. One might say she, too, had
risen from the dead.
Many groups tried to lay claim to St. Joan as their own. But, though a
patriot, she was not a nationalist; though a soldier, she never used
her sword to wound; though the victim of a rigged church trial, she
was completely devoted to the Church; though a female leader, she was
not a feminist.
No, St. Joan of Arc was simply a devout, highly intelligent, and
utterly common-sense young woman who accepted a divine assignment
comparable only to those given to the Old Testament heroines, Judith
and Esther. In Joan, St. Paul would say, But the foolish things of the
world hath God chosen, that he may confound the wise: and the weak
things of the world hath God chosen, that he may confound the strong.
(1 Cor. 1:27).
=E2=80=93Father Robert
Saint Quote:
Forgive me, but I think there is no labour greater than that of prayer
to God. For every time a man wants to pray, his enemies, the demons,
want to prevent him, for they know that it is only by turning him from
prayer that they can hinder his journey. Whatever good work a man
undertakes, if he perseveres in it, he will attain rest. But prayer is
warfare to the last breath.
--St. Agathon
Bible Quote:
"My dear friends, do not be taken aback at the testing by fire which
is taking place among you, as though something strange were happening
to you; but in so far as you share in the sufferings of Christ, be
glad, so that you may enjoy a much greater gladness when his glory is revealed.=C2 If you are insulted for bearing Christ's name, blessed are
you, for on you rests the Spirit of God, the Spirit of glory." [1
Peter 4:12-14]
<><><><>
NO TIME
I knelt to pray but not for long,
I had too much to do.
Must hurry off and get to work,
For bills would soon be due.
And so I said a hurried prayer,
Jumped, up from off my knees,
My Christian duty now was done.
My soul could be at ease.
All through the day I had not time
to speak a word of Christ to friends; they'd laugh at me I feared.
No time, no time, too much to do,
That was my constant cry.
No time to give to those in need.
At last t'was time to die.
And when before the Lord one night I stood with down cast eyes.
Within his hands he held a book.
It was the "Book of Life".
God looked into his book and said
Your name I cannot find.
I once was going to write it down
But never found the time.
--- NewsGate v1.0 gamma 2
* Origin: News Gate @ Net396 -Huntsville, AL - USA (1:396/4)