Joan Pilgrimage in 2012

If you are looking for a unique way to celebrate Joan of Arc’s 600th Birthday in 2012 then you might consider going on a pilgrimage to France to walk where Saint Joan of Arc once walked. I have been friends with Chris and Catherine Snidow of PilgrimWitnesses.com for several years and have always been impressed with how committed they are to presenting Joan’s true history and who she really was. Over the years they have sent me many pictures from their pilgrimages of statues and other images of Joan which I have gratefully used at MaidOfHeaven.com to better teach Joan’s true history. I can tell from viewing these pictures that the Snidow’s pilgrimages are very well planned and usually visit some of Joan’s most famous locations. This year’s pilgrimage seems especially enticing with visits to Orleans, Rouen and Domremy which were probably the three most significant cities in Joan’s life. The Snidow’s description of this year’s pilgrimage given below illustrates their commitment to providing the ultimate experience for people wanting to learn the real story of Joan of Arc.

“God willing, in June 2012, we will lead our sixth pilgrimage to France (our fifth with the spirituality and footsteps of Joan foremost in our plans). 2012 marks Joan's 600th birthday anniversary, and this will be celebrated in various ways throughout France. As before, the philosophy we are aiming for on this trip is one of going back to the essentials, of simplicity, of quality time in some places instead of 'rush-rush' in many. We will indeed see much, but we want to experience the places we visit more as spiritual travelers than as consumers. Indeed, our goal is to first see things through the eyes of believers, and then from other perspectives; such as historical, architectural, sociological, as tourists, etc. Consequently, the maximum number of people we'll take will be 16. More than that would begin to impact the basic philosophy we wish to follow.”

For more information click on the picture below from their 2009 pilgrimage:

2012 The Year of Joan of Arc!

The recent 600th anniversary of Joan’s birth produced a huge amount of news coverage all around the world and many people are now referring to 2012 as "The Year of Joan of Arc.” Lest anyone need a reminder as to why Joan of Arc is so special and deserving of honor throughout this year I thought I would re-print a few of the many words written in praise of Joan over the years by some of the world’s greatest writers and leaders:

"Whatever thing men call great, look for it in Joan of Arc, and there you will find it."
Mark Twain-19th Century American Writer

"Joan was a being so uplifted from the ordinary run of mankind that she finds no equal in a thousand years."
Winston Churchill-Legendary British Prime Minister in WWII

"She was the consummation and ideal of two noble human efforts towards perfection. The peasant's daughter was the Flower of Chivalry, brave, gentle, merciful, courteous, kind, and loyal....She was the most perfect daughter of her Church....her conscience, by frequent confession, was kept fair and pure as the lilies of Paradise."
Andrew Lang-19th Century Scottish Writer and Historian

"...next to the Christ, the highest spiritual being of whom we have any exact record upon this earth is the girl Jeanne"
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle-Famous Scottish author of Sherlock Holmes Fame.

"Jeanne d'Arc does not belong to France alone but also to all those whose thoughts are elevated enough to grasp the superior and beautiful among goodness."
Louis-Maurice Boutet de Monvel-19th Century French Painter

Joan of Arc’s 600th Birthday and the Significance of Her Birth on the Epiphany.

In eleven days on January 6th of 2012 it will be the 600th anniversary of Saint Joan of Arc’s birth and there will be worldwide celebrations to honor Joan and remember the brilliance of her life. What a contrast, indeed, to the humble way that she entered the world as a simple peasant baby born in an obscure little town. No one among the few friends and family who were aware of Joan’s birth in 1412 would have ever believed that this little baby would grow up to lead the armies of France to victory and become one of the most beloved Saints of God. In fact, the birth of peasant girls in Joan’s day was considered so insignificant that her birth was never even officially recorded however the people of her hometown did remember that Joan had been born on the Feast of the Epiphany. While the people of the world had no idea what Joan would become God in His infinite wisdom of course knew and He may have given the world a clue about Joan with the timing of her birth on the Epiphany. To celebrate Joan’s 600th birthday and as a present to her I thought I would try to explain the great significance of the timing of Joan’s birth on the Epiphany.

Saint Joan of Arc: A Brilliantly Shining Light of God
The Significance of Joan of Arc’s Birth on the Epiphany

“Most beautiful Maid of Heaven, how brilliant is your light.
Like a shining star you point the way to the Father of all light.”
These opening sentences to Maid of Heaven serve not only as a poetic tribute to the brilliance of Saint Joan of Arc’s life but are also an analogy to the birth of Christ and to Saint Joan’s ultimate mission for God to lead people to Christ. That Saint Joan was actually born on the Epiphany seems to be God’s own exclamation point that this was indeed her greatest mission in her short life here on earth. The significance of Joan’s birth on the Epiphany, therefore, can not be understated and considering the amount of mystical phenomena indwelled in her life’s story it seems rather amazing that the exact timing of her birth on the Epiphany has received so little attention by the legions of writers and artists who have covered Joan in every conceivable form of human expression over the years.

Since I finished writing Maid of Heaven in 2006 I have found myself more than a little reluctant to discuss some of the deeper elements of this poem because I fear it will be too difficult to explain to most people because of what I can only refer to as the mysteries of God. Maid of Heaven was for the most part written “in the Spirit” which is a term that most people have heard however few seem to understand or accept. Since Maid of Heaven was written “in the Spirit” it means that while I wrote the words on paper I was not completely aware of all that I was writing at the time. A prime example are the opening sentences which I am now going to attempt to fully explain because I feel that the great significance of Saint Joan’s birth on the Epiphany is something I MUST convey to people.
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