Celebrate Joan of Arc's Birthday: THE Saint for our troubled times!

At a time such as this when evil seems to be running rampant in our world there is no better hero of the faith than St Joan of Arc to provide an example of how to properly resist evil.  Born into troubled times when a terrible war was ravaging her homeland the way that Joan responded to all the evil attacking her society can serve as model for everyone.  LOVE GOD  While Joan was growing up she developed a deep and passionate love for God which is the great lesson to learn from her life.  The greatest commandment as Jesus said to "love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all you soul and with all your mind" is also the best way to respond to any crises in life which Joan well understood. By drawing close to God He will draw close to you and give you the power to overcome any evil that you may face in the world.  This is the one and only difference that Joan exhibited when she was growing up that she had a much deeper devotion to God than anyone else around her which is the true explanation for the amazing power that she demonstrated in successfully combating evil in her own time.  LIVE FREE  It is only natural that Joan possessed a great passion for freedom since the ultimate freedom is to be found in Jesus Christ: "If the Son therefore shall make you free, then you shall be free indeed."  And the closer anyone becomes to God then the more they will want everyone that they love to not only find the ultimate freedom given through Jesus but to also live as free as possible in this present world.  This is what drove Joan to sacrifice everything and leave home at the young age of sixteen to lead the armies of France because Joan simple refused to accept anything less than complete freedom for the people that she loved.  Everyone that is a Christian should learn to have the same passion as Joan possessed for freedom and be willing to fight and resist whatever evil is encountered in the world that seeks to take away any of our freedom.

The great example of St. Joan of Arc's life is so powerful that it can not only help everyone to learn how to best resist evil but can also help anyone to develop the kind of deep love for God that Joan possessed which was the key to her success.  I am pleased to announce that in 2015 a charitable foundation is being established to honor St. Joan by teaching her true history in a way that will help instill in all people the same values that made her one of the greatest and most admired people in all of history.  To learn more please visit the Maid of Heaven Foundation

St. Joan of Arc & The Epiphany

I have spoken before about the many spiritual lessons I have learned from St. Joan of Arc but one that is very dear to me is how I learned to more fully celebrate Christmas because of St. Joan's own birth on the Epiphany.  Like many Christians at Christmas I had focused primarily on Christmas day without understanding that the full celebration lasts until Twelfth-night or the Epiphany.   The reason the Epiphany is so important is because that is when we celebrate the actual revelation of God to man in human form in the person of Jesus Christ.  It is on this day that the three wise men following the star in the sky arrived in Bethlehem and found the baby Jesus which completed the revelation to the world that the savior to mankind had been born.  One of the most detailed descriptions I have ever seen about the full story of the birth of Christ including the Epiphany is contained in the first 59 pages of the famous novel Ben Hur and I would encourage anyone wanting a more complete understanding of the full Christmas story to read these pages as I have now begun doing every year to celebrate Christmas.  You can find this book online at:  http://www.gutenberg.org/files/2145/2145-h/2145-h.htm

And to better understand about the significance of St. Joan of Arc's own birth on the Epiphany I would recommend reading a paper I wrote two years ago to celebrate her 600th birthday titled:  Saint Joan of Arc: A Brilliantly Shining Light of God - The Significance of Joan of Arc's Birth on the Epiphany

Thank you once again St. Joan for teaching me more about the great God that you love and serve so well as one of His Saints.  

A Tribute to Saint Joan of Arc on Her Birthday!

"Most beautiful Maid of Heaven, how brilliant is your light.
Like a shining star you point the way to the Father of all light."

From a personal standpoint the greatest thing I can ever say about Saint Joan of Arc is that she leads me closer to God.  Last year to celebrate the 600^th anniversary of her birthday I posted a paper I wrote titled SaintJoan of Arc: A Brilliantly Shining Light of God which explains why I believe that leading people to God was and is Joan’s greatest mission.  It is ultimately this that makes Joan so beautiful to me which is the beauty of a soul in Christ helping me to better know the great beauty of our Lord as David expressed in Psalm 27:

“One thing I have desired of the Lord,
That will I seek:
That I may dwell in the house of the Lord
All the days of my life,
To behold the beauty of the Lord”

What has been so frustrating to me is how difficult it seems to be to share with others about Joan’s true nature and beauty.  Last year after six years of almost continuous effort I came to a certain realization and added the quote below to the page of famous quotes testifying to Joan’s greatness located at MaidOfHeaven.com. 

"I spent six years attempting to give people a proper

understanding of the incredible beauty of St. Joan of Arc

 as I have been blessed by God to have been able to see in

what at most has been a brief glimpse. I now realize it is

an impossible task due to the severe limits of

human expression. " 

When I wrote these I words I realized that this was perhaps the greatest tribute that anyone could ever give to Joan to say that her beauty is simple beyond the ability of human expression to completely describe.   So happy birthday to you Jehanne this year on the 601^st anniversary of your birthday and may you continue to be a brilliantly shining light of God ever leading people closer to our great God Who created you.  

“For all of this and all that you still are,

 I will love you forever and for all eternity.”

† Jesus Maria

Countdown to Joan of Arc’s 600th Birthday

We are now only a month away from celebrating the 600th anniversary of Saint Joan of Arc’s birth. To help you countdown a special clock was added to the birthday page at MaidOfHeaven.com that will reach zero at 12 midnight on January 5th in the town of Domremy where Joan was born. The clock currently shows a little more than 30 days to go which can be seen at the top of the page for
Joan of Arc’s Birthday

Please bookmark this page and check back anytime to see how much time is left. This page also contains details about Joan’s birth including quotes from the people who knew her the best and several new pictures of Joan, such as the one at the top of this article titled La Petite Jeannette, were recently added.

HOW ARE YOU GOING TO CELEBRATE JOAN’S 6OOTH BIRTHDAY!

As part of my own celebration I just recently finished writing a paper titled: Saint Joan of Arc: A Brilliantly Shining Light of God - The Significance of Joan of Arc’s Birth on the Epiphany. I will post this paper here at this blog just after Christmas so please check back then.

Jesus+Maria

The 600th Anniversary of Joan of Arc’s Birthday

Next year will mark the 600th anniversary of the birth of St. Joan of Arc and we are now only six months away from this milestone so I thought it was a good time to make sure that everyone is aware of what is coming. There are many events planned worldwide to celebrate including a parade in New Orleans and a pilgrimage in France to name just a few. The picture below of the statue of Joan with her Voices at the Basilica of St. Joan of Arc near Domremy was taken just last month and you can see how the statues have been recently cleaned and re-painted to get ready.


How are you planning to celebrate Joan’s 600th birthday anniversary next year?

Learn more abut Joan’s birthday and the 600th anniversary at:
Joan of Arc's Birthday

Joan's Birthday

"It was during the night of the Epiphany of Our Lord when men are wont most joyfully to recall the acts of Christ that she first saw the light in this mortal life”

Tomorrow will mark the 599th anniversary of the birth of Joan of Arc and I hope everyone will have a chance to celebrate in their own way. I recently added a quote on the MaidOfHeaven.com quotes page by 19th century French artist Louis-Maurice Boutet de Monvel that reflects some of my own sentiments about Joan:
"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."

I will celebrate Joan’s birthday tomorrow by lighting a candle in her honor and by re-reading my poem Maid of Heaven that I wrote to her. I celebrate this way every year and try to spend some time alone with her and God remembering her for who she was and is in Christ. I hope all of you will find your own way tomorrow to honor and remember Saint Joan of Arc.

Joan of Arc’s Birthday Page

Joan of Arc’s Birthday Today

Today is the 598th anniversary of Saint Joan of Arc’s birth in Domremy, France, on January 6, 1412. I already have a special page devoted to Joan’s birthday at MaidOfHeaven.com that I encourage everyone to visit as it contains descriptions of her birth and early years by people who personally knew her while she was alive. The page also explains the significance of her birth on the Epiphany which I believe was a gift to her from God because she is truly a “shining star that points the way to the Father of all light.”

Joan of Arc’s Birthday Page

I thought I would use the rest of this blog entry to share with everyone how I personally celebrate Joan’s birthday. I like to light a candle for her every year on both her birthday and her feast day in May and take some time to remember her for the great woman of God that she was. I also like to re-read the poem I wrote to her Maid of Heaven because it always reminds me again of the real Joan and brings me back closer to her. I hope everyone reading this today will find your own way to remember and honor Joan on this special day when she was born.

Happy birthday most beautiful Maid of Heaven!