CELEBRATE Joan of Arc’s 600th Birthday!

LIGHT A CANDLE FOR SAINT JOAN ON HER BIRTHDAY!
“She is easily the most extraordinary person
the human race has ever produced.”

January 6, 2012 marks the 600th anniversary of St. Joan of Arc’s birth and there are few people in all of history as deserving of honor and remembrance on their birthday. As Mark Twain very accurately said of Joan: “She is easily the most extraordinary person the human race has ever produced.” For this reason all of 2012 is being called the year of Joan with many celebrations taking place worldwide throughout the year starting with parades held in Paris and in New Orleans on January 6 to celebrate on the day of her birth.

You don’t need to attend a large event to celebrate, however, as we can all take a moment on Joan’s birthday this Friday to remember her and honor her. I encourage everyone to light a candle for Joan on her birthday. I have been celebrating this way for several years and there is something almost mystical about lighting a candle and taking a few quiet moments to remember Joan and to reflect upon her life and all that she has come to mean to so many people.

If you need a little help preparing to celebrate Joan’s 600th Birthday then please visit the special page at MaidOfHeaven.com devoted to Joan’s birthday. This page contains many actual quotes from people who knew Joan and her family when she was growing up:
Joan of Arc's Birthday Page

And if you have not done so already you should definitely read the paper I wrote this year to celebrate Joan’s 600th Birthday anniversary that explains the significance of Joan’s birth on the Epiphany titled:
Saint Joan of Arc: A Brilliantly Shining Light of God

Happy Birthday Saint Joan of Arc!

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.
To continue reading the rest of this paper please visit MaidOfHeaven.com by clicking here

Another Spiritual Lesson from Joan

“Aide toi et Dieu t'aidera”
“Aid yourself and God will aid you”

This spiritual truth is one that Saint Joan of Arc exemplified in her life and actions and one that I was only personally able to completely comprehend through studying Joan. I had always heard the old saying that “God helps those who help themselves” however I was taught in the churches that I attended that this was not true because these exact words are not contained in the Bible. When I came to the part of Joan’s life where she was examined by theologians prior to her being given command of the armies of France she was asked: “If God desires to deliver France where is the need for soldiers?” Joan famously responded: “In God’s name, the soldiers will fight and He will grant victory.” The priests examining Joan understood that Joan was correctly saying that God will aid those who attempt to aid themselves trusting in God for the ultimate victory such as the example of David when he stepped forward to face Goliath trusting God for victory.

I was recently reminded again of this spiritual truth in a way that made me think of Joan when a friend of mine sent me a link to a news article about Robert E. Lee’s sword. What caught my attention were the words contained on one side of the sword: Aide toi et Dieu t'aidera. These are the French words that Joan is renowned for speaking during her life and it is highly likely that the French craftsman who made this sword placed them on the sword in memory of one Christian general as a present for another. It is easy to envision Robert E. Lee gazing upon this sword and drawing strength from these words during the darkest moments of his life. (For more go to Joan of Arc & Robert E Lee)

Thank you Joan for continuing to teach me along with everyone else about the truths of God.

100th Anniversary of Joan of Arc’s Beatification

This April marks the 100th anniversary of Saint Joan of Arc’s Beatification by the Roman Catholic Church. The official pronouncement was issued on April 11, 1909, and a ceremony attended by thousands of people was held at the Vatican on April 18, 1909. I set up a special page at MaidOfHeaven.com to celebrate that contains a picture of the ceremony, the translation of the official pronouncement and a newspaper article describing the ceremony. Just visit Joan of Arc’s Beatification