International Women’s Day

Joan of Arc continues to be a great inspiration to women and will undoubtedly receive a great deal of coverage today on International Women’s Day and throughout March during Women’s History Month. From the beginning of the Women’s movement Joan has been heralded as the epitome of a strong women and her likeness has been used countless times to promote women’s rights such as the poster below promoting women’s suffrage from the early 20th century.

My hope this year is that during all the exposure that Joan receives people will really learn about the true qualities that Joan possessed that made her so strong and such a great women. One of my favorite quotes about Joan by Scottish author and historian Andrew Lang speaks volumes about who Joan really was as both a women and as a person:
"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."

Joan First Meets Charles VII Anniversary

On or around March 7, 1429, Joan of Arc first met Charles VII and the circumstances of their first meeting is one of the many miraculous events in the life of Joan of Arc. According to an eyewitness, Joan, who had never before seen Charles VII or had any idea what he looked like, was able to easily find him in a crowd of people. Apparently Charles had withdrawn into the crowd of people at his court in the castle at Chinon as a way to test her upon learning about her arrival. It must have made a great first impression on Charles that Joan was able to find him out so easily. They withdrew together and had a private conversation where Joan apparently told Charles some secrets that caused him to have “great confidence” in her as he later told some of hose who had witnessed their first meeting.
To learn more including some eyewitness accounts visit the page at MaidOfHeaven.com titled

Joan of Arc & Charles VII: First Meeting

Joan of Arc Movie

If you are looking for a good movie to watch about Joan of Arc you might try the 1948 movie “Joan of Arc” starring Ingrid Bergman. I received an email earlier today from a friend advising that this movie will be broadcast by TCM (Turner Classic Movies) this coming Sunday February 27th (Check your local schedule for exact time).
“This 1948 movie about Joan of Arc is my favorite out of all the Joan of Arc movies because it stays closest to the established history. I especially like the way they incorporated so many of Joan's most famous quotes into the script. Is it perfect, no, but then the perfect movie about Saint Joan has yet to be made and this one at least tries to stay close to the true story of Joan of Arc” from my review about this movie avialable at:
Joan of Arc Book Movie Music Reviews
You can also find more reviews on this page about most of the other movies that have been made about Joan of Arc.

Enjoy!

Joan of Arc's Faith

I have been meaning to set up a special page about Saint Joan’s amazing faith for some time but was inspired to get it done after reading the great comments by Pope Benedict XVI. Joan’s love for God was central to her very being and anyone wanting to really comprehend who she was and what motivated her must be able to understand her faith. The page at MaidOfHeaven.com contains numerous quotes about Joan’s faith by the people who knew her when she was alive as well as quotes by Joan herself abut God.

Learn About Joan of Arc’s Faith Here

Joan-of-Arc

Pope Remembers Saint Joan of Arc

After seeing little to no coverage of Saint Joan of Arc’s birthday earlier this month I was pleasantly surprised to see a great many news reports today about some remarks Pope Benedict XVI made earlier today in Rome praising Joan for being an example to follow for those in public service. Below is the substance of the Pope’s remarks about Joan:

"Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Our catechesis today deals with Saint Joan of Arc, one of the outstanding women of the later Middle Ages. Raised in a religious family, Joan enjoyed mystical experiences from an early age. At a time of crisis in the Church and of war in her native France, she felt God’s call to a life of prayer and virginity, and to personal engagement in the liberation of her compatriots. At the age of seventeen, Joan began her mission among the French military forces; she sought to negotiate a just Christian peace between the English and French, took an active part in the siege of Orleans and witnessed the coronation of Charles VII at Reims.

Captured by her enemies the next year, she was tried by an ecclesiastical court and burnt at the stake as a heretic; she died invoking the name of Jesus. Her unjust condemnation was overturned twenty-five years later. At the heart of Saint Joan’s spirituality was an unfailing love for Christ and, in Christ, for the Church and for her neighbor. May the prayers and example of Saint Joan of Arc inspire many lay men and women to devote themselves to public life in the service of God’s Kingdom, and encourage all of us to live to the fullest our lofty calling in Christ."

Watch Video on MaidOfHeaven.com page about Pope Benedict XVI and Joan of Arc

Thank you Pope Benedict XVI for helping the world to remember what a great example Joan of Arc is to everyone!

More FREE Joan of Arc Books Online

Several new books about Joan of Arc have been added at MaidOfHeaven.com bringing the total number of free online books to eleven. One recently added is Andrew Lang's Maid of France which is well written and well researched and one of my favorite biographies about Joan of Arc.

Read Lang's Maid of France HERE

Also recently added is Christine de Pisan's famous poem about Joan titled the The Song of Joan of Arc or Ditie de Jehanne d'Arc. This is a very beautiful poem in tribute to Joan of Arc.

Read Song of Joan of Arc HERE

For a complete list of all the free books available at MaidOfHeaven.com visit

Free Online Joan of Arc Books

Enjoy!

Thanks!!!

I wanted to take a moment and thank everyone who helped me to celebrate Saint Joan of Arc’s Birthday this year. The following websites were especially helpful in getting the word out:

Spirit Daily
BigNews.Biz
Free Republic
Roman Catholic Catechism
Catholic Mom in Hawaii Blog

If anyone is wondering why you see little to no coverage of St. Joan of Arc’s Birthday by the mainstream news services well that is a good question. To me it is just more proof of how corrupt and irrelevant our mainstream “Press” has become. Joan is the most famous women to ever live and if you look at the news archives from 100 years ago you will see that she received all kinds of news coverage on her birthday. This is just another example of how today’s “Press” only covers “news” that they are either being paid to cover or is consistent with their social and political agendas for which they are also paid to promote. So much for our so called “Free Press.” Sorry for the rant against the press on this blog devoted to Saint Joan but I also value true freedom as much as St. Joan of Arc did and examples like this really disgust me.

Deo Vindice!