Joan of Arc, Easter and Communion

“At least in your final hours, you once again enjoyed the Church’s
mercies in preparing your soul.” from book Maid of Heaven 

Today is traditionally the day during Holy Week when Christians remember the “last supper” of Jesus by receiving communion so I thought I would share a personal story that helped me to better understand how important communion was to Saint Joan of Arc and how every Christian should value the “Eucharist” as she did as one of our Lord’s greatest blessings. While I was writing the final part of Maid of Heaven about Joan’s imprisonment and trial I was asked to help serve communion at the little church that I attended. As I helped serve the bread I began to think about Joan and how she had been denied communion during all those long months she had been alone in prison. She had repeatedly asked the priests who helped guard her for communion but they had been ordered by the chief judge at her trial Pierre Cauchon to refuse her requests probably as a way to further punish and torment her while she was in prison. As I passed out the bread I thought about how desperate Joan had been to receive what I so easily received and took for granted. I really felt like crying when I thought about how special communion was to Joan and how much it had hurt her to not be able to receive the Lord’s body. Finally, during her final hours after she had been condemned to death, she was allowed to receive communion. What joy it must have brought to Joan even though she knew she was to die just a short time later. Martin Ladvenu was the Priest who served Joan her last communion and he later described it in this way: “On the morning of Joan's death, by permission and order of the judges…I heard Joan's confession and administered our Lord's Body to her, which she received with such humility, devotion, and copious tears as I could not completely describe.”

May God Bless everyone with a great Holy Week and Easter.

HE IS RISEN!!!

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

The Song of Joan of Arc

The Song of Joan of Arc is an epic poem written and finished on July 31, 1429, by Christine de Pisan who was a highly regarded poet who lived in France during the same time as Joan of Arc.  This poem was written and finished shortly after Charles VII was crowned King so it provides a unique view on the momentous events brought about by Joan of Arc during this period of history.  Below is a stanza from the poem describing the coronation of Charles VII: 

"Now let us welcome our King!

Rejoice at his return from his fall,

overjoyed at the site of his splendor.

Let us all both great and small

step forward to greet him-no one

hold back-salute him with joyful face.

Praising God who has been so kind

let shouts of "Noel!" fill the place."

The poem is full of praise toward Joan reflecting the national sentiment at the time after Joan won her great military victories and crowned Charles VII King of France:

"And blessed Maid, are you to be forgotten?

For God has honored you so much using you

against the rope binding France so tightly

which you untied in your debut.

Could our praise ever be enough

for one that we so greatly adore. 

You brought peace to our land,

so greatly ravaged by war"

The full English translation of this famous poem is available online at MaidOfHeaven.com at:

The Song of Joan of Arc by Christine de Pisan

Since today is the anniversary of the completion of this poem it is a good time to read it though to better understand how great a impact Joan of Arc had upon France and world history.

Joan Crowns Charles VII Anniversary

On July 17, 1429, Joan of Arc fulfilled her primary mission to have Charles VII crowned and anointed as  King of all France. Joan had predicted that she would lead Charles to his crowning in Reims when she had begun her mission only a few months earlier. What had seemed impossible to everyone except Joan occurred that summer day in late July of 1429 in the Cathedral of Reims when Charles VII was crowned King of France. All the French people loyal to Charles rejoiced as echoed by Christine de Pisan in her famous epic poem The Song of Joan of Arc:


"Now let us welcome our King!
Rejoice at his return from his fall,
overjoyed at the site of his splendor.
Let us all both great and small
step forward to greet him-no one
hold back-salute him with joyful face.
Praising God who has been so kind
let shouts of "Noel!" fill the place."
Christine’s poem was finished shortly after Charles VII was crowned in Reims and reflects the national sentiments toward Joan of Arc at that time and is well worth reading to better understand the huge impact that this event had upon the people of France. An English translation is available online at MaidOfHeaven.com at
The Song of Joan of Arc by Christine de Pisan

You can also learn more about the coronation and the city of Reims by visiting this page at MaidOfHeaven.comt:
Joan of Arc & Reims

Anniversary of Joan's Great Victory at Patay

Today is the anniversary of Joan's great victory at the Battle of Patay, which was the most overwhelming victory that she achieved in her brilliant military career. After the battle of Orleans the English military leaders were concerned but still confident they could defeat the French when they engaged in combat. After the overwhelming victory by Joan of Arc at Patay the English leaders realized they were in serious trouble and that Joan was a real military commander to be feared. While this was indeed Joan’s most overwhelming victory where she annihilated an English army of a least six thousand while losing only a handful of men I have never felt that she receives proper credit for this great victory by the French by most modern historians. I wrote a good article a few years back about Joan of Arc and the Battle of Patay that relies heavily upon the words of the people present and clearly shows just how much Joan was responsible for the victory at Patay. Please read it and decide for yourself exactly how much credit Joan deserves: 

Joan of Arc & the Battle of Patay

Memorial Day for Joan of Arc: Joan’s Feast Day & Death Anniversary

May 30^th is the anniversary of Joan of Arc’s death and is also her Feast Day which is a chance to honor and remember her in a similar way as we do other soldiers on Memorial Day Weekend.  It always gives me pause to remember that Joan’s final recorded words were “Jesus, Jesus, Jesus” which to me was her final exclamation point as to the true focus of her life.  Saint Joan of Arc loved God more than anything else which is what made her such a “brilliantly shining light” in this dark world.  Even in the final and darkest moments of  Joan’s life her light shone brightly which impressed even her enemies to the point that several made professions of faith as later described by one of the men participating in Joan’s execution:  “The judges who were present, and even several of the English[Joan’s enemies], were moved by this to great tears and weeping, and indeed several of these same English, recognized God's hand and made professions of faith when they saw her make so remarkable an end. “(you can read several touching eyewitness accounts of Joan’s death on the page devoted to Joan of Arc’s Feast Day)

This year on Joan’s Feast Day, which is taking place during the 600^th anniversary year of her birth, let us all learn from Joan to have the same ultimate focus:  Jesus! Jesus! Jesus!

Joan's Victory at Orleans

On Sunday May 8, 1429, Saint Joan of Arc achieved complete victory at Orleans and fulfilled the promise she had made only few months earlier to liberate the city.  On the morning of May 8th following the previous day's spectacular storming and taking of the fort Les Tourelles by the French, the English defenders remaining around Orleans left their siege positions and assembled in order of battle in an open field near the city.  The French forces came out of Orleans to oppose the English and for an hour the two armies faced each other.  During this time Joan called for mass to be held.  A citizen of Orleans, Jean de Champeaux, later testified as to what happened next:  "The masses completed, Joan said to look and see whether the English were facing them.   'No, the English are turned towards Meung' someone replied.  'In God's name,' Joan replied, 'They are going. Let them go, while we go give thanks to God and pursue them no farther, since today is Sunday."  And thus total victory was achieved at Orleans as the English retreated away from Orleans.  Joan and her army returned to Orleans and celebrated with the citizens of Orleans, a celebration that is renewed every year on May 8th in honor of the "Maid of Orleans."

Video of Annual Celebration in Orleans honoring St. Joan

Visit Orleans Fete Jeanne Darc for more info about this year's celebrations.