By Sister Marie-Bernard, M.I.C.M.
Saint Joan Of Arc: Triumph And Sadness
This article continues the story of Saint Joan of Arc. You can read the previous article about how she came to be known as “the Maid of Orleans,” or start the full story of Saint Joan of Arc from the beginning.
With the first part of her mission accomplished Joan commanded that an altar be erected where the English camp had stood. And there, in the midst of a triumphant army and exultant citizens, the Great Sacrifice was offered and public thanks was rendered to the real Saviour of the city. When the Mass was over and the Te Deum (the Church’s official hymn of thanksgiving) had been sung, the Maid of Orléans, instead of taking a well-earned rest, pushed forward to Tours where the Dauphin was traveling from Chinon to meet her. To her and her men this was more than a meeting, it was a march of victory. After many years of defeat, the French troops at last held their heads high with pride. Hymns and songs of praise to God and the Blessed Mother resounded from the ranks of the marching men. Pennants of the saints and sacred devotions were held aloft, attesting to the peasants’ gratitude to God for answering their prayers. Amid shouts of praise and cheers of triumph, everyone kept their eyes fixed on the waving banner held by the young heroine in her shining armor.
At the meeting with the Dauphin she showed Joan the deepest honor and gratitude. Having nothing but great respect for this undeserving man, she now urged him to accompany her to Reims and be crowned king. But it had been easier to storm the English than to rouse this sluggish heir of France, who was satisfied with “fullness and idleness.” The coward took refuge in the excuse that the could not venture to Reims until the valley of Loire was cleared of the enemy. Disgusted by the cowardice of her sovereign, Joan tried to compel him by appealing to his sense of duty; she even tried to shame him into going forward to Reims for his coronation. When he questioned her as to the possibility of her success in clearing a way for him through a valley completely in the hands of the enemy, she replied, “What do you think that if I were not sure of victory I should be here? I tell you, I would rather be in my father’s meadows tending sheep than facing these ceaseless hardships and dangers.” But Charles adamantly shrank from his duty, preferring the security of his life, conceding to leave only when he could be assured of his personal safety. Joan had no choice but to clear the valley for her weak-hearted king.
Supported by her strong forces, and the guidance of her heavenly Voices, her line of battles from Tours to Reims through the valley of Loire was not merely successful but a complete triumph over the enemy. Once again, in one single week. Between the storming of Jargau On June 11th an the victory of Ptay on the 18th, an open road had been cleared for the Dauphin. The entire campaign had been planned and carried out by this un letttered village girl who was ad one general stated, “divine to look at as well as to hear.” concerning warfare and strategy, she acted as one having twenty to thirty years experience. While in all other things she was as simple as other girls.
“soldiers did the fighting… but God alone gave the victory.”
La Pucelle de Dieu (The Handmaid of God)
At seventeen Joan was acclaimed the savior of her country, heroine of her army. She was an example to all who met her of selflessness, faith and trust in God. When she wasn’t in the saddle, she was mostly on her knees praying. She seemed to live in the continual presence of God, borrowing all her strength and genius from Him. Although her fame and glory spread throughout the country, she never forgot, nor let others forget, that the “soldiers did the fighting… but God alone gave the victory.” She only thought of herself as God’s servant, an instrument in His hands.
Several years previous to her role as a France´s liberator, Joan had made a vow of virginity to God which she treasured as her “pearl of great price” She would not even unbuckle her armor while sleeping st night except on occasions when women were with her.
Even the roughest soldiers testified that the mere sight of the Maid inspired in one a sense of purity, and that in her presence all that was unclean seemed to shrink back. She lived a self-denying and sacrificial life. Often delicate and costly foods would be offered to her, but she would smile and say such dainties were not for her. Even after days of sustained excitement, she could never be persuaded to indulge her appetite and would eat only a few slices of bread dipped in a cup of wine mixed with water. Through the inner Joan was
ever in prayer and sacrifice, she followed the advice of her Voices, to “be cheerful and brave.” She never longed to be more than the peasant girl of Domremy. She had a quick wit and a keen sense of humor; she loved beautiful horses and fine arms, and her face was habitually cheerful and smiling. Joan of Arc truly lived “a life hid with Christ in God,” and her conquest of self was perhaps her most glorious victory of all.
“Would that I were pleasing to God my Creator, that I might now leave this scene and this life, and return to my mother and father.”
Reims at Last
Unable to find any other excuse, the Dauphin started for Reims on the feast of Saints Peter and Paul, 1429. On July 16th he made his royal entry into the city. Garlands of flowers festooned houses, trumpets blared and the bells sounded throughout the city as the people shouted out their welcome, delight and homage.
The following day was Sunday, July 17th, the day of the coronation and the climax of Joan’s earthly success. Banner in hand, she stood in the sanctuary of the Cathedral of Reims and witnessed the supreme moment for which she had lived, fought, and bled. In tears she fell to her knees before her sovereign and begged to be dismissed and allowed to go home for good. Her task was completed and she longed to sing her Nunc Dimittis and to return to the obscurity of Domremy. To Joan there was something distasteful in the environment of court life, and such home sickness afflicted her that she would exclaim to her friends, “Would that I were pleasing to God my Creator, that I might now leave this scene and this life, and return to my mother and father.” But Joan’s mission was far from finished. Before her lay the most trying battle of all.
After the coronation, Joan was overjoyed with a visit from her father in Reims. For hours, father and daughter talked of the folk in Domremy, and of happy memories and the simple country life. At his departure, Joan cried mournfully for she knew she would never see him again. King Charles sent a decree back to Domremy with her father, Jacques d’Arc, freeing the town from taxes in honor of Joan’s accomplishment. But he would not release Joan and allow her to accompany her father. He detained her in the army against her will instead.