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S3E5 - From the Dark Woods to my moment with St. Joan of Arc
Receiving St. Joan through the heart and mind of St. Thérèse.
In this episode we escape from the Dark Forest of despair and suffering through the devotion and prayers of my family and the help of the saints. Encouraged by my wife to attend a six day silent retreat in the Poconos, I found myself before a statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary where I was healed - mind, body, and soul. A couple of years later, I came across the following poem written by St. Thérèse in honor of St. Joan:
To Joan of Arc
When the Lord God of Hosts gave you the victory,
You drove out the foreigner and had the king crowned.
Joan, your name became renowned in history.
Our greatest conquerors paled before you.
But that was only a fleeting glory.
Your name needed a Saint's halo.
So the Beloved offered you his bitter cup,
And, like Him, you were spurned by men.
At the bottom of a black dungeon, laden with heavy chains,
The cruel foreigner filled you with grief.
Not one of your friends took part in your pain.
Not one came forward to wipe your tears.
Joan, in your dark prison you seem to me
More radiant, more beautiful than at your king's coronation.
This heavenly reflection of eternal glory,
Who then brought it upon you?
It was betrayal.
Ah! If the God of love in this valley of tears
Had not come to seek betrayal and death,
Suffering would hold no attraction for us.
Now we love it, it is our treasure.
~ St. Therese of Lisieux. The Poetry of Saint Therese of Lisieux (p. 177). ICS Publications. Kindle Edition.
That was the moment I received the “unreflective certainty” regarding the role St. Joan was to play in my life. St. Thérèse’s Kingdom was before me as a mystery, partially hidden. My journey was toward that Kingdom. St. Joan was to be my guide.
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By Walter EmersonReceiving St. Joan through the heart and mind of St. Thérèse.
In this episode we escape from the Dark Forest of despair and suffering through the devotion and prayers of my family and the help of the saints. Encouraged by my wife to attend a six day silent retreat in the Poconos, I found myself before a statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary where I was healed - mind, body, and soul. A couple of years later, I came across the following poem written by St. Thérèse in honor of St. Joan:
To Joan of Arc
When the Lord God of Hosts gave you the victory,
You drove out the foreigner and had the king crowned.
Joan, your name became renowned in history.
Our greatest conquerors paled before you.
But that was only a fleeting glory.
Your name needed a Saint's halo.
So the Beloved offered you his bitter cup,
And, like Him, you were spurned by men.
At the bottom of a black dungeon, laden with heavy chains,
The cruel foreigner filled you with grief.
Not one of your friends took part in your pain.
Not one came forward to wipe your tears.
Joan, in your dark prison you seem to me
More radiant, more beautiful than at your king's coronation.
This heavenly reflection of eternal glory,
Who then brought it upon you?
It was betrayal.
Ah! If the God of love in this valley of tears
Had not come to seek betrayal and death,
Suffering would hold no attraction for us.
Now we love it, it is our treasure.
~ St. Therese of Lisieux. The Poetry of Saint Therese of Lisieux (p. 177). ICS Publications. Kindle Edition.
That was the moment I received the “unreflective certainty” regarding the role St. Joan was to play in my life. St. Thérèse’s Kingdom was before me as a mystery, partially hidden. My journey was toward that Kingdom. St. Joan was to be my guide.