In this Bonus Podcast episode, I am reading my About Page. This page is essential to understanding this devotion to St. Joan and St. Thérèse. The page is also quite extensive, requiring significant meditative attention. The reader will find a phenomenological model founded on Catholic metaphysics that has universal applicability despite being an expression of my own experience. I hope you will enter, meditate, contemplate, and join St. Joan and St. Thérèse on the journey!

In this episode, I discuss a significant juncture on my journey with St. Joan and St. Thérèse: The Dance of Reason.

Welcome to episode two of season six! This season, I am discussing my book, Journey to Christendom - the Freedom Dance. Each week, I post a chapter to my one of my books. You can buy them on Amazon or become a paid subscriber and read along each week. As a paid subscriber, you can make comments and join the chats to discuss the essential points in each chapter.

In this episode, I have a general overview of the first section of the book. You will hear me reveal what is hidden beneath the text. There are hidden expressions waiting to be discovered. Listen now as I explain how in the beginning of my first book, I wrote wrongly, but that ended up being the point!

Journey to Christendom is the story of one man's wonder-filled spiritual exodus out of the Dark Forest and into a land of freedom and joy on a path called the Trail of the Dogmatic Creed of Roman Catholicism. This book leads the reader on a spiritual journey with the Virgin Mary, St. Thérèse of Lisieux, St. Joan of Arc, and other saints of the Church. You will dance out of the Dark Forest of the modern materialistic culture, across the dangerous Bridge of Reason, through stormy valleys of mental and physical suffering, and, finally, to the magnificent land of destiny to meet the King, Jesus Christ, Savior of humanity. Journey to Christendom is a testimony about finding peace, joy, and life-giving meaning through the Catholic Faith.

Welcome to season 6! This season, I am discussing my book, Journey to Christendom - the Freedom Dance.

Today, I am talking through the two main themes in the Forward: The relevancy of St. Joan of Arc in our contemporary world and the question of how to gain a fresh perspective on the Church in an unprecedented age of nihilism and post-modernism. Importantly, I discuss the Second Vatican Council.

Each week, I post a chapter to my books. You can buy them on Amazon or become a paid subscriber on Substack and read along each week. Join me as a paid subscriber in discussing the essential points in each chapter.

Journey to Christendom is the story of one man's wonder-filled spiritual exodus out of the Dark Forest and into a land of freedom and joy on a path called the Trail of the Dogmatic Creed of Roman Catholicism. This book leads the reader on a spiritual journey with the Virgin Mary, St. Thérèse of Lisieux, St. Joan of Arc, and other saints of the Church. You will dance out of the Dark Forest of the modern materialistic culture, across the dangerous Bridge of Reason, through stormy valleys of mental and physical suffering, and, finally, to the magnificent land of destiny to meet the King, Jesus Christ, Savior of humanity. Journey to Christendom is a testimony about finding peace, joy, and life-giving meaning through the Catholic Faith.

St. Thérèse participated in Joan's mission through prayers, plays, and poetry; let us join them.

This episode closes the season on St. Joan of Arc using Régine Pernoud’s book, Joan of Arc - Her Story. This might seem like a hasty finish to Joan’s tale. We concluded the previous episode with the crowning of King Charles. The ceremony in Rheims reveals Joan of Arc in her earthly glory. She victoriously celebrates the fulfillment of Heaven’s command.

However, we know there is much more to her story. Entire seasons could be devoted to the “second half” of Joan’s quest beyond her home village of Domrémy. But we have not focused primarily on her history in these discussions. The point has been the phenomenology of her appearance on the world stage and how that manifestation relates to our lives today. This last point is precisely what I bring together here.

St. Thérèse of Lisieux participated with St. Joan’s mission centuries after Joan’s death. Thérèse was more than inspired by Joan. Thérèse participated in Joan’s mission. I explain that mystical relationship in this episode and invite the listener to participate also, now in our temporal sphere, with St. Joan and St. Thérèse. Joan’s earthly mission was to fifteenth century France, but her heavenly mission extends through the ages. Together St. Joan and St. Thérèse are the “combined hearts” of the Dove and Rose and the most beautiful color in the Heavens.

Despite the English efforts, Joan bested them once again. 

Joan of Arc defeated the English at Orléans and lifted the siege. She convinced the Dauphin, Charles VII, to march to Reims for his coronation against the advice of his other captains. Joan wins the day and leads Charles through the enemy Burgundian territory to Reims.

Mark Twain refers to this march as a miracle, one he calls the “bloodless march.” Town after town swears allegiance to Charles, and enthusiasm for his crowning grows. People take to the roads to join Joan and her Dauphin!

Not everyone is happy, however. The English sympathizers in Reims are forced to leave with the prospect of Joan’s army arriving soon. They take much of the coronation regalia to discredit Charles’ coronation. However, they leave the most important coronation artifact - the Holy Oil used by every French King from the time of Clovis.

Despite the English efforts, Joan bested them once again. She has the location (Reims), the Holy Oil, and the archbishop for the ceremony.

At Reims, Joan of Arc kneels and hugs the newly crowned King by the legs. She did what God commanded her to do.

St. Joan reveals a fundamental characteristic of her spirituality. “Act and God will act!” Joan shouted to the Duke of Alençon as they prepared for battle at Jargeau. The Duke had been hesitant to take on the reinforced bastille in the Loire Valley. He was hesitant no more.

We witnessed Joan of Arc’s sensational victory at Orléans that broke the back of the English siege. The English withdrew but retreated to other bastilles in the area. Joan has the wind at her back, and devotees are building. Her army - Charles VII’s army - is larger and more inspired than ever. Against the conventional wisdom of her captains, she persuades Charles to march to Reims for his coronation. However, to make that march, the Loire Valley must be cleared out to protect the French rear guard on the way. Charles puts the Duke of Alençon in charge of this operation with Joan of Arc at his side. They began at Jargeau.

In this episode, I stress the fundamental nature of Joan of Arc’s spirituality. It is “Act and God will act.” This saying is remarkably close to her answer at Poitiers when asked why God needs an army to do his will. “The men will fight, and God will bring the victory.” Receiving Joan of Arc as she gives herself to us demands more than inspiring thoughts. Her influence demands action and a change in our day-to-day orientation toward God and the divine order.

Articles of St. Joan's intercession - how Joan of Arc is perceived in the phenomenology of The Dove and Rose.

This is a bonus episode in the middle of our journey with St. Joan. Here, I reveal an interpretation of St. Joan of Arc’s intercessory influence with regard to the phenomenology of The Dove and Rose. It is my subjective perception based on how Joan is perceived in my spiritual life based on who she is and the conditions by which the Lord and Our Lady reveal her in the Dove and Rose devotion. Joan of Arc is such that in the phenomenology of the The Dove and Rose, she can be perceived in this manner by the light of the public revelation proclaimed and guarded by the Holy Catholic Church. The listener’s perception may be different; however, I hope this provides an inspiration to you on your journey with St. Joan and St. Thérèse!

We have been walking with St. Joan through Régine Pernoud’s book, Joan of Arc - Her Story. The quotes in this episode are all taken from that book. We ended the previous episode with Joan freeing Orléans in remarkable style! On this January 6, the celebration of Joan of Arc’s birthday, I hope this episode provides a refreshing respite on our journey. We still have more to go with St. Joan!

Joan of Arc is in Orléans! She is the “appearance of hope appearing” for the city of Orléans. Like the French people in general, the citizens of Orléans have been demoralized beyond repair from a natural standpoint. Joan, though, is bringing hope on a supernatural level. And, she begins her exploits that will prove her claims that her mission is divine. The Bastille of Saint-Loup is taken by her forces, followed by the Augustinian. On May 7, 1429 she takes the most important Bastille of them all, Les Tourelles. This frees Orléans and forces the English to pull out entirely from the city.

Her miraculous victory sends shock waves through Europe. Stories become embellished. The truth is inspiring and wonder-filled as it is, but now even these are growing into mythologies. How do we come to understand the true essence of Joan of Arc? How do we come to know her as she presents herself from herself in our lives? We can begin with a correlation of the freeing of Orléans to our own lives. Perhaps we have been freed from a spiritual siege through St. Joan’s intercession and sisterly care. Can we correlate our map of meaning to hers?

Dunois encounters Joan through a powerful phenomenological understanding.

This is perhaps the most important episode in Season 5 thus far. We do not cover much ground in Régine Pernoud’s book, Joan of Arc - Her Story - only a few paragraphs. However, these paragraphs are “saturated” with meaning - to use a phenomenological term. What I share here could make for days of contemplation on the meaning of Joan of Arc’s life and her mission. She has arrived at Orléans with her army. She meets Dunois for the first time. And something happens. Dunois receives a “divine glance” (re: St. Thérèse) or “unreflective certainty” (re: Edith Stein). Dunois is very phenomenologically tuned in to Joan and what she represents just as Jean de Metz was in Vaucouleurs. Certain key people seem to have received the blessing of seeing Joan for what she represented. In the shadow of the field of meaning surrounding her, was “the appearance of Hope appearing.”

As a bonus, I open this discussion with short reading from My Vocation is Love - St. Thérèse’s Way to Total Trust by Jean Lafrance. When I speak of Joan, I am always also speaking of someone else. St. Thérèse! It is through Thérèse’s heart I came to understand Joan. Joan is the Dove and Thérèse is the Rose.