The Faith Of Joan Of Arc Essay

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The Faith Of Joan Of Arc Essay, Research Paper Joan of Arc was an exceptional character. The pureness in her heart and the devotion she had to her faith drew me to learn more about her. In every way possible she was a saint. Her life provides inspiration to the rest of the world and teaches us to remain true to the voice of God within ourselves. Joan of Arc was born on January 6, 1412. During Joan s childhood, the land of France was caught in the middle of the Hundred Year s War. Her hometown, Domremy, was placed partially between the forces of the English and the French. On occasion, Joan and her family had to flee from armies passing through her town. Ever since a young age, Joan stood out among other boys and girls when it came to faith. She would never distract herself

with things that she knew were not right and good in her heart, no matter what others might say. In one instance, Joan did not join in when fellow friends made offerings of flowers to fairies; instead she offered the same to the saints. When Joan was 13 years old, she started hearing voices. The voices were of St. Michael and several angels that only urged her to attend church and pray often. Soon Joan heard the voices of St. Catherine and St. Margaret as well. After a year or so, these same voices started telling her that she must help the future king of France to be crowned. At the time, Charles VII had to be coronated at Reims by tradition but the problem was that at that time, Reims was held by the English. The English had their own hopes of crowning Henry VI, who was but a

child. When Joan was 16 years old, St. Michael told her more specifically to drive out the English and bring the king to be crowned. She was frightened upon hearing this but a sense of peace came over her when St. Michael told her, “God will help you.” Because of Joan s trust in the voices, and ultimately in the faith of God, she left Domremy without telling her parents and succeeded in going to the king and convincing him of her mission. He supplied her with an army to raise the siege of Orleans, which was the first necessary step to reaching Reims. Even though fellow commanders had lack of faith, the siege was lifted with full credit going to Joan. She accomplished what the army commanders insisted could not happen. And for this, the people of Orleans believed that they had

witnessed a miracle: a miracle that created faith among the folk for this newfound leader. Joan was a leader that credited her inspiration and success to the Lord. She had the ability to get soldiers and captains to listen to her and obey whatever she asked them to do. Joan was a devout Catholic that believed in God and chose to carry out his orders. Because of her faith, she had every soldier participating in mass and going to confession. She also chased away all of the prostitutes following the army, which showed her morality. She considered the well-being of her forces so important that she did not want to remain in Orleans upon arrival, but wanted to stay with her army to make sure they did not break faith. She acted like a higher figure to these soldiers, never giving up on

the army, just like God never gives up on us. From there on it seemed Joan would be successful until the day she reached Reims and the King was coronated. Joan s triumph started declining due to the lack of monetary support from King Charles VII. Eventually, she was captured at Compiegne when she was left outside after a drawbridge was raised too carelessly. Joan was tried by an English inquisition court where she was found to be heretical for supposedly believing in something contrary to the ideas of the Church. This was the age in which the Church felt threatened by the increasing numbers of people who went against its authority or disagreed with its teachings. The English not only wanted to kill Joan but also wanted to discredit King Charles by having Joan condemned by the