St. Joan of Arc

I stopped reading St. Therese's diary and put it down on top of St. Lucy's. I must have spent an hour in this room reading the two diaries! Before I opened the last diary, which belonged to St. Joan of Arc, I opened the door of the room I was in and took a peek outside of it. The tour group was still on the other side of the Cathedral, and I could hear the faint sound of their voices. I still had time to read, so I closed the door and opened up the diary. To my surprise, all of the pages were blank! I flipped through the pages in disbelief, desperately trying to find words. While I was flipping through the pages, an old piece of paper fell out of the diary. I bent down to pick it up and was so happy to see that it had writing on it. I read the words out loud to myself, which were, "To access the diary, one must have courage." Courage? I have been lacking courage recently. I have been so scared to step out of my comfort zone lately, especially now that I will be going to college in less than a year. I am scared to leave my hometown, my family, and my friends. I find myself being lost and unmotivated to do anything. I took a moment to think to myself and thought of how courageous St. Lucy and St. Therese were. Reading their stories had motivated me to be like them. I opened my eyes, and I was so happy to see that the pages of St. Joan of Arcs's diary were no longer blank.

May 8, 1428

Today marks three years since I first started having visits from St. Michael, St. Catherine, and St. Margaret. When they told me that I would be driving the English from the French territory, I thought I had some crazy dream. They said that this had to be done for the rightful heir to the French throne, who was Charles of Valois, to be crowned King. I kept putting this task off because I was so young and thought that the voices would go away. Little did I know that the voices would be here to stay. I knew God had called me to complete this particular task, and at first, I was terrified. I am now ready to follow God's plan and do what he has called me to do. Next week I will travel from my village of Domremy to the village of Vaucouleurs to ask the captain, a man named Robert, if I can have an armed escort to Chinon, which is the site of the crown prince's palace and enemy territory.

May 15, 1428

I found Robert de Baudricourt today on my trip to Vaucouleurs. The saints have told me that Robert would give me the soldiers needed to raise the siege that the English had laid on Orleans. When I found him, I introduced myself and told him about the voices I have been hearing and the reason for finding him. I was very disappointed with his reaction. He laughed in my face and did not believe me. He told me that I needed to go home and that he did not need my help. I expected this kind of reaction from him. How could he believe a 16-year-old girl who has heard voices telling her what to do? Even though I was disappointed, I was not discouraged. I believed in myself and decided that I would come to Vaucouleurs again and give myself another chance to prove myself to Robert.

January 10, 1429

Today I have arrived at Vaucouleurs once again to try and persuade Robert de Baudricourt. I have grown so much since the last time I have seen him, and I have gathered a few people with me who believe me and trust the saints' voices. Two of these people include soldiers under Robert, Jean de Metz, and Bertrand de Poulengy. To prove myself to Robert, I will be telling him about a military reversal at the Battle of Rouvray near Orléans that will happen. The saints told me about this, and I know it will persuade Robert that my visions of the saints are real.

February 13, 1429

Robert was very surprised to see me again with two of his soldiers. I told them about my plan and my predictions, and he was very shocked because I told him of the Battle of Rouvray several days before the messengers arrived to report it. He has agreed to help me in my journey to Chinon to help Charles of Valois become crowned King, and today we plan to leave. It will be a long, harsh journey to Chinon. The winter has been brutal, and we will be traveling 400 miles through enemy territory. My faith has helped me not to fear this journey. If anything, I am beyond excited to follow the journey God has planned for me and to serve the purpose of my life. I have dressed in men's clothes to disguise myself through this journey and have chopped off my hair. I looked at my reflection and could hardly recognize myself. I stared at myself and smiled softly, being proud of my success so far but nervous about what was yet to come.

Author's note: Joan of Arc was a young girl who had to persuade people to believe her visions of the saints in order to bring the rightful heir to the French Throne. She was only 16 years old and left the comfort and security of her home. In her short life, she faced ridicule, rejection, and danger. The journey from Vaucouleurs to Chinon took Joan of Arc 11 days. She was able to find Charles and convinced him of her mission and he gave her command of the French army. Her army only fought for three days and drove the English to retreat. After this, Charles was crowned king. Joan of Arc was captured by the Burgundians at Compiegne who sold her to the English, who sentenced her to death. Joan of Arc died from burning on May 30, 1431 when she was only 19 years old. 100 years ago on May 16, 1920 she was canonized as a saint of the Roman Catholic Church by Pope Benedict XV. She had so much courage and bravery at such a young age, and is a role model for many. After her death, a trial was conducted to determine if Joan's condemnation was justly handled. The court declared Joan innocent on July 7, 1456.

Bibliography: Sources I used for these diary entries: Catholic Singles, History.com, Wikipedia, Catholic.org