May is a time when many of us who love Joan of Arc begin to contemplate her life and her works. It was during May that Joan endured her trial that eventually led to her execution on May 30, 1331.
Today I am starting a 9 Day Novena to Saint Joan of Arc. A novena (a prayer said to Joan for the next 9 days), if started today will end on May 30, 2024, her Feast Day and the day of her execution. It's a very powerful way to connect with a patron saint. If you would like to join me in a 9 Day Novena to Joan of Arc, you can find the novena prayer on my blog.
P.S. Don't worry, you don't have to be Catholic to connect with Joan via a novena or to invite her into your life. xoxo
I'm often asked by clients "Where does one start when contemplating the Life of Joan of Arc?" Well, fortunately, we do know a great deal about her short life, because her trials were meticulously written down and preserved over 800 years ago. So, I often direct people to my favorite book about her life, "The Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc", by Mark Twain. It was written under the pseudonym Sieur Louis de Conte.
Twain spent 12 years in France reading and researching her trial manuscripts. He takes the reader from her young days defending fairies in Domremy, to her last breath after an unjust trial. Twain considered her story the most important work of his life. It's an inspiring must read, if you want to know get to know her. I have to admit, I haven't been able to read the last chapter, it's just too heartbreaking,
