Sacred Voices, Sacred Woman

One of the more mysterious figures in history is the 15th Century's Joan of Arc, an illiterate peasant girl who saw visions of saints that compelled her to lead the French Army against the British during the latter years of the Hundred Years' War. As you can guess, these visions of Joan of Arc, those of St. Michael, St Catherine, and St Margaret, made her astute beyond her years, and "science" has yet to prove the "cause" of them. Through all of the records available, there is no proof that Joan of Arc suffered from any mental illness. So controversial a figure, she was not declared a saint until 1920.

She spoke with utter conviction. "You have been to your council and I have been to mine. Now, believe me when I say that the Counsel of God will be accomplished and succeed and that yours will fail." And why? She did exactly as she said and inspired the French troops to take back Orleans and got the Dauphin to Reims for his Coronation. (I always feel it important to point out that Joan of Arc carried her banner into battle and did not partake in the actual fighting, but rather rode through the battle urging the troops forward, even after, in one case, an arrow in her neck.)

Let's plat devil's advocate (so to speak) and say that God did give her visions of saints. Why, during the Hundred Years' War, would God interfere with this war, in such an unsubtle way at the least, and why did He pick a poor girl who would follow His Word to only die a martyr's death at the age of nineteen?

Why aren't there more like her in touch with God to guide us in these dark times? With all these forms of media that we now have, and most of it is full of opinions passed off as fact and down right lying and distortion of the truth. To have someone like Joan of Arc, who spoke plainly her thoughts and beliefs and acted on them for God and the goodness of her people, would certainly be a different person than what we're used to.