Although most Catholics cannot become martyrs or sacrifice everything for the love of God, such as Saint Joan of Arc accomplished, there are other methods by which Catholics can please God immensely, such as the “little way” of Saint Therese of Lisieux. The greatest Catholic sacrifice is to give up one’s life for the love of God, as Saint Joan of Arc and many other saints have done. However, since the average Catholic cannot sensibly give up their life for God, it is better to follow a more realistic path. Instead, Catholics may follow St. Therese of Lisieux, who practiced her “little way,” which brought her closer to God in her everyday tasks. Although most Catholics cannot obtain God’s complete satisfaction through martyrdom, as St. Joan did, they may follow the example of St. Therese of Lisieux, who displayed, through her simplicity in life, her own version of perfect satisfaction. Partially due to the time period in …show more content…
When St. Joan of Arc was called by St. Michael and St. Catherine to save France, she did everything in her power to follow their commands, even though she was a mere peasant girl. In the end, Joan accomplished the goal of restoring France its rightful king, however, she was then captured by her enemies and burned at the stake. In contrast, although St. Therese could not become a martyr for her faith, she demonstrated that one could please God immensely through absolute devotion. St. Therese devised a “little way,” through which she performed each of her daily tasks for the love of God, offering up her hardships up without any complaint. Although St. Joan’s sacrifice, physically fighting, might seem greater than “the little way,” Therese’s mental and physical sufferings in her daily tasks were quite a burdensome sacrifice as
Germaine never wanted to miss Mass even though she was in charge of the flock. When the bell rang for Mass at the Church of St. Mary Magdalen, she would pray and ask her guardian angel to look after the sheep while she was at Mass. The sheep never got hurt while she was at Mass even though there were wolves around. Throughout the Church, St. Germaine learned all about the love of God. One of the most important things she learned was that sufferings bring grace. All of the sufferings we must go through in life have meaning to God because of his great love for us. Perhaps it’s because everyone else was so mean to her that St. Germaine was able to see how very much God loves her and it was through the Church that
Joan of Arc is credited with leading the French army to victory over England during the 100 years war, which actually lasted around 116 years. She believed she was a messenger of god and was born to bring an end to the war. With permission from the king, Joan of Arc, lacking military and tactical training, led the french army against the English in the city of Orléans. Joan met a tragic end when she was captured by the Anglo-Burgundian and tried as a witch. She was called guilty as a witch and a heretic which led to her untimely demise being burned at the stake at age 19.
Saint Rose of Lima had been a very divine person ever since she was born. Throughout her life, she had always dedicated herself to religion, prayer, suffering, and saving souls from purgatory. Rose always believed that although her life was very poor, there are always others out there who have it far worse. Thus with her loving compassion, Rose never hesitated to help the poor, the sick, or the weak whenever she came across them on the streets of Lima. This was what the moral of Rose’s life was based upon and dedicated to.
Joan of Arc was a powerful military leader and a skilled warrior. Now St Joan of Arc is considered a saint and a martyr. The influence left by Joan’s life was an inspiration to all. France was forever changed by the empowering presence of Joan.
For Joan of Arc, 1428 was the start of a new life and journey. In the May of that year, Joan makes her first trip to Vacouleurs to meet with Robert de Baudricourt asking him to send her to the king. He had initially rejected her but her strong willingness to pursue what she wanted led to her attracting a small group of followers who believedthat she truly was destined to save France according to a prophecy. Baudricort finally gave in to her and she set out to Chinon, the site of the prince’s fortress. With the help of Charles, she led an army to Orleans in March of 1429 wearing white armor on her white horse. Joan had led several French attacks and drove the Anglo-Burgundians from their fortess and forced them to leave and cross the Loire River.
My saint’s name is Saint Catherine of Alexandria, she was a martyr, her feast day was on November 25th. Catherine was an 18 year old girl who loved to read and study. She was well liked for both her beauty and intelligence, so Emperor Maxentius so he decided that he would be able to put up with both of them. Saint Catherine was not okay with that and refused to marry him. Roman gods were sent to her to try to convince her to marry him but she always had an excuse not to, so eventually the gods started changing their mind about Maxentius. She was imprisoned, however over two-hundred people went to go see her, including Maxentius wife but Catherine would still not change her way of thinking, she was very stubborn and stood up for what she
In present time, the people of the Church still remember Veronica’s message of determination. For example Saint John Paul II wrote, “As a woman, she could not physically carry the Cross or even be called upon to do so, yet in fact she did carry the Cross with Jesus: she carried it in the only way possible to her at the moment and in obedience to the dictates of her heart: she wiped his Face.” (Saint Veronica Church) As a devoted Christian, Veronica did the only thing she could to help ease Jesus’ pain and suffering on his demanding journey. “Veronica’s gesture is bathed in the precious blood of Jesus; it seems to wipe away the acts of irreverence which he endured in those hours of torture.
Joan of Arc, being such a young girl with an extremely powerful devotion to God, The song “Did anybody sleep with Joan?” by Elton John, has displayed her in a positive light. The name itself has reflected her devotion for god, by questioning her purity, the line “her bed remained a simple place for her to sleep”, further implies that she’s virgin and acknowledged her loyalty towards God, as she “wore her amour for Lord”, and claimed “she’d seen heaven’s face”. Moreover, the song “Maid of Orleans (The Waltz Joan of Arc) by British band Orchestral Manoeuvres, has highlighted her kindness, as the line “had dreams to give her heart away”, indicates her selflessness, symbolizing her visions, and the devotions, helped French to defeat the English.
From St. Catherine of Siena, we can learn that no matter the situation we should still care and assist others. Throughout her lifetime, Catherine was constantlyserving others. Many people say that sinners whom meet her couldn’t ignore or resist her holiness; not one who met her did not convert. She worked constantly to relieve the sufferers of the plague, even burying them with her own hands. This saint is a very admirable person in my eyes and I believe we can all learn something from
Fathers, Martyrs, and Our Religion is Better: A New Critical Outlook on The Life of Saint Cecilia
By the time of her death in 1865, Sophie Barat guided an international community of three thousand three hundred fifty-nine women, inspired by a deeply held spiritual ideal and offering service and education to women in Europe, North Africa, and North and South America. Madeleine-Sophie Barat was canonized a Saint of the Roman Catholic Church on May twenty-fifth nineteen twenty-five. I chose her as my Saint because she stood up for what she believed was right, and made it happen. She stood up for women’s’ education through her love for God. She believed that the love for God everyone has is all you need in life to fulfill your purpose, hers led her onto a path of love, compassion, and kindness to help others. I admire Madeleine-Sophie Barat because I want to one day fulfill my life’s purpose as a Catholic with the love of God and for God within me so that one day I can do something great, not for myself, but for others like she
St. Rose of Lima is the patroness of Latin America and the Philippines. This Saint's real name was Isabel. To others she was such a gorgeous woman that she was called Rose, and that name stuck with her. As Rose began to age she only became more beautiful.Her mother put a wreath of flowers on her head to boast about her daughter's loveliness to friends. Rose had no interest to be admired, her heart had been given to our savior,Jesus Christ. Rose then put a long pin into the wreath, and it pierced her so deeply, that the wreath was very difficult to take off. She was afraid that her beauty might become a temptation to someone, since people could not help but always stare at her. Rose then scrubbed her face with pepper until it became very
The Middle Ages saw a diversion from ideals in its reality that agrees with historian Barbara Tuchman’s quote, “when the gap between ideal and the real in a society becomes too wide, the system breaks down.” State and Church were forever changed after extreme test such as the One Hundred Years War and the Great Schism. These events led to the loss of authority and prestige in the Church and a crisis between the working classing in countries. Ideally, Church and Religion in the Middle Ages should have been a catalyst where the community came together in order to worship and be enlightened, an example of this came with Joan of Arc, a young peasant girl who heard the voices of three saints and responsible for inspiring French troops to greater efforts and
St. Catherine of Siena lived a meaningful life that changed the way Catholics lived. She was born in Siena, Italy March 25th 1347 during the outbreak of the plague. During this time even the nobles were unable to question the teachings of the Church allowing and the Pope to maintain a position of power over the kingdom. Catherine’s teachings, reached the ‘highest levels of both civil and church politics, she was a very compassionate individual who only saw the good in people. She often helped people who had been neglected from treatment by others. Catherine left us with over three hundred and eighty letters to various people, and several written prayers.
Once Saint Clare had heard Saint Francis preach, she left her home and life for Jesus. Her hair was cut off and she lived as a nun, all while refusing to leave home. Clare spent her life without much food and without a great standard of living, but she did not notice or care. To her, her life