Happy Feast of St. Joan of Arc!

Pictures of St. Joan of Arc from the Basilique du Sacre Coeur in Paris.

Photos Courtesy of Ron McGuire.

This doesn't have anything to do with the saint for today, but when I look at this picture, I remember sitting on the curb in front of this basilica. I was looking up at the statues (there's one on each side: St. Joan and St. Louis IX), against a very blue sky, and eating a dripping crepe filled with Nutella and Chantilly creme. It was - amazing. The view, the sunshine, the crepe: all of it. :)

"I do not fear the soldiers, for my road is made open to me; and if the soldiers come, I have God, my Lord, who will know how to clear the route that leads to Monsieur the Dauphin. It was for this that I was born!" ~ St. Joan of Arc

How can we apply her inspiring words to our own lives? Do we not have God, our Lord? Of course we do. Will He not clear the route to what He wants us to do? Yes, of course. And for this we were born! To do what God has given us to do. To be a mother; to be a father; to be a religious, or a doctor, an author, or a grandmother. God has given us work to do...for this we were born - let us look on it as Joan did: our glorious mission to perform for His glory!

(Sacre Coeur Basilica in Paris. Photo courtesy of Ron McGuire)

This image always reminds me of the fact that St. John, an eyewitness of this moment in history, said that Our Lord's Side was "opened", not "stabbed" or "pierced". His Heart was opened - to us!

"May the Heart of Jesus, then, be our school. Let us dwell in It... Let us study Its movements and try to conform ourselves to It. Yes, divine Jesus, I wish to dwell in Thy Heart and to pour all my bitterness into It. Thy love will consume it all. I do not fear impatience when sheltered in Thy Heart. There I can keep silence; there I can become resigned to Thy Divine Will, and learn an invincible constancy."

~ from a sermon of St. Claude de la Colombiere.

As the summer begins, and the month of the Sacred Heart of Jesus approaches, let us enter into the Heart that was opened on the Cross for us.

Statue of St. Patrick in St. Patrick's Church, Cork City

"And on another night [I heard] these words, 'He who gave His life for you, He it is Who speaks in you,' and at that I woke up full of joy." ~ St. Patrick.

Thinking today of the joy that comes when you find God's Will and follow it wholeheartedly!

Image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in the church in Annecy, France,

 where the mother of St. Francis de Sales prayed to have a baby. 

(Photo courtesy of Miss Patricia Hiatt)

"What are you thinking of when you fear Our Lord will abandon you? He did not do so when you fled from Him, and do you think He will leave you when you seek Him? Chase away the devil, who suggests thoughts to you which are such an outrage to the mercy of God, and do Our Lord the justice of believing that He is infinitely good, after all the proofs He has given you of His Love."

~ Father Claude de la Colombiere, Letter 16.

(Side Altar, Cataldo Mission in Idaho)

Today's quote is once again from the great Claude de la Colombiere. I'm going to take it apart instead of showing it as a block so we can talk about it:

"Would you see what occasions we have of imitating Jesus Christ, Who submitted Himself without reserve to the Will of His Father?"

Ah yes...although He was God Himself, as Man, Our Lord completely immolated His Will to that of God the Father. Everything He did as Man, was because it was the Will of His Father. He shows how to submit to the Will of God.

"We shall find them in the changes of the season, in public calamities,"

Who among us is innocent of having complained (perhaps at length) about the weather or about something in the news? Don't answer that. 😉 We all have. But we could use it as an opportunity to submit ourselves to God's Will!

"in illness,"

I always think of these statements as referring to something like - finding out your child has leukemia. But it also applies to the stomach flu, a bad cold, chronic sinusitis...and chicken pox. :)

"in the worries of business, in all that concerns our relations, our children, our friends; we shall find them in the faults of others, of children, of servants."

Okay, so I don't have servants. :) But I've had affairs that thwart my will in all those other categories! Have I looked on them as an opportunity, or as a frustration of what I wanted?

"What a vast field we have before us for the exercise of virtue!"

Whoa! I've rarely thought of it in that light!

"And if we look at ourselves the horizon is wider still: what occasions occur for self-denial in our own weakness and imprudence! We fall, we are wounded, we speak when we should have kept silence, or we say that which we should never have said: on the one hand, what weakness! But on the other, what a source of spiritual riches!"

I love the thought that we can actually benefit from our failures...that we can offer up the humiliation that they caused, and find in them a wealth of spiritual gain!

"If only we profited by the occasions we should become holy in a very short time."

What are we waiting for? Let's get started!

(This quote was taken from his Fifth Meditation on the Passion.)

(Church of St. Thomas Beckett, Veneta, Oregon)

"Whatever enemy persecutes you,

whatever sorrow weighs you down, 

however weak you may find yourself, 

lean on God; 

throw yourself boldly into His Arms, 

He will never withdraw them and let you fall."

~ St. Claude de la Colombiere, Sermon on Confidence.

Do we believe Our Lord loves us? Do we believe He is all-powerful? Then how could a loving Father let us fall if we throw ourselves into His Arms with confidence?

This doesn't mean that we don't think and pray and act with prudence. But when we have done all of that, we must leave the rest to Him. He will not fail us. It is not in His Nature to fail us. He loves us too much.

 Sunflowers in the South of France

(Photo courtesy of Miss Patricia Hiatt)

Depending on the part of summer in which you visit the south of France, you are either delighted by the sight and fragrance of fields of lavender, or sunny spreads of bright cheerful sunflowers. Either way, the view is relaxing yet vibrant.

Father Claude de la Colombiere, the spiritual director of St. Margaret Mary, is the blessed Frenchman from whom today's Words of Encouragement are culled. He wrote to Sister Marie Rosalie in the convent at Paray-le-Monial:

"How good our God is, my dear Sister! He is touched by our sorrows and does not permit them to last forever. He takes pleasure in proving our love for a time because He sees that these trials purify us and make us worthy to receive greater graces. But He adapts Himself to our weakness; one would almost think He suffered with us, so anxious is He to relieve us. May He be eternally blessed and praised by all His creatures."

~ quoted by Sister Mary Philip, in her A Jesuit at the English Court, 1922.

(Stained-glass windows from St. Patrick's Church, Newcastle, Maine)

I made this photo the lock screen background on my phone, finding so much comfort in just a glance. I want to be the little girl who is clinging to His robe...with the ribbons on her hat flowing in the wind like she just ran up to Him while playing. ;) Other days, I want to be the mother in purple (with the beautiful braided hair by the way), who presents her child trustingly to Him. It's a gentle reminder that they're His children, not ours, and He will care for them if we bring them to Him.

It makes me think of Our Lord's words to St. Margaret Mary, "Can a child perish in the Arms of an Almighty Father?" If we are in His Arms, we are safe. If we run away from Him, then we will lose our souls and our eternal happiness.

Here's a quote from the joyous saint whose feast is coming up on May 26th:

"Cast yourself into the arms of God and be very sure that if He wants anything of you, He will fit you for the work and give you the strength." ~ St. Philip Neri

"God commands you to pray, 

but He forbids you to worry." 

~ St. John Vianney

(St. Patrick's in Newcastle, Maine, the very first church named for St. Patrick in the United States)

These short, simple, profound quotes say it all. They make a great meditation point too..."I am commanded to pray...I am forbidden to worry..." 

The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass being offered in Marseilles, France

Beautiful churches remind us to lift up our hearts to God and to the things of Heaven, instead of being dragged down by the worries of earth. One of the greatest worries many people suffer is that of wondering what people are thinking of them. Liberty of spirit comes when we only aim to please God and not care about what others say or think.

"'It is a strange and unhappy servitude to seek to please men...I find myself elevated above all the kings of earth by the honor which I possess of belonging to God.'

~ Venerable Claude de la Colombiere: Notes of Retreat."

~ Sister Mary Philip, A Jesuit at the English Court, 1922.