The French Catholic Diaspora
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The French Catholic Diaspora
We are the spiritual diaspora of the Kingdom of Catholic France.
We are the spiritual diaspora of the Kingdom of Catholic France.
That declaration is the natural extension of our devotion to Traditional French Catholicism and the Renaissance of Catholic France. It is such a natural extension based on the model for the mystical Kingdom of Catholic France given to us by St. Joan of Arc.
“In the language of images Jeanne has thus (with her banner) depicted the Church in heaven as pure adoration of God, the Church on earth as the reception of God in the womb of the Virgin Mary, and sinful humanity, gathered in this Church around the cross along with the priests and soldiers, redeemed and repentant. Yet it is the same Church that is on earth and in heaven.”[1]
Ste. Jehanne saw the Kingdom of France through this very lens which revealed a mystical relationship between heaven and earth.
"Gentle dauphin, I am Joan the Maid, and the King of Heaven commands that through me you be anointed and crowned in the city of Reims as a lieutenant of the King of Heaven, who is King of France."[2]
Clearly, Joan's spiritual vision of France was bound to her mystical understanding of the Church as one Body existing both in heaven and earth. She saw France in the same light. Jesus Christ is King of France. Charles VII was to be his lieutenant and the steward of the Kingdom.
France, according to Joan of Arc, is one body existing both in Heaven and on earth.
In the future and from her place in Heaven Joan would see France officially recognize the Virgin Mary as its Queen through the consecration of the Kingdom to Mary by King Louis XIII and Queen Anne in 1638. This was another act that demonstrated dramatically the mystical relationship between France and Heaven. The Fleur-de-Lys remains close to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. To love Mary is to love the Kingdom of Catholic France and to love the Kingdom of Catholic France is to love Mary.
This is what we mean when we say that we see the Kingdom of Heaven bathed in the beautiful, mystical light of the combined spirituality of St. Joan of Arc and St. Thérèse. We see a particular Kingdom in Heaven where there are many Kingdoms. We see the mystical Kingdom of Catholic France through the eyes, heart, mind, and soul of St. Joan and St. Thérèse. By this we are saying that it is through Immaculate Mary, who holds the Fleur-de Lys close to her heart, and from her through the hearts of Joan and Thérèse that Jesus Christ in the Holy Spirit pours His graces into our hearts, dwelling in us and espousing our own souls as part of His mystical Body, the Church. He does this through these beautiful saints and through their beautiful spiritual light that reflects the Kingdom of Catholic France. This is what we mean when we also say:
"To Jesus through Mary in the friendship and sisterly care of Sts. Joan and Thérèse!"
We are not necessarily part of the temporal Kingdom of France. We are from all corners of the earth. However, we form a spiritual community from around the world that is, in fact, part of the mystical Kingdom of France in Heaven. In the "real" world, which is that world eternal in Heaven, we are the children of this Kingdom where we joyfully make up our part of the beautiful landscape in the total Kingdom of Heaven. Let us begin our journey toward that Kingdom while we are on earth.
"Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven."
[1] Tavard, The Spiritual Way of St. Jeanne D’Arc.
[2] Pernoud and Clin, Joan of Arc - Her Story, 23.
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