The Philosophical Foundations of Le Royaume

Phase 2 – The March of Hope with Joan of Arc

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Photo by Simon Wilkes on Unsplash

The second phase is a deep relationship and union of hearts with St. Joan of Arc by divine will and through the heart of the Immaculate Virgin Mary. This union of hearts means that we seek to understand as Joan understood and to reinterpret our understanding of the world through her lens and how God’s grace worked in her.

“Theology addresses a select group, and for its adherents—that is, for those who have already experienced a certain enlightenment and hence are striving for holiness—it would do more than instruct them in the content of faith. By unveiling a suprasensible world for them through its images, it would teach them to free {99} themselves more and more from the sensible world and in the end it will bring them to the point where they no longer need sensible images at all.”

Stein, Edith. Knowledge and Faith (The Collected Works of Edith Stein, vol. 8) . ICS Publications. Kindle Edition.

The second phase elevates the soul after the “divine glance” to a suprasensible world of truth, beauty, and goodness. This transformation comes through the friendship, patronage, and sisterly care of St. Joan of Arc, which aims to free oneself more and more from the sensible world to unite our hearts more perfectly with the Immaculate Heart of Mary. With St. Thérèse at her side, St. Joan leads us by the heart to the center of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, where Jesus is crowned in all his glory.

Across the cresting hills this dawn

Across the cresting hills this dawn
Finds dreamy landscapes veiled by mist
Our Lady points through fields beyond
Amidst their haze a shadow sits

As sunlight breaks the shades turn true
The figure, clear, on horseback, too
Our Lady smiles, it’s Joan of Arc!
A saint to guide me to her heart

In Mary’s heart, Christ’s Kingdom’s found
The Maid knows well the pathway stark
By fire in glory she was crowned
That Kingdom loves God’s Joan of Arc!

This saintly Maid inspires my soul!
I follow Joan through fire or cold
Toward Christ’s Kingdom in Mary’s heart
Toward Christ’s Kingdom in Mary’s heart

~ From my book,  Little Flowers and Fiery Towers: Poems and poetic prose in honor of St. Thérèse of Lisieux and St. Joan of Arc.