St. Joan of Arc: Apostle of Hope

In the Louvre’s Richelieu wing, there is a marble statue, sculpted by François Rude in 1852, titled Jeanne d’Arc écoutant ses voix. Rude captures the young St. Joan of Arc in a moment of complete attentiveness. Her mouth is open, her head tilted, her right hand raised as she listens to “her voices”—St. Michael the Archangel, St. Catherine of Alexandria, and St. Margaret of Antioch. This is not the first time she has heard them. Her hair is shorn and her armor is by her side. Her divine mission to free her country has already been entrusted to her.

What is most striking about Rude’s sculpture is that Joan’s mission, though present, is not given central importance. In most artwork depicting the Maid of Orleans, she is in full armor on horseback and bearing a standard. Rude sculpts her wearing a peasant’s dress, her armor behind her on the ground. Joan’s left hand rests on the armor, but she is not looking at it. Her whole self is oriented to the voices from Heaven. This sculpture, though not the most famous depiction of the saint, illustrates one of the most important lessons we can learn from her life: her radical, Marian hope in God.

During her trial, Joan was asked whether she was in the state of grace. The question was an attempt to entrap her: if she responded in the negative, her claims of being assigned a mission from God could be dismissed. If in the affirmative, she could be accused of presumption. Joan’s response sidestepped the trap and reaffirmed her complete surrender to God: “If I am not, may God put me there; if I am, may He keep me there.”

There are two temptations for us when we are faced with our sinfulness: presumption and despair. The Catechism of the Catholic Church defines presumption as one of two false assumptions: that we can save ourselves without grace and help from God or that God will forgive us without us having to repent and convert (CCC 2092) Despair is when we stop hoping for salvation and the forgiveness of our sins, giving up trust and hope in God’s mercy (CCC 2091). 

Presumption and despair have two things in common: they are both sins against the virtue of hope and they take our focus away from where it should be. A healthy hope in God and His promises enables us to trust in Him rather than in ourselves for salvation, thus avoiding presumption, and enables us to keep trusting in Him when it seems difficult or impossible, thus avoiding despair. When we hope for something through God’s help, such as salvation, or growth in virtue, or grace, we are hoping for God Himself. St. Thomas Aquinas explains: “In so far as we hope for anything as being possible to us by means of the Divine assistance, our hope attains God Himself, on Whose help it leans.”

Presumption and despair, in addition to being contrary to the virtue of hope, also turn our focus away from where its proper object is. As St. Thomas said, when we hope for something through God’s help, we are hoping for God Himself. This is where our focus should be. Presumption makes us look at ourselves, trusting in ourselves rather than God. Despair also turns our eyes on ourselves, making us think we are just too awful to be forgiven, making us “give up” and look away from God.

When St. Joan of Arc was asked at her trial if she was in a state of grace, she was being asked to look at herself. She could have been tempted to presumption (Look at all the good she had accomplished and how she had listened so well to the voices of the saints!) or to despair (Perhaps she had displeased God; why else would following His voice have led her to these circumstances?). Instead of looking at herself, her achievements or her sufferings, Joan immediately answered with hope and trust. She looked to God’s mercy rather than to herself—“If I am not [in the state of grace], may God put me there; if I am, may He keep me there.”   

St. Joan of Arc is often held up as an example of the virtue of fortitude—and rightly so. But she is also an example of radical hope and trust in God’s will. She, like Our Lady, is a great apostle of hope. Joan’s fortitude, her courage, her strength—like that of Our Blessed Mother—came from fixing her gaze on Christ, surrendering utterly to God. When we are examining our conscience in preparation for the sacrament of Confession, when we are persecuted or unfairly judged, when we are in dangers and difficulties, when we are afraid and weak, when our tasks and calling seem like too much for us, St. Joan is a wonderful intercessor for us to turn to. She will accompany us and pray for us that we, like her, can look to Christ and trust in Him, no matter how trying our circumstances. 

The works of art that depict the Maid of Orleans in her courage and strength, her calling to be a military leader, are beautiful and inspiring. The François Rude sculpture is unique because Joan is not shown as a great soldier but as a vulnerable young girl. Rude captures the moment at which God’s voice breaks into our lives. Life is never the same after this call to conversion, to mission, to holiness.

How will we respond to His voice? A radical fiat is called for. Will we look to ourselves in fear and doubt, in pride and arrogance? Or will we look to the pierced Heart of Christ our King? Will we be like St. Joan and like Our Lady? 

When God entrusts us with a task, the temptation can be strong to focus our eyes intently on that calling. Yet even our mission and vocation from God, our calling to become saints, is not itself God. We must not let go of our path in life, our vocation to be a saint. If we step away or let go, we are called back. We keep our hand to the plow and do not look back.

Even our striving for holiness is accomplished through surrender and trust, through the Holy Spirit acting in us. We do not need to grip the plow in desperation. We do not even need to look at the plow all the time. We can put a hand to it, rest our hand on it as Rude portrays St. Joan resting her hand lightly on her armor.

We can raise our hearts and our eyes to where they should be, to Our Crucified Lord. We may not be called to physical martyrdom like St. Joan of Arc, but we are called to holiness, to suffering, and to love. She can lead us and intercede for us, showing us how to look to Christ. She still inspires us today—to surrender, to trust, to hope.