Text inspired by comments of Prof. Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira.
The beauty of an ideal is reflected in the soul of the one who fights for it.
Consider Saint Joan of Arc, the French maiden called by God to save her country from the enemy. Few images in history are as inspiring as hers.
But why does she inspire so much?
It is the splendor of a virginal body and soul who sets out to do the will of God. She answers the call and God draws extraordinary strength from a frail maiden of great purity and with it defeats stronger men.
She is a knight, not a “knightess.” She is a fragile, fine and delicate maiden as behooves her femininity. However, she is a warrior, and a great one!
How does one explain this? The explanation is in the balance of the qualities she possesses. She has the fortitude of a man, the delicacy of a woman, the force of a virgin who knows how to defend herself and she possesses the necessary integrity of soul.
But above all, she is a soul to whom God spoke through voices; a soul who heard those voices and was faithful to the will of God and in consequence, she shines…
She transmits a light that attracted not only the soldiers who followed her into battle but continues to attract million of souls throughout the centuries after she is long gone.
She was faithful even unto death. As she was condemned by perverse men to burn as a witch, she cried out as the flames began to burn, “The voices did not lie!”
With her last cry of fidelity to her mission, her body was consumed by the flames while her soul flew up to heaven where she remains a powerful inspiration for our vacillating century.
As seen in Crusade Magazine.