On the surface Saint Joan's mission seemed pretty clear; that of expelling the English invaders from France, however there were many other elements of her mission that were required in order to fulfill the central objective. One essential element was her ability to unite the French people behind one legally crowned King after years of infighting and disunity. This element seems to be easily understood and accepted but another element of Joan's mission that was at least as important was her leadership in turning the people of France back to God. It is hard for people today, even Christians, to accept that God really does take part in the affairs of man but in Joan's age people better understood. Joan herself answered the question that many ask today: "Why would God take sides and aid the French?" Joan's answer to her captors at her trial was: "God took pity upon the French people [because He heard them as they cried out to Him in prayer]."
The French had been reduced to a position that was pitiable due in a large part to the terrible defeat they had suffered at the Battle of Agincourt in 1415. The French had been arrogant in their dealings with the English leading up to the battle and many of that age felt their defeat was the result of their arrogance and turning away from God. Joan herself stated at her trial that she believed that "God allowed them to be punished for their sins." A contemporary of Joan's, Pope Pius II, expressed what many of the people then felt about why God had chosen a young woman to lead the French army to victory: "...the kingdom of France had often been aided by Heaven; it might be now too it was defended by a maid sent by God and that the task had been committed to the weaker sex that the French with their accustomed pride might not be too overconfident of their own powers..."
After the terrible defeat that the French suffered at Agincourt it is likely that many of the French people began to seek help from God since this has been the natural human reaction to desperate circumstances well demonstrated throughout history. When Joan publicly arrived upon the scene in 1429 she was most likely viewed by many as the answer to their prayers for help. Joan's own insistence that she was sent by God only reinforced this belief and all her actions in preparing herself and her army for battle were focused more on God than even on the preparations to wage war. One of Joan's most impressive leadership achievements was how she was able to turn an army rife with most of the common sins of humanity into one that honored God. Joan believed that in order to fully receive God's aid the army had to actually become the Army of God and her impact upon the men was so great that even foul language was held to a minimum.
The ultimate reason that Joan's focus was upon God can be found in the Word of God for which Joan possessed an incredible knowledge and understanding given her peasant upbringing. James 4:6 reads: "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." The fact that the French needed some kind of divine assistance was something that everyone accepted in Joan's age as reality. The proof that the French became humble is Joan herself because the arrogant French leaders and men who lost at Agincourt would never have submitted themselves to the leadership of a young women such as Joan. How much credit Joan deserves in turning so many of the French back to God can only be estimated but my personal opinion is that her impact in this way far exceeded the impact of her great military victories as they were ultimately only a result of her great spiritual leadership and love for God and a certain proof thereof.
So why has so little attention been given to this most important role of Joan of Arc? I know in today's world a big reason has to do with the bias against anything having to do with God. This certainly explains some of the neglect but I must admit that even I myself needed several years to begin to understand how important Joan's mission was in this area and it took what for me was an "epiphany" about Joan's birth on the Epiphany. I have discussed before elsewhere about how when I was struggling to write Maid of Heaven I received renewed inspiration while I was attending a worship service at church as it seemed to suddenly come to me that the opening sentences were analogous to the birth of Christ when a shining star appeared above the town of Bethlehem to lead people to the baby Jesus. I was amazed at this underlying meaning because I was not thinking at all about the birth of Christ when I wrote the words.
