Religious Figures Who Defied Reason Through Faith: Saint Bernadette of Lourdes Saint Bernadette of Lourdes is not originally one whom the people of her time would expect to become a religious figure that could see holy apparitions and guide others into miraculous experiences. Contrarily, she was born to a family that experiences hardships and a great deal of misfortunes. Her family loses their money through bad investments and kind-heartedness, three of her siblings die at birth, and her father passes away leaving the family to fend for themselves. It almost seems as if the family is "destined to relive the fate of Job".1 Like Job in the bible, they experience many trials and tribulations, but hold steadfast to their beliefs. Little did the Soubouris family know that Bernadette would become a saint loved and revered by thousands in the Catholic Church. Bernadette will become a subject of controversy to some, being tested by powers of authority in the church and community, but is able to prove herself true and sane through her unyielding faith. The apparitions that would change Bernadette’s life and cause others to question her integrity and sanity first appear to her on February of 1858. Bernadette, her sister Toinette, and a friend, Jeanne Abadie go out to find wood the grotto. Although Bernadette’s mother objects to her going out in the cold weather due to her asthma, Bernadette pleads and wins her way. While out searching for wood in the grotto, Bernadette hears a gust of wind but nothing is moving. She goes to investigate and reports seeing a "gentle light" which continues to brighten.2 Next, she sees an apparition of a girl or young lady dressed in white smiling at her. The apparition first causes Bernadette to doubt what she is seeing is real, but she soon realizes that it is. When that apparition ends, she has a feeling of happiness and continues about the task, perplexed to what she has just experienced. Bernadette later confides the secret of the apparition to Toinette, but Toinette betrays her and tells their mother of what Bernadette had witnessed. The mother is disturbed and doubtful of Bernadette’s vision, and forbids her to go back to the grotto again. The father feels the same, but also feels that the family, which is already experiencing a time of hardship, would be vulnerable to ridicule if Bernadette’s story were to get out.
Although the Catholic Church kept nuns enclosed in convents in order to regulate their sexualities, Jeanne de Jussie’s writings highlight some of her own experiences with violence, in addition to offering examples of the stories that Catholics circulated (Crawford 87). In the chronicle, Jeanne de Jussie mentioned issues of domestic conflict incurred by the Reformation; many women were caught between their husband’s wrath and their Catholic faith (de Jussie 95). She also described some of the violence committed by heretics against Catholics; for example, before the heretics locked away the Lords of Bern in an inhumanely small cell, they “villainously grabbed him and pulled him from the pulpit and treated him harshly, so that he almost died there and then” (de Jussie 94). According to Jeanne de Jussie’s accounts, religious people from both sides of the conflict went to war with each other; she described that “good fathers went to battle with many other monks because it was for the religion but they did not bear arms” (de Jussie 79). Women and children also instigated Catholic violence against the heretics; “many of the women . . . carried rocks in their bodices to throw at the Lutherans. Along with the women there were at least seven hundred children between twelve and fifteen who were determined to do their duty with their mothers” (de
Jehanne d’Arc or more commonly known as Joan of Arc nicknamed the Maid of Orleans is a brave heroine who is known for her work during the Hundred Years War. With her defeat at her last battle, Joan ends the Hundred Years War and years later gets declared a saint for her bravery and sacrifice. Throughout her life, she struggled with an education and growing up on a farm. Later in those years she beings to hears voices and sees visions believing it to be from the Heavens and joins the French war because of it. Only being a teenager through all this, at the age of 19 she’s gets betrayed by who she thinks is an ally and burnt at the stake for charges.
In life, empty, forsaken, lonely people in dire need of help put their faith toward God or a significant individual. A current example includes the 10 year old boy released by his kidnapper after singing a gospel song for hours. In Mark Twain’s The Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc, Joan Arc, a teenage French military commander shows faith whenever she goes to battle or is about to face death. Eventually she gets captured and even though she will die she continues to keep her faith in God. By showing the effects of faith on Joan of Arc and her comrades, Mark Twain illustrates his belief that the value of an intense personal faith is important in everyone’s life.
Highly recognized by people, saints are famous around the world by people of all different backgrounds. Many different Christian-based religions have or use saints as a purpose to get people to pray more often than they would usually, or have them to be used as “communion saints”. There are over 10,000 saints, many with different backgrounds, histories, and meanings. Some of them are patron saints, which shield or protect a certain person, place, or thing. Saints can mean a lot of different things to people, with some of the most famous ones being Joan of Arc, Saint Agnes, Saint Peter, Saint Patrick, and more, But one of them, Saint Kateri Tekakwitha, is easily overlooked and stands for a greater message even through her hard times.
“Not, perhaps, the patroness of France; rather, the patroness of vivid life, prized not for military victories but for the gift of passionate action taken against ridiculous odds, for the grace of holding nothing back.” (Gordon 173). This quote is referring to Joan of Arc. Joan of Arc was very religious; known for seeing visions and voices from God telling her to go deep into France and help with the war, which she did. At the age of eighteen Joan of Arc led French armies through a series of battles and each of these battles resulted in a victory. Many people, especially men, were threatened by her because of the fact that she was able to do things like leading armies when she was both a girl and a teenager and because she was able to see visions
In the early stages of Catherine's life the surfacing modern age was bringing with it social turmoil which spread throughout Europe (Giordani 3). During Catherine's lifetime, according to Mary Ann Sullivan in her essay “St. Catherine of Siena,” the center of Catholic rule fluctuated between Rome and Avignon and contributed to a schism between popes in Italy and France (1). Catherine was born 23rd in a line of 25 children and, according to Sullivan “even at a young age, [she] sensed the troubled society around her and wanted to help” (1). While her parents were not exceptionally religious, St. Catherine's biographer Blessed Raymond of Capua discusses Catherine's early zeal for Catholic practices: “When she was about five she learned the Hail Mary, and repeated it over and over again as often as she could…she was inspired by heaven to address the Blessed Virgin in this way whenever she went up and down stairs, stopping to kneel on each step as she did so” (24). Her devotion to the Virgin Mary would become especially important in a vision she had around this time while walking with her brother to visit one of her sisters.
Other inhabitants of the village were in the woods that night. Suddenly Young Goodman Brown hears his wife's voice in the trees so decides to fly through the forest by the old man’s staff. At the ceremony he and Faith approach the altar, he shouts at Faith to look to heaven and resist...
Joan of Arc can be seen through the eyes of two very different of thinking. One would be that she was a witch and possessed, and the other would be that she was a true saint.
Early in the film , a psychologist is called in to treat the troubled child :and she calmed the mother with a statement to the effect that, “ These things come and go but they are unexplainable”. This juncture of the film is a starting point for one of the central themes of the film which is : how a fragile family unit is besieged by unusual forces both natural and supernatural which breaks and possesses and unites with the morally challenged father while the mother and the child through their innocence, love, and honesty triumph over these forces.
“I am not afraid… I was born to do this,” confidently stated the brave and courageous Joan of Arc on her feelings of leading an army into battle (Joan of Arc). From being born into an ordinary farming family in northeastern France to becoming canonized a saint, Joan lived a legacy. Her call to life a holy life from God and to lead France into many battles against England show her strong faith and trust in the Lord. The early life, uprising, downfall, and canonization of Joan of Arc are factors that summarize her extraordinary life. Her humility during the good times and her strength during bad times make Joan an admirable woman.
“It was a large, beautiful room, rich and picturesque in the soft, dim light which the maid had turned low. She went and stood at an open window and looked out upon the deep tangle of the garden below. All the mystery and witchery of the night seemed to have gathered there amid the perfumes and the dusky and tortuous outlines of flowers and foliage. She was seeking herself and finding herself in just such sweet half-darkness which met her moods. But the voices were not soothing that came to her from the darkness and the sky above and the stars. They jeered and sounded mourning notes without promise, devoid even of hope. She turned back into the room and began to walk to and fro, down its whole length, without stopping, without resting. She carried in her hands a thin handkerchief, which she tore into ribbons, rolled into a ball, and flung from her. Once she stopped, and taking off her wedding ring, flung it upon the carpet. When she saw it lying there she stamped her heel upon it, striving to crush it. But her small boot heel did not make an indenture, not a mark upon the glittering circlet.
In restless sleep and longing for contact with those outside of Bly-- particularly her employer-- the governess placed hope in chance meetings of random individuals. In her walk in the yard, the governess began to wish for the sight of her employer who she was still madly in love with. The governess's desire to see him and receive his reassuring approval conceived the ghost of what was later revealed to be Peter Quint she believed she had seen. Later in her climax of interaction with her ghosts, the governess is afraid that the master will come home, for she is fearful of what he will think of her.
After locking her self in the solitude of her bedroom she begins to recognize things that one would not think of after a loved one just passed away. " She could see in the open square before her house the tops of trees that were all aquiver with the new spring life (paragraph 5)." This is the point at witch she begins to deal with the grieving process, but also starts to realize the beauty of life. She begins to see that ...
Joan of Arc was considered a martyr, saint, and a military leader. She was born in 1412 in the city of Domremy, France. She was born to farmers and lacked many material things. She was by all accounts a very hard working girl and attended church often. She began hearing voices from God at an early age. These voices told her that her destiny would be to save France. I would like to show in this review the many aspects of Joan’s life from her birth, her battle against the English at Orleans, and finally her death by the English Church. Her personal strength led her to leave her family, fight as soldier, die a horrible death, and finally become the patron saint of France.
“Saint Joan” is filled with many religious characters but the only one who truly believes they are doing God's work is Joan. Even though there is no proof that Joan is hearing these voices...