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Joan of Arc: God's Warrior: a Seven-Day Retreat

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Barbara Beckwith, whose middle name is Jean, considers Joan of Arc a "soul sister as a feminist and independent woman who marched to her own drummer." As a fifth grader, she dressed as St. Joan for the school Halloween party, and as a university student in Wisconsin, she prayed frequently at St. Joan of Arc Chapel.

The seven retreat sessions, each including opening and closing prayer and discussion questions, tell the story of Joan's role in defeating the British and restoring the French to power in the person of King Charles VII. While the political scene is key to Joan's story, this book is more interested in her spiritual life than her military prowess. Beckwith addresses speculation about Joan's mental stability, with footnotes from sources disclaiming the notions that Joan suffered from epilepsy, schizophrenia, or bipolar disorder. Considering charges that Joan was masculine, Beckwith brings up Carl Jung's theory on the "warrior archetype." The psychiatrist found that the warrior comes out when a person fights to protect others and opposes injustice, an archetype that was earlier associated primarily with men. Today, as women are freer to shape their identities, Beckwith writes, "even physically frail women, such as Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta, can be tigers when it comes to defending the poorest of the poor." In Joan's day, when women were expected to be subservient, this warrior stance was "a real shocker." Discussion questions for the session on expanding gender roles take up personal attitudes about virginity, rape, and homosexuality.

This retreat, suitable for individuals and groups, is certain to open the door for further study of Church history and teaching on a wide range of issues in the contemporary culture.