A Lesson in Impossibility with Joan of Arc

Liah O'Prey portrays St. Joan of Arc in "Martin Scorsese Presents: The Saints." (OSV News photo/courtesy FOX Nation)

“Nothing is impossible with God.” A phrase repeated so many times as to be in danger of losing its force. Along with “Love your neighbor as yourself” and “For God so loved the world,” this phrase is surely one of the most recognizable Christian quotations and, consequently, something we all take as a given without turning the idea around in our heads very much.

If a stranger were to approach any of us on the street, microphone in hand, and with an incredulous expression ask us if we actually believe that with God all things are possible, we would likely glance awkwardly from side-to-side, then utter the inevitable “Yes.”

Yet, was not our friend with the microphone somewhat justified in their question? After all, such a statement is quite incredible.

Nearly 700 years ago, there began a conflict later known as the “Hundred Years War.” Remaining true to history’s penchant for the reality of a person, place, or event not being entirely in agreement with its name, this war, in actuality, lasted 116 years. It was fought between England and France and is one of the chief sources of those two countries’ historical rivalry.

At that time, England controlled much of what we today think of as France (a fact which is, in and of itself, telling as to the war’s eventual outcome). This, as one may readily imagine, was a state which many of the French people found less than agreeable.

Then, in the dying days of this seemingly interminable bludgeoning match, very much out of nowhere, came a 17-year-old girl who believed everything was about to change.

Joan of Arc swept through the nation of France like flames through a drought-stricken field. Though rebuffed in her initial attempt at gaining the permission of the dauphin (who later became King Charles VII), she eventually had his blessing and was provided with arms and men to make good on her promise to deliver France from the hands of the English. And, as well all know, she kept this promise.

On the 8th of May, 1429, the siege of Orleans was broken, turning the tide of the war. Then, as we equally well know, Joan was burned at the stake for heresy almost exactly 2 years later on May 30, 1431, in one of the darkest episodes of Church history, one which acts as a stinging reminder of the perils of factionalism.

I imagine that, to many people today, Joan of Arc may seem like an almost impossible figure; a person who, when reading over the events of their life, causes one to come close to being physically staggered. Especially when taking into consideration the societal norms and circumstances which were prevailing at the period, her story tells like a vision born from the collective unconsciousness of a nation yearning for an end to a century-long war. And yet, to dredge up another popular saying, truth is often stranger than fiction.

If there was any person throughout history whom we could point to and say, with total confidence, that they believed nothing was impossible with God, Saint Joan of Arc would be at the top of my list. “Confidence” doesn’t even begin to describe the thing which shielded her from all thoughts of defeat; for Joan, it simply couldn’t have been any other way. Once Saint Michael, the angelic general himself, had passed the command from the King of Heaven, the word “impossible” was rendered perfectly meaningless to her.

We should all pray for that kind of assurance.

Back to my little scene at the beginning; but this time around, I’ll change it up a bit. Imagine Joan of Arc walking down a city street (go ahead, remembering truth is stranger than fiction) approached by the same microphone-wielding stranger we found ourselves confronted by only moments ago.

The arm extends, and the question is offered: “Do you believe that nothing is impossible with God?” In my mind, she laughs. Not in a derisive, cruel way, but like someone who has just been reminded of an inside joke by an old friend. Then, looking her interviewer straight in the eye, replies: “Why, of course! He is God, after all.”

Walker Price is an award-winning columnist for the North Texas Catholic and a lifelong resident of the Fort Worth area; he attended St. Andrew Catholic School and Nolan Catholic High School. He has a passion for reading, writing, and nature. Find more of his columns for the North Texas Catholic here.