St. Joan of Arc and What the State of Grace Really Means

Early on the Christian path, my interactions with “grace” painted a collage of images. Seeing God’s gift as something beautiful happened every time I tearfully sang John Newton’s hymn “Amazing Grace.” Later on, I equated grace with “sufficiency” after diving deep into the life of the apostle Paul. If God’s grace alone sufficed to help him endure that painful thorn, then it would surely strengthen my legs to withstand tough times too. While both encounters powerfully shaped how I thought about grace, it wasn’t until I watched “The Passion of Joan of Arc” that I became acutely aware of how living in a state of grace supernaturally connects us with God. Grace fits us now on earth for the glory of heaven. And by drawing us into the Trinity, we are empowered to become truly “God-like” and live the deiform life. According…