Worthwhile Struggle and Joan of Arc

We included a short piece on 15th century Saint Joan of Arc in our new book, Worthwhile Struggle, in our Sports and Faith Series by Patrick McCaskey.

Saint Joan of Arc was a patriot although she never had much backing from  her future king, the uncrowned Dolphin whom she was trying to help. Living during the Hundreds Year War, the state of France was a mess and plagued by English occupation and foreign holdouts. It was primarily the English that had Joan tried and burned at the stake, but she got no support from others. In history, the English carried the day in court, finding her guilty of heresy, executing Saint Joan and destroying any vestiges of her person--they took her ashes and tossed them into the Seine.  Later, the Pope had the whole trial reviewed and declared her innocent of heresy and a true and faithful daughter of the church. The fact that the Church ruled in one way one year and a decade later ruled another way demonstrating how civil authorities can have a bad influence the church.

Worthwhile Struggle features inspirational stories of exemplary athletes together with accounts of Patrick McCaskey’s personal experiences. Each of the first 10 chapters is titled from the author’s popular “10 Commandments of Football”—principles based on the author’s growing up in the Halas-McCaskey family with the Chicago Bears. Spending his time on faith-based initiatives and charitable causes, McCaskey is passionate about promoting the good—the focus of this series.  

In addition to many sports stories, Worthwhile Struggle includes quiz questions—often part of McCaskey’s popular presentations. In the final chapter, the Bears Vice President’s biblical poems are on display. There you will find the author’s personal celebrations on faith, struggles, and salvation. And in each chapter, there is a story of one of the great saints--like Saint Joan. McCaskey humor and enthusiasm weaves it all together in this fourth book of the Sports and Faith Series. 

Photo Source: Westminster Cathedral mosaic of St Joan is by W. C. Symons and commissioned by Catholic Women’s League in 1910.
Fr. Lawrence Lew, O.P. Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
See https://www.flickr.com/photos/paullew/7301142176/