“… That habit had formed something in her that the scholars could not break. St. Thomas wrote that the chief act of the virtue of fortitude is not the dramatic charge into battle; it is endurance. Fortitude, he said, is a habit of the soul. It is not summoned in a single heroic moment. It is formed slowly, in the daily willingness to remain faithful to God, even when nothing is resolved, even when the room is full of learned men who think you are lying. This was Joan’s fortitude …”
— Hallow, Saints in Seven Days — St. Joan of Arc, Day 3
I am still a little surprised, three weeks later, that the story has not gotten more attention. I am hopeful and confident that the ongoing story will become more widely known. I do not open or log on to Hallow every day, unless I am participating in one of their “challenges” — Lenten, Advent, or others, such as “Saints in Seven Days.” So, I guess I had heard or seen some mention that the reigning Heisman Trophy Winner (the best player in College Football) and first pick in the most recent NFL Draft, Fernando Mendoza, would be narrating a “Saints in Seven Days” Series/challenge on the Hallow app.
On the morning of Monday, July 13, I did look at the Hallow App and saw that the series on St. Paul, narrated by Fernando Mendoza, was beginning that day. This is how the series begins:
“Hello and welcome to Saints in Seven Days. My name is Fernando Mendoza, and it is such a blessing to be with you. I spent the last four years playing college football, and this fall I will begin my first season as a quarterback for the Las Vegas Raiders. Getting the opportunity to play at this level and do what I love has been among the greatest privileges of my life. However, at the end of the day, what’s most important to me is using what God has given me to bring Him glory and praise …”
I stopped and thought to myself, “When has this happened before? Has this ever happened before?” There have been great athletes and other celebrities who have been very open about their faith and have used the “stage” (platform) and attention that they have received in order to witness to their faith, but I do not recall, in my lifetime, of it ever being this intentional from a star athlete who is just starting his professional career.
Since the advent of social media, athletes and other celebrities can reach vast numbers of followers to spread all kinds of messages for good and for ill. This is another reason why I believe that we should be very grateful to those who created the Hallow app and for its amazing growth over the past seven years. In previous decades, there have been prominent athletes, movie stars, and celebrities who have appeared on television and other media to help share the Good News of the Gospel and offer a personal witness. By partnering with Hallow, Fernando Mendoza is sharing his faith on a “platform” that has surpassed 30 million downloads across more than 150 countries since December of 2018.
For those who would like to learn and read more about this partnership between Fernando Mendoza and the Hallow app and about the series on St. Paul, I encourage you to read this excellent article from the National Catholic Register.
Two weeks after the release of the “St. Paul Challenge,” Hallow released another “Saints in Seven Days Challenge” on St. Joan of Arc, narrated by Sister Mary Bethany, OP. It is a beautiful and prayerful retelling of the fascinating and unique story of “A teenage peasant girl who led armies, defied bishops, and died at 19 (yet) still holds a singular place in the history of the Church and the world …”
I don’t recall the first time that I heard the story of St. Joan of Arc, but I do remember learning, either towards the end of college or during my time in the major seminary, that the famous American author, Mark Twain, had written a biography of St. Joan of Arc. I also remember at some point getting a copy and reading Twain’s biography. I remember enjoying Twain’s account of the story of Joan’s life and impact on history. I was happy to see the description on the Amazon home page for an “Ignatius Press” printing of the Twain biography:
“Very few people know that Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens) wrote a major work on Joan of Arc. Still fewer know that he considered it not only his most important but also his best work. He spent 12 years in research and many months in France doing archival work and then made several attempts until he felt he finally had the story he wanted to tell. He reached his conclusion about Joan’s unique place in history only after studying in detail accounts written by both sides, the French and the English …”
The Hallow app’s version of St. Joan’s story, narrated by Sister Mary Bethany, OP, is exceptionally well done!! I have no doubt that this will spark renewed interest, not only in the remarkable story of the “Maid of Orleans” (a once well known “nickname” for St. Joan of Arc), but the Hallow presentation invites listeners to “pray with St. Joan” and reflect on the ways that she can be an example and intercessor in our lives today – just as Fernando Mendoza witnesses to ways in which his “closeness” to St. Paul helps him as a quarterback/athlete and as a disciple, living his faith day by day.
An additional blessing for me as a result of listening to Sister Mary Bethany narrate the story of St. Joan was “googling” Sister Mary Bethany, OP and reading her own inspiring “conversion and vocation story,” which begins: “When I was growing up, I would never have guessed I would become a Sister. It wasn’t until high school that I learned that there was a God and that he loved me immensely and had an incredible plan for my life …”
For readers who would like to read or learn more/again about the story of St. Joan of Arc (possibly as you wait for the Twain biography to arrive), there is an excellent article on the Encyclopedia Britannica website.
For readers who may not have access (or want to subscribe) to the Hallow app, I hope that you are happy to hear this “good news” about the “Saints in Seven Days Challenges” and the ways in which Fernando Mendoza is sharing his faith. I would like to share with all readers one more wonderful “surprise” in the process of writing this column: I was about to write that I will now be rooting for the Las Vegas Raiders, so I looked to see if they were scheduled to play the Jets this season and learned that the two teams are scheduled to play each other … on … ALL SAINTS DAY, Nov. 1!! Stay tuned for details… I’m not (yet) sure who I will be rooting for in that game.
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