(Vatican Radio) – Pope Benedict XVI has proclaimed two new Doctors of the Church:
St. John of Avila and St. Hildegard of Bingen. Below find Pope Benedict XVI’s reflections
on St. Hildegard delivered during his general audiences September, 2010.
Saint
Hildegard of Bingen Dear Brothers and Sisters, In 1988, on the
occasion of the Marian Year, Venerable John Paul II wrote an Apostolic Letter entitled
on the precious role that women have played and play in the life of the Church.
"The Church", one reads in it, "gives thanks for all the manifestations of the feminine
"genius' which have appeared in the course of history, in the midst of all peoples
and nations; she gives thanks for all the charisms that the Holy Spirit distributes
to women in the history of the People of God, for all the victories which she owes
to their faith, hope and charity: she gives thanks for all the fruits of feminine
holiness" (). Various female figures stand out for the holiness of their lives
and the wealth of their teaching even in those centuries of history that we usually
call the Middle Ages. Today I would like to begin to present one of them to you: St
Hildegard of Bingen, who lived in Germany in the 12th century. She was born in 1098,
probably at Bermersheim, Rhineland, not far from Alzey, and died in 1179 at the age
of 81, in spite of having always been in poor health. Hildegard belonged to a large
noble family and her parents dedicated her to God from birth for his service. At the
age of eight she was offered for the religious state (in accordance with the Rule
of St Benedict, chapter 59), and, to ensure that she received an appropriate human
and Christian formation, she was entrusted to the care of the consecrated widow Uda
of Gölklheim and then to Jutta of Spanheim who had taken the veil at the Benedictine
Monastery of St Disibodenberg. A small cloistered women's monastery was developing
there that followed the Rule of St Benedict. Hildegard was clothed by Bishop Otto
of Bamberg and in 1136, upon the death of Mother Jutta who had become the community
magistra (Prioress), the sisters chose Hildegard to succeed her. She fulfilled
this office making the most of her gifts as a woman of culture and of lofty spirituality,
capable of dealing competently with the organizational aspects of cloistered life.
A few years later, partly because of the increasing number of young women who were
knocking at the monastery door, Hildegard broke away from the dominating male monastery
of St Disibodenburg with her community, taking it to Bingen, calling it after St Rupert
and here she spent the rest of her days. Her manner of exercising the ministry of
authority is an example for every religious community: she inspired holy emulation
in the practice of good to such an extent that, as time was to tell, both the mother
and her daughters competed in mutual esteem and in serving each other. During
the years when she was superior of the Monastery of St Disibodenberg, Hildegard began
to dictate the mystical visions that she had been receiving for some time to the monk
Volmar, her spiritual director, and to Richardis di Strade, her secretary, a sister
of whom she was very fond. As always happens in the life of true mystics, Hildegard
too wanted to put herself under the authority of wise people to discern the origin
of her visions, fearing that they were the product of illusions and did not come from
God. She thus turned to a person who was most highly esteemed in the Church in those
times: St Bernard of Clairvaux, of whom I have already spoken in several Catecheses.
He calmed and encouraged Hildegard. However, in 1147 she received a further, very
important approval. Pope Eugene iii, who was presiding at a Synod in Trier, read a
text dictated by Hildegard presented to him by Archbishop Henry of Mainz. The Pope
authorized the mystic to write down her visions and to speak in public. From that
moment Hildegard's spiritual prestige continued to grow so that her contemporaries
called her the "Teutonic prophetess". This, dear friends, is the seal of an authentic
experience of the Holy Spirit, the source of every charism: the person endowed with
supernatural gifts never boasts of them, never flaunts them and, above all, shows
complete obedience to the ecclesial authority. Every gift bestowed by the Holy Spirit,
is in fact intended for the edification of the Church and the Church, through her
Pastors, recognizes its authenticity. I shall speak again next Wednesday about
this great woman, this "prophetess" who also speaks with great timeliness to us today,
with her courageous ability to discern the signs of the times, her love for creation,
her medicine, her poetry, her music, which today has been reconstructed, her love
for Christ and for his Church which was suffering in that period too, wounded also
in that time by the sins of both priests and lay people, and far better loved as the
Body of Christ. Hildegard's mystical visions resemble those of the Old Testament
prophets: expressing herself in the cultural and religious categories of her time,
she interpreted the Sacred Scriptures in the light of God, applying them to the various
circumstances of life. Thus all those who heard her felt the need to live a consistent
and committed Christian lifestyle. In a letter to St Bernard the mystic from the Rhineland
confesses: "The vision fascinates my whole being: I do not see with the eyes of the
body but it appears to me in the spirit of the mysteries.... I recognize the deep
meaning of what is expounded on in the Psalter, in the Gospels and in other books,
which have been shown to me in the vision. This vision burns like a flame in my breast
and in my soul and teaches me to understand the text profoundly" (Epistolarium
pars prima I-XC: CCCM 91). Hildegard's mystical visions have a rich theological
content. They refer to the principal events of salvation history, and use a language
for the most part poetic and symbolic. For example, in her best known work entitled
Scivias, that is, "You know the ways" she sums up in 35 visions the events
of the history of salvation from the creation of the world to the end of time. With
the characteristic traits of feminine sensitivity, Hildegard develops at the very
heart of her work the theme of the mysterious marriage between God and humanity that
is brought about in the Incarnation. On the tree of the Cross take place the nuptials
of the Son of God with the Church, his Bride, filled with grace and the ability to
give new children to God, in the love of the Holy Spirit (cf. Visio tertia: PL
197, 453c). From these brief references we already see that theology too can
receive a special contribution from women because they are able to talk about God
and the mysteries of faith using their own particular intelligence and sensitivity.
I therefore encourage all those who carry out this service to do it with a profound
ecclesial spirit, nourishing their own reflection with prayer and looking to the great
riches, not yet fully explored, of the medieval mystic tradition, especially that
represented by luminous models such as Hildegard of Bingen. The Rhenish mystic
is also the author of other writings, two of which are particularly important since,
like Scivias, they record her mystical visions: they are the Liber vitae
meritorum (Book of the merits of life) and the Liber divinorum operum (Book
of the divine works), also called De operatione Dei. In the former she describes
a unique and powerful vision of God who gives life to the cosmos with his power and
his light. Hildegard stresses the deep relationship that exists between man and God
and reminds us that the whole creation, of which man is the summit, receives life
from the Trinity. The work is centred on the relationship between virtue and vice,
which is why human beings must face the daily challenge of vice that distances them
on their way towards God and of virtue that benefits them. The invitation is to distance
themselves from evil in order to glorify God and, after a virtuous existence, enter
the life that consists "wholly of joy". In her second work that many consider her
masterpiece she once again describes creation in its relationship with God and the
centrality of the human being, expressing a strong Christo-centrism with a biblical-Patristic
flavour. The Saint, who presents five visions inspired by the Prologue of the Gospel
according to St John, cites the words of the Son to the Father: "The whole task that
you wanted and entrusted to me I have carried out successfully, and so here I am in
you and you in me and we are one" (Pars III, Visio X: PL 197, 1025a). Finally,
in other writings Hildegard manifests the versatility of interests and cultural vivacity
of the female monasteries of the Middle Ages, in a manner contrary to the prejudices
which still weighed on that period. Hildegard took an interest in medicine and in
the natural sciences as well as in music, since she was endowed with artistic talent.
Thus she composed hymns, antiphons and songs, gathered under the title: Symphonia
Harmoniae Caelestium Revelationum (Symphony of the Harmony of Heavenly Revelations),
that were performed joyously in her monasteries, spreading an atmosphere of tranquillity
and that have also come down to us. For her, the entire creation is a symphony of
the Holy Spirit who is in himself joy and jubilation. The popularity that surrounded
Hildegard impelled many people to seek her advice. It is for this reason that we have
so many of her letters at our disposal. Many male and female monastic communities
turned to her, as well as Bishops and Abbots. And many of her answers still apply
for us. For instance, Hildegard wrote these words to a community of women religious:
"The spiritual life must be tended with great dedication. At first the effort is burdensome
because it demands the renunciation of caprices of the pleasures of the flesh and
of other such things. But if she lets herself be enthralled by holiness a holy soul
will find even contempt for the world sweet and lovable. All that is needed is to
take care that the soul does not shrivel" (E. Gronau, Hildegard. Vita di una donna
profetica alle origini dell'età moderna, Milan 1996, p. 402). And when the Emperor
Frederic Barbarossa caused a schism in the Church by supporting at least three anti-popes
against Alexander iii, the legitimate Pope, Hildegard did not hesitate, inspired by
her visions, to remind him that even he, the Emperor, was subject to God's judgement.
With fearlessness, a feature of every prophet, she wrote to the Emperor these words
as spoken by God: "You will be sorry for this wicked conduct of the godless who despise
me! Listen, O King, if you wish to live! Otherwise my sword will pierce you!" (ibid.,
p. 412). With the spiritual authority with which she was endowed, in the last
years of her life Hildegard set out on journeys, despite her advanced age and the
uncomfortable conditions of travel, in order to speak to the people of God. They all
listened willingly, even when she spoke severely: they considered her a messenger
sent by God. She called above all the monastic communities and the clergy to a life
in conformity with their vocation. In a special way Hildegard countered the movement
of German cátari (Cathars). They cátari means literally "pure" advocated
a radical reform of the Church, especially to combat the abuses of the clergy. She
harshly reprimanded them for seeking to subvert the very nature of the Church, reminding
them that a true renewal of the ecclesial community is obtained with a sincere spirit
of repentance and a demanding process of conversion, rather than with a change of
structures. This is a message that we should never forget. Let us always invoke the
Holy Spirit, so that he may inspire in the Church holy and courageous women, like
St Hildegard of Bingen, who, developing the gifts they have received from God, make
their own special and valuable contribution to the spiritual development of our communities
and of the Church in our time.