St. Hildegard — A Gift for Our Times

September 17 · Feast of St. Hildegard of Bingen

Nearly nine centuries have passed since St. Hildegard walked this earth, and yet there is something remarkably timely about her voice.

She was courageous and unwavering, faithful to God in everything she was called to do, yet at the same time deeply humble and modest.

Popes, bishops, priests, kings, and princes sought her counsel. And still, Hildegard referred to herself as indocta—“unlearned”—despite having received a good education for a woman of her time.

Perhaps this is part of what makes her so remarkable.

Her authority did not come from trying to make herself important. She continually pointed beyond herself, toward God. Her strength was joined to humility, her courage to obedience, and her extraordinary wisdom to an awareness that its true source was not herself.

What Can St. Hildegard Teach Us Today?

So much of the practical and spiritual wisdom that was once quietly passed from generation to generation—from mothers and fathers, grandmothers and grandfathers—has faded from our everyday lives.

Ways of understanding food, herbs, the rhythms of nature, prayer, work, suffering, virtue, and the care of the soul were once woven much more naturally into ordinary life.

We cannot simply recreate the world of the Middle Ages, nor should we try.

But perhaps we can slowly reach back for some of the wisdom that has been lost.

And St. Hildegard can help us.

Her writings invite us to look at the human person as a whole and, above all, to remember that our lives are oriented toward God.

One of the most beautiful places to see this is in Hildegard's understanding of the Virtues.

The Queen of the Virtues

For Hildegard, virtues are not merely abstract moral concepts.

She gives them voices. They speak. They answer one another. They encourage the soul and help draw it toward God.

And among them stands Humilitas—Humility, whom Hildegard presents as the Queen of the Virtues.

In the thirteenth vision of the third book of Scivias, Humility calls:

“Come to me, all of you, and I will strengthen you, so that you may seek the lost coin and place it in the crown of blessed perseverance.”

There is something beautiful in Hildegard's understanding of humility.

Humility is not weakness. It is not thinking that we are worthless or incapable.

Rather, it places us in the proper relationship with God. It allows us to recognize what comes from Him, to receive it, and to cooperate with it.

Perhaps this is also why humility was so visible in Hildegard's own life. She could speak boldly to powerful people while still understanding herself as a servant of something infinitely greater than herself.

Becoming Friends With the Virtues

Hildegard introduces us to many Virtues:

Humilitas — Humility
Caritas — Love
Obedientia — Obedience
Fides — Faith
Spes — Hope
Patientia — Patience
Castitas — Chastity
Misericordia — Mercy
Discretio — Discernment
Timor Dei — Fear of God

We might think of virtue as a spiritual strength through which we cooperate with God and grow toward what is good.

Becoming friends with these virtues is not always easy.

Patience is difficult when we are irritated. Humility is difficult when our pride has been wounded. Mercy is difficult when someone has hurt us. Faith is difficult when we cannot see where God is leading.

But perhaps the more we desire these virtues, think about them, pray for them, and practice them in the little circumstances of everyday life, the more familiar they become.

Slowly, they become companions on the road.

When the Soul Wanders

Hildegard knew that the human soul does not always walk faithfully.

We become distracted. We become discouraged. We choose badly. We wander.

But the Virtues do not simply condemn the wandering soul. They call it back.

In Scivias, they cry:

“Come, fugitive, come to us! And God will receive you.”

And then comes this beautiful reassurance:

“Do not fear and do not flee. The Good Shepherd seeks you, His lost sheep.”

What tenderness there is in those words.

The soul has wandered, and yet the response is an invitation to return.

Come. Do not fear. Do not flee.

The Shepherd is already looking for you.

Perhaps We Should Sing More

There is another detail in Hildegard's work that I find both profound and surprisingly practical.

In her Ordo Virtutum—The Play of the Virtues—the Virtues sing.

But the Devil cannot sing.

He can only shout.

That contrast makes me think about something very ordinary:

How much yelling—and how much singing—do I want in my own life?

Perhaps the next time I feel like yelling, I should start singing instead.

Perhaps the Virtues will join me, take me by the arms, and help me walk with a little more grace through my day.

It may sound simple, but perhaps there is something deeper here.

What fills our minds and hearts eventually finds its way into our words, reactions, and choices.

What We Read Feeds Us

What we read feeds us.

It feeds our souls.

If we spend more time with Scripture, the lives of the saints, and the writings of the saints, we give our minds and hearts something beautiful and true to return to when our emotions would pull us somewhere else.

Their words begin to accompany us.

A sentence remembered at the right moment can change our reaction. A virtue we have been contemplating can suddenly become a choice. A passage of Scripture can interrupt anger or discouragement.

This is one reason I would encourage anyone interested in St. Hildegard to do something very simple:

Read Hildegard herself.

Not only what others have written about her.

Read her words.

Meet the Virtues. Encounter her extraordinary imagery. Listen to her music. Allow yourself to enter, little by little, into the world through which she tried to communicate what she believed God had shown her.

And always remember where Hildegard ultimately points.

Not toward herself.

She points us toward the Source of eternal Love, our Father.

A Saint for Our Times

Nearly nine centuries separate her world from ours, yet the human soul has not changed very much.

We still need courage.

We still need wisdom.

We still need humility.

We still wander.

And perhaps this is why the words Hildegard recorded so many centuries ago can still reach us today:

“Do not fear and do not flee. The Good Shepherd seeks you, His lost sheep.”

May we have the humility to allow ourselves to be found.

St. Hildegard of Bingen, pray for us. 🌿

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The passages quoted above are from St. Hildegard of Bingen, Scivias, Book III, Vision 13. Quotations translated into English from the Polish edition: Scivias. Historia zbawienia przedstawiona w postaci symbolicznej budowli, Book III, Legnica, 2014.