Hildegard to the Congregation
The Letters of Hildegard of Bingen 0 gentle father, I am not accustomed to speak of the various events in the lives of men and what their future will be. For poor little untaught feminine form that 1 am, I can know only those things that I am taught in a true vision. Yet I will gladly include that woman you mentioned in my prayers, praying that the grace of God may rule in both her body and her soul, and that she may rejoice as a worthy heir of God.
I heard these words in a true vision of my soul: Beware, O man, lest you rise higher than your ability can reach, but in all cases embrace Discretion, sweet mother of the virtues, so that you may be guided by her in all things. Then you cannot fall. For a shepherd who holds the rod of correction but lacks discretion cannot please God, nor even be loved by his sheep. Rather, he is held in contempt.
Good father, rule your sheepfold with mercy, imitating God Who wishes mercy more than sacrifice [cf. Hos 6.6]. And take care that all your works are done in true humility. For it was through humility that the true Sun, that is, the Son of God, descended from the kingdom of the Father into the womb of the Virgin, so that you might live eternally with Him.
Hirsau
Hildegard to the Congregation of Monks Before 1153 Hirsau was an old and famous monastery, having been founded in 830 A.D. It was a center of the Reform Movement, and was still flourishing in Hildegard's time.
In this letter, Hildegard lashes out at the monks and the general evils of the world as a prelude to her plea for them to take a certain fugitive monk back into their community.
The Living Light says: O you who row your boat in the shipwreck of this world, why have you allowed the infirmities of the great dangers of fetid iniquity to debilitate you through your self-imposed blindness? Let no one disarm himself, for the world has entered an age of injustice, and has been cut off from the heights of glorious victory because of the storms of a black tyrant. Therefore, rise up and arm yourselves against the savage spears of the lust of the flesh and the spittle of the devil. Follow the footsteps of that One who carried His lost sheep back to the heights through the kiss of His humanity,1 bearing it back in the arm of His power [cf. Matt 18.12f; Luke 15.4ff] through the sweet fragrance of His mercy
[cf Eph 5.2; Phil 4.18].
The Letters
Therefore, mercifully take back that fugitive, for he laments his foolish behavior. Embrace him with full devotion, and, forgiving his guilt, lead him back into the stability of your community.
May God kindle His light in you, lest you be extinguished in the light of truth.
Note 1. Cf. St. Bernard on the opening words of Canticles. See Vol. 1, p. 142, n. 1.
The Congregation of Monks to Hildegard 1153-54 In distress of mind, the monks of Hirsau write Hildegard about the problems in their monastery—favoritism shown by their abbot, friction between the abbot and the prior, and (to them, most grievous) the disrepute that the community has fallen into among the laity because of these problems. They beseech Hildegard to intercede with God for them in their great need.
To the Lady Hildegard, chosen of God to build up the Church, a poor and fearful group of monks in Hirsau, with a prayer that she be so adorned with divine mercy that she will know how to console Christ's humble ones in their tribulation.
Blessed be the glory of the Lord, Who has looked down from His exalted throne in a wondrous and unheard-of way, for He wanted the great light of His grace to illumine the world through you. Therefore, all the sons of the Church rejoice, but we especially, who in our spiritual calling are steeped in a new light of exultation, although, at the same time, we endure great sorrow because of the failings of our community. We trust that you will be able to bring us the joy of divine consolation.
Please pay attention for a while to our problems, for we are in the utmost anxiety and great distress of mind. We would not, as God is our witness, detract from our abbot in any way. Still, we are forced to groan because he is so frequently deficient in paternal compassion toward us, while, at the same time, he is overly indulgent toward certain friends of his. Moreover, in all matters, he exercises unrestrained power recklessly. And if we grieve that our reputation is being torn apart by these insults and disgraces as a result of these matters, we weep even more for the lamentable discord that arose among us long ago and for the trouble that has recently arisen between that abbot of ours and our prior, which has brought our religious calling into great contempt among the seculars.