Hildegard to the Abbess
The Letters of Hildegard of Bingen 147r Hildegard to the Abbess Before 1173 Hildegard advises the abbess to live virtuously and to continue in her zeal for good works, for her "days are not long."
In the Spirit, I tell you truthfully: Guard y irit so that it will not be polluted with iniquity. Also, gird your body with the justice of God. Do this before the day of your death, because afterward there is no remedy, sa what you find through God's grace and through the ornament of your works!
The hawk, your enemy, is circling around you, seeking to wound your spirit Guard yourself from him by your zeal for good works and abstinence from sin, because your days are not long. Therefore, let the Holy Spirit kindle His fire in you, so that you will remember these words.
And so, again, I will tell you a parable: the trees wither in the winter, but in the summer they blossom luxuriantly. Now, in your spirit consider how long you have wandered astray in the winter of the spiritual life. And so run quickly to the viridity of the Holy Spirit, which is summer, by changing your morals. In this way, bring forth flowers of virtue, and gather your sheaves [cf. Ps 128.7] as fast as you can. Therefore, keep yourself from sin, for I tell you in truth that if you seek God's grace, it will not flee from you.
Kemptett
An Abbot to Hildegard About 1166 (?) The abbot praises Hildegard for the gifts God has bestowed upon her, and asks her to communicate any revelation God has revealed to her about him or his church.
To Hildegard, bride and servant of Christ, acceptable to both God and man [cf.
Tob 14.17], H., abbot, in name only, of the church at Kempten, sending his devoted service and continual prayer.
Blessed be God, Whose "Spirit breatheth where he will" [John 3.8], for He has so frequently filled and enriched the chambers of your heart with the delights of the heavenly music that he has made you an object of veneration and