Hildegard to the Abbess Sophia
The Letters
to hear the instrument of the Holy Spirit foreordained for the chimes of so many virtues, mystically embossed with so many miracles? Pleasing indeed was that sound that "hath gone forth into all the earth" [Ps 18.5], whose harmony the Spirit
"who proceedeth from the Father" [John 15.26] made pleasant.
Therefore, cry out with fortitude, you who announce peace far and wide, and all the nations beyond the rivers of Ethiopia will come to you bringing gifts of praise. And I also, like the others, run to compete in the race, not expecting the prize [cf. I Cor 9.24], but still hoping, for, as the Apostle says: "It is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy" [Rom
9.16]. Thus it is with anyone who receives some part of your saintly prayers, which you offer for free to all as an obligation resulting from God's nearness to you and love of you.
Venerable mother, worthy of all praise, I am bringing with me a well-born peer of mine, a praiseworthy nun, a sister acceptable in every way, whom die heavenly Father has created as my spiritual sister. It is God's will that the two of us make your acquaintance.1
"Let thy voice sound in my ears" [Cant 2.14], and reveal God's will to me:
Which would be more salutary for me—to lay down the burden I bear or to carry it longer?
Note 1. The word for wisdom here is sopbie, in this letter from the abbess Sophia.
150r Hildegard to the Abbess Sophia Before 1153 In this brief reply to the Abbess Sophia, Hildegard, as might be expected, urges her to remain in her office.
O Sophia, I say this to you according to a mystic vision: Let your spirit be strengthened by God, touching God with appropriate sighs. The burden of your labor, which God has given you to bear, is good for you, as long as your sheep are willing to hear God's admonition through your governance. And if any spark still shines among them, do not abandon them, lest the devil1 snatch them away.
Let your spirit shine in God, and your days burn bright in the Fiery Giver.
Note 1. Literally, the "snatcher."