Hildegard to the Abbess
The Letters
gladness above thy fellows" [Ps 44.8]. Therefore, on bended knees I beseech you to show compassion on my distress when, having entered the Holy of Holies, you have laid hold of the celestial and eternal. I adjure you to implore your Bridegroom—and mine—for my sake, a poor little woman, that my faults may be reconciled to His grace. Indeed, beloved of Christ, how can it be said that you have divine love if you have not sympathy for the weakness of others? Therefore, let me and the sisters entrusted to me be commended to you. Pray that our feet will stay on the straight paths [cf. Ps 25.12; Ecclus 51.20] so that, made perfect in our journey, we may reach the day of bliss. Intercede with Him who has hidden us "in the secret of His face, from the disturbance of men" so that He may deign to "protect us in His tabernacle from the contradiction of tongues"
[Ps 30.21]. And may He "Who keepeth truth for ever" [Ps 145.7] grant us to be willing, and able, to perform all that He commands.
We, therefore, commit the whole of our community to you, holy lady, and we pray from the bottom of our hearts that we may have the assurance of your prayer. May your glory, saintly lady, grow, flourish, and be strong.
94r Hildegard to the Abbess Before 1173 Hildegard admonishes the abbess to be more moderate in the governance of her nuns, for affliction of the body by overzealous abstinence can cause vices to flourish.
0 daughter of God, you are surrounded by Christ's love. Still, the bitterness of the flesh inhibits your spirit, and so you rebel by lashing out at the devil. I see that your people are well grounded in the faith, and this is pleasing to God. I see also that they are rising up strenuously into the better part [cf. Luke 10.42] and that although they are not fully established in the religious way of life, they are nevertheless growing vigorously.a Therefore, let your spirit rejoice in God, and remain devoutly in Him.1
Nevertheless, you are ignorant of the way to break the bonds of those who are entangled [cf. Ps 106.14], those, that is to say, who wander aimlessly as the object of mockery [cf. Ps 106.40]. And you cannot figure out what to do. Why do
1 say this? A certain person kept watch over a large tower to see that it did not shift, but his efforts were in vain. Therefore, he cried out in his distress, "Oh woe, woe is me." And so the people mocked him, saying, "What does it profit you to constantly wage war against those who reject you?"b 2
So look to the lofty mountain, to Him who will respond to you with steadfast love: "My daughter, my daughter, what is it that you want? Whatever you seek from me for your soul's sake, I will grant."