Saint Hildegard of Bigen is a Saint and Doctor of the Catholic Church, who is remembered as a writer, mystic, composer, visionary, philosopher and German Benedictine abbess. As you take time to prayerfully ponder her writings and the questions I wrote to help draw you into contemplation of her divinely inspired words, I pray you can be drawn into a deeper union with Christ, who gifted her so profoundly in her lifetime.

Contemplative Prayer Question:

Can you sense the and connectedness of everything in heaven and earth that Saint Hildegard describes in this quote? How do you think your life would change if you could? How do you think the world would change if we all could?

Lord, grace us with a deeper understanding of how interconnected each and every one of us is with You, our heavenly Father. In Jesus name, we pray

 

De Spiritu Sancto / To the Holy Spirit
by Hildegard von Bingen:

Holy spirit, making life alive,
moving in all things, root of all created being,
cleansing the cosmos of every impurity, effacing guilt,
anointing wounds.
You are lustrous and praiseworthy life,
You waken and re-awaken everything that is.

Contemplative Prayer Question:

How does the Holy Spirit make your “life alive,” like Saint Hildegard describes in this poem? How does it awaken you to “everything that is?”

Lord, awaken us to the healing and announting power of Your spirit. Help us to become more aware of Your powerful presence in our lives. In Jesus name, we pray.

Contemplative Prayer Question:

Is there a person in your life that you struggle to see as a “glistening mirror of Divinity?” Can you work to see Christ in that person today?

Lord give us the grace to see Your presence in the challenging and most difficult people for us to love and forgive. Help us to truly appreciate Your love for each and every living being in our lives.  In Jesus name, we pray.

Laus Trinitati / Antiphon for the Trinity

by Hildegard von Bingen
(English version by Barbara Newman, Original Language Latin)

To the Trinity be praise!
God is music, God is life
that nurtures every creature in its kind.
Our God is the song of the angel throng
and the splendor of secret ways
hid from all humankind,
But God our life is the life of all.

Contemplative Prayer Questions:

How do you experience God in music or as the music of life, like Saint Hildegard describes? Do you see Him as a nurturer like she does?

Lord help us to experience you with the vibrancy of music, like Saint Hildegard did. Give us the faith to truly believe in you and allow ourselves to be moved by the energy of Your love. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.

Contemplative Prayer Question

How do you experience the Light of God through the living creatures around you? The people? The animals?

Lord help us to see the Light of Your presence all around us, especially in the living creatures – like Saint Hildegard did. In Jesus name, we pray. Amen

PRAYER TO THE HOLY SPIRIT BY ST HILDEGARD OF BINGEN

Fire of the Spirit, life of the lives of creatures,
spiral of sanctity, bond of all natures,
glow of charity, lights of clarity, taste
of sweetness to sinners, be with us and hear us.

Composer of all things, light of all the risen,
key of salvation, release from the dark prison,
hope of all unions, scope of chastities, joy
in the glory, strong honour, be with us and hear us.
Amen.

O Great Father
by Saint Hildegard of Bingen

O Great Father we are in great need;
Now therefore we implore, we implore you
Through your Word, by which you have
Filled us with [those things] we need;
Now it may please you Father for it befits you
To consider us with your help,
So that we might not fail and lest your name
Might be blackened in us
And through your name, deign to help us.
O Eternal Lord

O eternal Lord,
it is pleasing to you
to burn in that same fire of love,
like that from which our bodies are born,
and from which you begot your Son
in the first dawn before all of Creation.
So consider this need which falls upon us,
and relieve us of it for the sake of your Son,
and lead us in joyous prosperity.
-Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179)

What strikes you about the writings of Saint Hildegard of Bingen? How do her words impact you and draw you into a closer relationship with Christ, who so profoundly gifted her in her lifetime? What questions do you have about her? Comment below, and I’ll be delighted to keep you in my thoughts and prayers.

Lord, thank You for all the ways You spoke to us through Saint Hildegard of Bingen, who could hear the music of angels and sense Your presence in all living creatures and most importantly served You powerfully in the way she was called. Pour out Your spirit on us like You did for her. Help us to open up to a greater understanding of God through personal encounter with Your love. Give us the grace of faith and the courage to live by it. In Jesus name, we pray. Amen. 

 

written by Nicky Gant for http://www.uniteinprayer.org 9/17/2019