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Pope Benedict XVI said we can learn from her "love for creation, her medicine, her poetry and music that is being recreated today."
Last night, Sister Marie surprised us by making supper according to what St. Hildegard of Bingen (1089- 1179) might have served for her community of nuns back in the day -- or a slight variation thereof.
First, Sister Marie told us about the one-day retreat she attended last weekend to prepare for Sunday, when Pope Benedict VXI named Hildegard a doctor of the church.
Then Sister Marie spoke about Hildegard's "viriditas" because Hildegard knew that if we care for the God's earth, it will care for us: "There is a power that has been here since all eternity and that force and potentiality is green."
Our prayer and meal were a reflection of Hildegard:
Evening prayer
Viriditas, gift of God
Life breath
Health, wholeness and holiness
Emerald vitality
Sparkling water
Damp stone
Ventilating wind
Fiery glow
Igniting the world into being
Illuminating all creatures,
Giving them color and vigor.
Root of growth
Proliferation of spring
Making grasses laugh
Plants sprout
And flowers blossom
Joy of youthfulness
Zest of the aging
Energy of the heart loving
And the imagination creating
Fragrance of life lived with compassion and justice
Green sap of the tree of life, drenched in the sun
Exuberant fountain flowing form the Living Light
Bright power of the Luminous Word born from the greenest branch
Grace and healing tonic of the Holy spirit
Divine Wisdom's sweet exhalation.
(Inspired by thoughts of Hildegard of Bingen by Nancy Fierro, CSJ)
Menu
Butternut squash soup
Cheese quiche
Barley with butter, mint, parsley, fresh tomato
Baked apple with cinnamon and nutmeg
Hildegard's "Nerve Cookies" (We had another simple cookie but placed the intention because Marie didn't have time to bake the "nerve cookies.")
Movie
We concluded the evening by watching "Vision" by director Mararethe Von Trotta, a film I reviewed in 2010 when it was released in the United States: A woman of love who humbly initiated change. "Vision" can be watched instantly on Netflix.
The canonization of Hildegard of Bingen and her being named a doctor of the church is a sign of hope that the Spirit lives, breathes and moves among us.
