Hildegard Von Bingen

...sorry, but I didn't understand this new age thing

Zazza wrote:

...sorry, but I didn't understand this new age thing

I had spotted the topic; it indeed contributed to the development of liturgical chant in the West; in fact,

musical production in the sacred sphere developed in a particular way from the 9th century thanks to the new compositions of monk singers and other musicians such as: Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179).

Her figure is that of a mystic, intellectual, and musician who wrote about seventy pieces collected in the cycle titled: “Symphonia armonie celestium revelationum” [Symphony of the harmony of heavenly revelations].

These pieces were intended for the liturgical chant of the nuns of the Benedictine convent of Rupertsberg (in Germany).

I texts and melodies highlight Hildegard's desire to provide religious women with a new tool for edification with the aim of transcendence and spiritual elevation.

Musical choices exalted the specificity of female vocals by proposing a very wide range and great melodic flexibility.

...from there to new age

It's not that we are talking about 2 different people

I think I am the same person

Given that I have an adoration for medieval music, such as Ludus Danielis, I find the latter to be stupendous and that it proposes atmospheres that truly make you relive that time.

I also like Landini, Jacopo da Bologna, and others who are fantastic... but I just can't stand Hildegard; surely she will be interesting and is the testimony of a very particular era, furthermore she is one of the first examples of written music... but I still find her boring.

http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ildegarda_di_Bingen

On May 10, 2012, Pope Benedict XVI extended her liturgical cult to the Universal Church. On October 7, 2012, the same Pope Benedict XVI proclaimed Saint Hildegard of Bingen a Doctor of the Universal Church, together with the Spanish saint John of Ávila.

Practically as soon as she was proclaimed a saint

Enjoy the listening

http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ildegarda_di_Bingen

Open content (youtube)

I would like to know who the genius is that wrote this observation on Wiki:

"In her life, she was also a writer, musician, cosmologist, artist, playwright, healer, linguist, naturalist, philosopher, poet, political advisor, prophetess, and composer".

Of these 14 occupations just listed (15 if one also considers being a religious figure), it means that in her 81 years of life she dedicated only about 5

years and 5 months to each previously listed activity.

... was there already multitasking?

Ettore wrote:

I would like to know who the genius is that wrote this observation on Wiki:

"In her life, she was also a writer, musician, cosmologist, artist, playwright, healer, linguist, naturalist, philosopher, poet, political advisor, prophetess, and composer".

Of these 14 occupations just listed (15 if one also considers being a religious figure), it means that in her 81 years of life she dedicated only about 5

years and 5 months to each previously listed activity.

... was there already multitasking?

I too was immediately disconcerted by such a statement. Writing such a load of sh..t demonstrates a total lack of any knowledge of the culture of that era.

Perhaps of any form of culture

My God, a saint even. What is a "Doctor of the Universal Church"?

Here is the big news

http://www.vatican.va/news_services/or/or_quo/text.html

Apostolic Letter for the proclamation of the Benedictine nun living in the XII century as a Doctor of the Church

Hildegard of Bingen

a woman and wise in the Church

We publish, in an Italian translation, the text of the apostolic letter of Benedict XVI for the proclamation of Hildegard of Bingen as a Doctor of the Church, whose Latin original is reported on our website (www.osservatoreromano.va).

APOSTOLIC LETTER

Saint Hildegard of Bingen,

Professed Nun of the Order of Saint Benedict,

is proclaimed Doctor of the universal Church

BENEDICT PP. XVI

To perpetual memory.

1. "Light of her people and her time": with these words Blessed John Paul II, our venerated Predecessor, defined Saint Hildegard of Bingen in 1979, on the occasion of the 800th anniversary of the death of the German Mystic. And truly, on the horizon of history, this great female figure stands out with lucid clarity for holiness of life and originality of doctrine. In fact, as with every authentic human and theological experience, her authority decisively transcends the boundaries of an era and a society and, despite the chronological and cultural distance, her thought manifests a perennial relevance. In Saint Hildegard of Bingen, an extraordinary harmony between doctrine and daily life is observed. In her, the search for God's will in the imitation of Christ is expressed as a constant exercise of virtues, which she practices with utmost generosity and which she nourishes from biblical, liturgical, and patristic roots in light of the Rule of Saint Benedict: the persevering practice of obedience, simplicity, charity, and hospitality shines particularly bright in her. In this will of total belonging to the Lord, the Benedictine abbess knows how to involve her uncommon human gifts, her acute intelligence, and her capacity for penetrating celestial realities.

2. Hildegard was born in 1089 in Bermersheim, near Alzey, to parents of noble lineage and wealthy landowners. At the age of eight, she was accepted as an oblate at the Benedictine abbey of Disibodenberg, where in 1115 she made her religious profession. Upon the death of Jutta of Sponheim around 1136, Hildegard was called to succeed her as magistra. Unsteady in physical health but vigorous in spirit, she committed herself deeply to an adequate renewal of religious life. The foundation of her spirituality was the Benedictine rule, which places spiritual balance and ascetic moderation as paths to holiness. Following the numerical increase of the nuns, due especially to the great esteem for her person, around 1150 she founded a monastery on the hill called Rupertsberg, near Bingen, where she moved together with twenty fellow sisters. In 1165, she established another in Eibingen, on the opposite bank of the Rhine. She was abbess of both. Within the cloister walls, she cared for the spiritual and material well-being of her Sisters, particularly favoring community life, culture, and liturgy. Externally, she actively engaged in reinvigorating the Christian faith and strengthening religious practice, countering the heretical tendencies of the Cathars, promoting the reform of the Church through writings and preaching, and contributing to improving the discipline and life of the clergy. At the invitation first of Adrian IV and then of Alexander III, Hildegard exercised a fruitful apostolate—not very common for a woman at that time—undertaking several journeys not without discomfort and difficulty, to preach even in public squares and various cathedral churches, as occurred, among others, in Cologne, Trier, Liège, Mainz, Metz, Bamberg, and Würzburg. The profound spirituality present in her writings exerts a significant influence both on the faithful and on great personalities of her time, involving theology, liturgy, natural sciences, and music in an incisive renewal.

Struck by illness in the summer of 1179, Hildegard, surrounded by her fellow sisters, passed away in the fame of holiness in the monastery of Rupertsberg, near Bingen, on September 17, 1179.

3. In her numerous writings, Hildegard dedicated herself exclusively to expounding divine revelation and making God known in the clarity of His love. Hildegardian doctrine is considered eminent both for the depth and correctness of her interpretations and for the originality of her visions. The texts composed by her appear animated by an authentic "intellectual charity" and highlight density and freshness in the contemplation of the mystery of the Most Holy Trinity, the Incarnation, the Church, humanity, and nature as a creature of God to be appreciated and respected.

These works arise from an intimate mystical experience and propose an incisive reflection on the mystery of God. The Lord had made her a participant, since she was a child, in a

a series of visions, the content of which she dictated to the monk Volmar, her secretary and spiritual advisor, and to Richardis of Strade, a nun sister. But particularly illuminating is the judgment given by Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, who encouraged her, and above all by Pope Eugene III, who in 1147 authorized her to write and speak in public. Theological reflection allows Hildegard to tematize and understand, at least in part, the content of her visions. In addition to books on theology and mysticism, she also composed works on medicine and natural sciences. Numerous are also the letters—about four hundred—that she addressed to simple people, religious communities, popes, bishops, and civil authorities of her time. She was also a composer of sacred music. The corpus of her writings, in terms of quantity, quality, and variety of interests, has no parallel with any other female author of the Middle Ages.

The main works are Scivias, Liber vitae meritorum, and Liber divinorum operum. All narrate her visions and the task received from the Lord to transcribe them. The Letters, in the awareness of the author herself, are of no less importance and testify to Hildegard's attention to the events of her time, which she interprets in light of the mystery of God. To these must be added 58 sermons, directed exclusively to her Sisters. These are the Expositiones evangeliorum, containing a literal and moral commentary on Gospel passages linked to the main celebrations of the liturgical year. Works of an artistic and scientific nature focus specifically on music with Symphonia armoniae caelestium revelationum; on medicine with Liber subtilitatum diversarum naturarum creaturarum and Causae et curae; on natural sciences with Physica. Finally, writings of a linguistic character are also noted, such as Lingua ignota and Litterae ignotae, in which words appear in an unknown language of her invention, but composed mainly of phonemes present in the German language. Hildegard's language, characterized by an original and effective style, readily resorts to poetic expressions with a strong symbolic charge, with dazzling intuitions, incisive analogies, and suggestive metaphors.

4. With acute sapiential and prophetic sensitivity, Hildegard fixes her gaze on the event of revelation. Her investigation develops starting from the biblical page, to which, in subsequent phases, she remains firmly anchored. The gaze of the mystic of Bingen is not limited to addressing individual issues, but seeks to offer a synthesis of the entire Christian faith. In her visions and subsequent reflection, therefore, she compendiums the history of salvation, from the beginning of the universe to the eschatological consummation. God's decision to carry out the work of creation is the first stage of this immense journey, which, in light of Holy Scripture, unfolds from the constitution of the heavenly hierarchy to the fall of the rebel angels and the sin of the progenitors. Following this initial framework is the redeeming incarnation of the Son of God, the action of the Church which continues the mystery of the incarnation and the struggle against Satan through time. The definitive advent of the kingdom of God and the universal judgment will be the crowning of this work.

Hildegard poses to herself and to us the fundamental question of whether it is possible to know God: this is the fundamental task of theology. Her answer is fully positive: through faith, as through a door, man is able to approach this knowledge. However, God always retains his aura of mystery and incomprehensibility. He makes himself intelligible in creation, but this, in turn, is not fully understood if it is detached from God. In fact, nature considered in itself provides only partial information, which not infrequently becomes an occasion for error and abuse. Therefore, even in the natural cognitive dynamic, faith is necessary; otherwise, knowledge remains limited, unsatisfactory, and misleading. Creation is an act of love, thanks to which the world can emerge from nothing: thus, the entire scale of creatures is traversed, like the current of a river, by divine charity. Among all creatures, God loves man in a particular way and confers upon him an extraordinary dignity, granting him that glory which the rebel angels have lost. Humanity, thus, can be considered as the tenth choir of the angelic hierarchy. Well, man is able to know God in himself, that is, his individual nature within the trinity of persons. Hildegard approaches the mystery of the Holy Trinity along the line already proposed by Saint Augustine: by analogy with his own structure as a rational being, man is able to have at least an image of the intimate reality of God. But it is only in the economy of the incarnation and the human history of the Son of God

that this mystery becomes accessible to the faith and awareness of man. The holy and ineffable Trinity in its sum unity was hidden from the servants of the ancient law. But in the new grace, it was revealed to those liberated from servitude. The Trinity revealed itself in a particular way in the cross of the Son.

A second "place" in which God makes himself knowable is his word contained in the books of the Old and New Testament. Precisely because God "speaks," man is called to listening. This concept offers Hildegard the opportunity to expound her doctrine on song, particularly liturgical song. The sound of the word of God creates life and manifests itself in creatures. Even beings devoid of rationality, thanks to the creative word, are involved in the creaturely dynamism. But, naturally, it is man who, with his voice, can respond to the voice of the Creator. And he can do so in two main ways: in voce oris, that is in the celebration of the liturgy, and in voce cordis, that is with a virtuous and holy life. The entire human life, therefore, can be interpreted as a harmony and a symphony: while harmony means the restoration of the relationship and the full experience of redemption, current human existence with its dangers, contradictions, and sins corresponds to a symphony, a collection of sounds and chords that are equally harmonious and dissonant. In this symphony, God makes his mercy heard above all.

5. Hildegard's anthropology begins from the biblical page of the creation of man (Gen 1, 26), made in the image and likeness of God. Man, according to Hildegardian cosmology founded on the Bible, encompasses all the elements of the world, because the entire universe is summarized in him, who is formed of the very matter of creation. Therefore, he can consciously enter into a relationship with God. This happens not through a direct vision, but, following the famous Pauline expression, "as in a mirror" (1 Cor 13, 12). The divine image in man consists in his rationality, structured in intellect and will. Thanks to the intellect, man is capable of distinguishing good from evil; thanks to the will, he is driven to action. Man is seen as a unity of body and soul. In German mysticism, one notices a positive appreciation of corporeality and, even in the aspects of fragility that the body manifests, it is capable of grasping a providential value: the body is not a burden to be rid of and, even when it is weak and fragile, it "educates" man to the sense of creatureliness and humility, protecting him from pride and arrogance. In one vision, Hildegard contemplates the souls of the blessed in paradise, who are waiting to be reunited with their bodies. In fact, as with the body of Christ, our bodies too are oriented toward the glorious resurrection, for a profound transformation for eternal life. The same vision of God, in which eternal life consists, cannot be achieved definitively without the body.

Man exists in male and female forms. Hildegard recognizes that within this ontological structure of the human condition lies a relationship of reciprocity and a substantial equality between man and woman. In humanity, however, the mystery of sin also dwells, and it manifests for the first time in history precisely in this relationship between Adam and Eve. Unlike other medieval authors, who saw the cause of the fall in Eve's weakness, Hildegard perceives it primarily in Adam's excessive passion for her.

Even in his condition as a sinner, man continues to be the recipient of God's love, because this love is unconditional and, after the fall, takes on the face of mercy. Even the punishment that God inflicts upon man and woman brings forth the merciful love of the Creator. In this sense, the most precise description of the human creature is that of a being on a journey, homo viator. In this pilgrimage toward the homeland, man is called to a struggle to be able to constantly choose good and avoid evil.

The constant choice of good produces a virtuous existence. The Son of God made man is the subject of all virtues; therefore, the imitation of Christ consists precisely in a virtuous existence in communion with Christ. The strength of the virtues derives from the Holy Spirit, infused into the hearts of believers, which makes a constantly virtuous behavior possible: this is the purpose of human existence. In this way, man experiences his Christiform perfection.

6. To be able to reach this goal, the Lord has given the sacraments to his Church. The salvation and perfection of man, in fact, are not accomplished solely through an effort of will, but through the gifts of grace that God grants in the Church.

The Church itself is the first sacrament that God places in the world so that it may communicate

To all men, salvation. She, who is the "construction of living souls," can be justly considered as virgin, spouse and mother and, therefore, is closely assimilated to the historical and mystical figure of the Mother of God. The Church communicates salvation primarily by guarding and announcing the two great mysteries of the Trinity and the Incarnation, which are like the two "primary sacraments," then through the administration of the other sacraments. The summit of the Church's sacramentality is the Eucharist. The sacraments produce the sanctification of believers, salvation and the purification of sins, redemption, charity and all other virtues. But, once again, the Church lives because God in her manifests his intra-trinitarian love, which was revealed in Christ. The Lord Jesus is the mediator par excellence. From the trinitarian womb he comes to meet man and from the womb of Mary he goes to meet God: as the Son of God he is incarnate love, as the Son of Mary he is the representative of humanity before the throne of God.

Man can even come to experience God. Indeed, the relationship with him is not consumed solely in the sphere of rationality, but involves the whole person. All the external and internal senses of man are involved in the experience of God: "Homo autem ad imaginem et similitudinem Dei factus est, ut quinque sensibus corporis sui operetur; per quos etiam divisus non est, sed per eos est sapiens et sciens et intellegens opera sua adimplere. [...] Sed et per hoc, quod homo sapiens, sciens et intellegens est, creaturas conosci; itaque per creaturas et per magna opera sua, quae etiam quinque sensibus suis vix comprehendit, Deum cognoscit, quem nisi in fide videre non valet" ["Man indeed was created in the image and likeness of God, so that he might act through the five senses of his body; through them he is not divided and is able to know, understand and fulfill what he must do (...) and precisely for this reason, because man is intelligent, he knows creatures, and thus through creatures and great works, which he barely manages to understand with his five senses, he knows God, that God who cannot be seen except with the eyes of faith"] (Explanatio Symboli Sancti Athanasii: PL 197, 1066). This experiential path, once again, finds its fullness in participation in the sacraments.

Hildegard also sees the contradictions present in the lives of individual believers and denounces the most deplorable situations. In particular, she emphasizes how individualism in doctrine and practice by both laity and ordained ministers is an expression of pride and constitutes the main obstacle to the Church's evangelizing mission toward non-Christians. One of the peaks of Hildegard's magisterium is the heartfelt exhortation to a virtuous life that she addresses to those who commit themselves to a state of consecration. Her understanding of consecrated life is a true "theological metaphysics," because it is firmly rooted in the theological virtue of faith, which is the source and constant motivation for committing oneself deeply to obedience, poverty, and chastity. In realizing the evangelical counsels, the consecrated person shares the experience of Christ poor, chaste, and obedient and follows his footsteps in daily existence. This is the essence of consecrated life.

7. Hildegard's eminent doctrine echoes the teaching of the apostles, patristic literature, and contemporary authors, while finding a constant point of reference in the Rule of Saint Benedict of Norcia. Monastic liturgy and the interiorization of Holy Scripture constitute the guidelines of her thought, which, focusing on the mystery of the Incarnation, expresses itself in a profound stylistic and content unity that intimately runs through all her writings.

The teaching of the holy Benedictine nun stands as a guide for the homo viator. Her message appears extraordinarily relevant in the contemporary world, particularly sensitive to the set of values proposed and lived by her. Let us think, for example, of Hildegard's charismatic and speculative capacity, which presents itself as a lively incentive for theological research; of her reflection on the mystery of Christ, considered in his beauty; of the dialogue of the Church and theology with contemporary culture, science, and art; of the ideal of consecrated life as a possibility for human fulfillment; of the valorization of liturgy as a celebration of life; of the idea of reforming the Church, not as a sterile change of structures, but as a conversion of the heart; of her sensitivity to nature, whose laws are to be protected, not violated.

Therefore, the attribution of the title of Doctor of the Universal Church to Hildegard of Bingen has great meaning for today's world and extraordinary importance for women. In Hildegard

the most noble values of femininity are expressed: therefore, even the presence of women in the Church and in society is illuminated by her figure, both from the perspective of scientific research and that of pastoral action. Her ability to speak to those who are far from the faith and the Church makes Hildegard a credible witness of the new evangelization.

By virtue of her reputation for holiness and her eminent doctrine, on March 6, 1979, Cardinal Joseph Höffner, Archbishop of Cologne and President of the German Episcopal Conference, together with the cardinals, archbishops, and bishops of the same Conference, among whom We were also present as Cardinal Archbishop of Munich and Freising, submitted to Blessed John Paul II the petition that Hildegard of Bingen be declared a Doctor of the universal Church. In the petition, the most eminent Prince of the Church highlighted the orthodoxy of Hildegard's doctrine, recognized in the 12th century by Pope Eugene III, her holiness constantly perceived and celebrated by the people, and the authority of her treatises. To this petition from the German Episcopal Conference, others were added over the years, foremost among them that of the nuns of the monastery of Eibingen, named after her. To the common desire of the People of God that Hildegard be officially proclaimed a saint, there was thus added the request that she also be declared "Doctor of the universal Church".

With our consent, therefore, the Congregation for the Causes of Saints diligently prepared a Positio super canonizatione et concessione tituli Doctoris Ecclesiae universalis per the Mystic of Bingen. Since she is a renowned teacher of theology who has been the subject of many authoritative studies, we granted a dispensation from what is provided by art. 73 of the Apostolic Constitution Pastor bonus. The case was therefore examined with a unanimously positive outcome by the Cardinal Fathers and Bishops gathered in the Plenary Session of March 20, 2012, with the most eminent Cardinal Angelo Amato, Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, serving as relator of the cause. In the audience of May 10, 2012, the same Cardinal Amato informed Us in detail about the status quaestionis and the concurring votes of the Fathers of the aforementioned Plenary Session of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. On May 27, 2012, Pentecost Sunday, we had the joy of communicating in St. Peter's Square to the multitude of pilgrims gathered from all over the world the news of the granting of the title of Doctor of the universal Church to Saint Hildegard of Bingen and Saint John of Avila at the beginning of the Assembly of the Synod of Bishops and on the eve of the Year of Faith.

Today, therefore, with the help of God and the applause of the entire Church, this is done. In St. Peter's Square, in the presence of many cardinals and prelates of the Roman Curia and the Catholic Church, confirming what has been done and satisfying with great pleasure the desires of the petitioners, during the Eucharistic sacrifice we pronounced these words:

"Welcoming the desire of many Brothers in the Episcopate and of many faithful from the entire world, after having received the opinion of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, after having reflected at length and having reached a full and certain conviction, with the fullness of apostolic authority, we declare Saint John of Avila, diocesan priest, and Saint Hildegard of Bingen, professed nun of the Order of Saint Benedict, Doctors of the universal Church. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit."

These things We decree and order, establishing that this letter be and remain always certain, valid, and effective, and that it produces and obtains its full and complete effects; and thus let it be appropriately judged and defined; and let whatever is otherwise attempted around this by anyone with any authority, whether knowingly or through ignorance, be vain and without foundation.

Given in Rome, at Saint Peter's,

under the seal of the Fisherman,

on October 7, 2012, the eighth year

of Our Pontificate.

Anyway, a Doctor of the Church is, quite simply, a saintly theologian whose doctrine, or parts of whose doctrine, are recognized as orthodox; that is, if you have written a lot, and the Pope agrees with you, then you are a Doctor of the Church, and Hildegard von Bingen wrote a lot

AntonioArso wrote:

...really deadly boring, agreed we are at the dawn of written music, but how did it become so famous a few years ago?

Maybe listened to in another context it has a different effect, but I struggle...

Of course, if the approach to listening is that of a New Age consumer... and besides, whether something is beautiful or ugly does not depend on whether it is famous or not.

it is still medieval music...

That being said, the music of Hildegard von Bingen must be experienced as an extreme spiritual exercise. It was written for the nuns of her monastery, having a purpose similar to what the canticles of Buddhist monks might have... with the necessary differences