mysticism – Be as One

I have been dying to do a post on Hildegard von Bingen since I saw a wonderful movie on her life called Vision: From the Life of Hildegard von Bingen. If you click on the link you can see a trailer and read some reviews from Rotten Tomatoes. It does have subtitles but I had no trouble following it.

Lori Erickson, aka The Holy Rover, has just posted a wonderful article on Hildegard. Hildegard was a true Renaissance woman: 12th-century mystic, writer, composer, counselor, leader, the list goes on and on. She is a saint and Doctor of the Roman Catholic Church.

Here’s a portion of Lori’s article – follow the link to see the rest and the great pictures her husband Bob provided of their visit to Bingen:

hildegard von bingen — Mural of Hildegard from the Benedictine Abbey of St. Hildegard near Bingen (Bob Sessions photo)

If Hildegard of Bingen had a resume (unusual for a 12th-century mystic, I admit, but humor me) it would have been many pages long. She was an abbess, healer, writer, musician, visionary, counselor, preacher, linguist, naturalist, poet and an adviser to kings, bishops and princes. She wrote more than 70 liturgical songs, the first sung play, and books on theology, medicine, diet and natural history. All the while she kept up a voluminous correspondence with people in and out of the church, leading one scholar to dub her the “Dear Abby of the 12th century.”

If I could invite a handful of people from history for dinner at my house, Hildegard would be among them—though I suspect she would likely dominate the conversation so much that the other guests would be intimidated.

Click here to read the rest and see the photos.

Click to Tweet & Share: From The Holy Rover: With Hildegard in Bingen – 12th century mystic, woman of accomplishments http://wp.me/p2D9hg-A7 @holyrover

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Obtaining true silence, that stillness of the heart and mind open to hearing the whisper of God from within, is one of the most challenging aspects of the spiritual life. I believe it is the most important thing we can do for if the voice of God is continually drowned out with our busy lives, we will miss the truth.

Christian singer Michard Card says it so beautifully in his song, “The Final Word:”

You and me we use so very many clumsy words.
The noise of what we often say is not worth being heard.
When the Father’s Wisdom wanted to communicate His love,
He spoke it in one final perfect Word.

What is Holy Silence? How do we quell the noise in our lives? One of my favorite bloggers, The Holy Rover, has a wonderful post about silence that I wanted to share with you.

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Icon of Elijah at the mouth of the cave (Wikimedia Commons image)

One of the pleasures of being married to my husband has been the many stories I’ve heard through the years about philosophers and their peculiar habits. One of my favorites is about a friend of Bob’s who several years ago gave a lecture in a philosophy class and then was asked a follow-up question by a student. In response the professor said, “You know, that’s really a good question. Let me think about it.” And then he sat down and thought about it. And then he thought about it some more. He furrowed his brow, he got up and paced across the floor, he stood looking out the window with a faraway look in his eyes. The minutes ticked by slowly as the students watched him in growing bemusement. Finally he gave his answer, clear and well-reasoned. And after class the students spread the story as proof of just how strange philosophers can be.

What flummoxed the students, of course, was the extended silence. Most of us are uncomfortable with silence, especially in a public setting such as that. But even when talking privately to a friend, we typically rush in to fill any pause with words. So the example of the philosopher in class, of someone being comfortable with an extended silence, conveyed a message that probably went unlearned by most of his students.

Click here to read the rest of this post.

Click to Tweet & Share: Holy Silence – from The Holy Rover blog http://wp.me/p2D9hg-tG

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