Today dear children we visit Holy Hildegard of Bingen, our sister in faith. Her legacy of poetry and the symphony of harmony of heaven found in her music is amazing and deeply moving. One would think that with a talent like hers she knew from the beginning that she was called to do God's will, but that was not so. In fact the power of the call was so strong that she felt totally inadequate to the task, and it scared her and humbled her. This is what she wrote about the unfolding of her calling:
But although I heard and saw these things, because of doubt and low opinion of myself and because of diverse sayings of men, I refused for a long time a call to write, not out of stubbornness but out of humility, until weighed down by a scourge of god, I fell onto a bed of sickness.
I too struggle with my calling to be a writer. I know that I want to be a writer but it is only in the last few years that I have really felt called to write and in fact seen fruit from my writing. Each time I write something that touches someone I am so humbled that my small gift would be used in such a way. But each time my words draw someone closer to God I am reminded of Hildegard's reluctance and humility and I keep writing and sharing my work, because I do feel that God has called me to do so.
It is thought that Hildegard suffered from migraines. The symptoms she describes in her writing are the same as those of a classic migraine. This is another reason that endears her to me because I too suffer from migraines. Without my daily medication I would be prone to the most horrible attacks at unpredictable times. With my medication I am migraine free. I am blessed to live in this century and not in the eleventh century as Hildegard did.
Her music is beautiful I want to share a bit with you. If you follow this link you will see the text of a plainsong chant and then from that page you can click on a link for the sound of women singing the chant. It is so beautiful.
Pax
No comments:
Post a Comment