SAINT HILDEGARD OF BINGEN

 

Saint Hildegard of Bingen - Artwork by Catherine Nicolette Whittle. 2022

The passion which Saint Hildegard of Bingen brought to her life was firmly rooted in the gospels, the good news which Jesus Christ the Son of God brought to the world. Thus her hands firmly grip the Holy Bible while her left hand is poised to delve deeper into the pages. 

Her crucifix hangs from her neck, symbol of her religious consecration to Our Lord Jesus Christ and further mark of the suffering she endured with her illness. 

Her eyes - earthly shrewd - view out into the eternal. Light shining from the visions God vouchsafed her illumine the left side of her face. The visions Hildegard received from Almighty God are expressed as sparks and strokes of light. 

The right side of her face is mired in shadow, showing the shadow of suffering through which she walked while on earth, not least her illness and excommunication.

Hildegard was excommunicated for showing mercy by burying an excommunicated man - who had recently died - in sacred ground. Hildegard gave permission for his burial in the Abbey cemetery. In the local bishop absentia, the canons of the Church demanded Hildegard exhume the body from consecrated ground.

She refused, claiming she knew the man's sins had been forgiven. So the canons authorized civil authorities to dig up the body.

On the evening before their arrival, Hildegard, vested in her attire as abbess, went to the grave, blessed it, and then, with the help of her nuns, removed all the cemetery markers and stones, so the plot of the excommunicated man could not be identified. This action was not in accordance with the religious mores of the time. Hildegard and the sisters in her convent were excommunicated and were forbidden to receive holy communion. The canons placed the abbey under interdict; Mass, sacraments and the singing of the divine office were forbidden on the premises. [1] Hildegard did not yield, an action of "holy disobedience". Church authorities finally lifted the interdict. 

The artwork is carried out in stark monochrome as proclamation of the simplicity to which Hildegard dedicated her life - in service of Christ and His people. So simple: so courageous, so bold.

Strong impasto technique echoes the strength of Hildegard's belief in Christ, the fluidity and breadth of her visions and the wavering reality of earthly days which pass into eternity. 

The column to the left of Hildegard suggests the medieval cloisters which sheltered Hildegardian life. 

Hildegard's mouth is set strongly, sign of a mature woman who has borne the heat of the burden of the day and, purified and strengthened, does not bow to popular whim but remains steadfast and determined in the service of the Lord.

Why not read about Hildegard? Click in the following link

https://koinoniajournal.blogspot.com/2021/12/hildegardian-gemology-in-light-of.html

[1] Robert McClory. Hildegard of Bingen; no ordinary saint. National Catholic Reporter

https://www.ncronline.org/blogs/ncr-today/hildegard-bingen-no-ordinary-saint

With thanks to ncronline.org