Hildegard is a great companion - you might have noticed this already as you have journeyed with her during this past week already.
We reflected on penance and conversion last week. Penance, Hildegard reminds us, begins in the heart and so does conversion.
We keep pondering on the heart and Benedict's words that we need to listen with the ear of our heart. Is this what Benedictine Spirituality helps us to realize for our own lives? Realizing that listening is a matter of the heart? What would be different this Lent if we practiced to listen with the heart?
We reflected on penance and conversion last week. Penance, Hildegard reminds us, begins in the heart and so does conversion.
We keep pondering on the heart and Benedict's words that we need to listen with the ear of our heart. Is this what Benedictine Spirituality helps us to realize for our own lives? Realizing that listening is a matter of the heart? What would be different this Lent if we practiced to listen with the heart?
Hildegard give us an idea:
O, You who are ever
giving life to all life,
moving all creatures,
root of all things,
washing them clean,
wiping out their mistakes,
healing their wounds,
You are our true life,
luminous, wonderful,
awakening the heart
from its ancient sleep.
O, You who are ever
giving life to all life,
moving all creatures,
root of all things,
washing them clean,
wiping out their mistakes,
healing their wounds,
You are our true life,
luminous, wonderful,
awakening the heart
from its ancient sleep.
Listening with the heart "awakens the heart from its ancient sleep."
God offers life. According to Hildegard, God also washes us, forgives our sins. God heals our wounds. In other words, God changes our lives, has the power to provoke conversion. The "ancient sleep" is Hildegard's metaphor of a life lived without reflection, faith or awareness of God's presence. She reminds us that God continues to give us life, to change our lives. Is it any wonder that she was a composer, praising her God for having touched her life?
God offers life. According to Hildegard, God also washes us, forgives our sins. God heals our wounds. In other words, God changes our lives, has the power to provoke conversion. The "ancient sleep" is Hildegard's metaphor of a life lived without reflection, faith or awareness of God's presence. She reminds us that God continues to give us life, to change our lives. Is it any wonder that she was a composer, praising her God for having touched her life?