Two Women Saints
St. Mary Magdalene and St. Hildegard von Bingen
Catholicism 101 | St. Michael's Parish
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Sandro Botticelli (1445-1510). The Lamentation over the Dead Christ
St. Mary Magdalene (Feast Day: July 22)
Almighty God, whose blessed Son restored Mary Magdalene to health of body and mind, and called her to be a witness of his resurrection: Mercifully grant that by your grace we may be healed of all our infirmities and know you in the power of his endless life; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. (source)
St. Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179) (Feast Day: Sept. 17)
“There is music of Heaven in all things.”
Father, Source of Life, you have bestowed on St. Hildegard von Bingen many excellent graces. Help us to follow her example of meditating on your ineffable Majesty and to follow you so that we, amidst the darkness of this world, recognize the Light of your clarity to cling to you without fail. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen. (source)
Pick Your Saint(s). My Story. Mary and Hildegard.
Pick Your Saint(s). My Story. Mary and Hildegard.
Mary's Persistence
Sometime back in June of 2024 (or maybe it was May), Fr. Farmer asked us in a meeting which saint or saints we admired, associated with, felt close to, etc. Thankfully, I was at the end of the line. I knew I had a couple of saints that I "kind of" followed, but one in particular... no. So I said what I always say now, St. John Paul II. He was/is a beloved pope, was a prolific speaker and writer, experienced many challenges, and wrote about the teaching profession. Who wouldn't pick him. The other saint could have been St. Cecelia, who is associated with music. And yeah, sure, she's good and all, but I don't particularly feel a close connection to her, other than through music.
So, our next task was to identify who our patron saint would be. Okay... google time. I went through MANY. Read about MANY. But one saint kept coming in. Someone I'd never thought of as a saint. I only new her story through hearing and reading the gospel accounts in church. So, I did some work and started really reading about her. Of course, by the title of this talk you can probably guess this was St. Mary Magdalene. Still, I went on searching, trying to "feel" some connection with other saints. I was thinking... "Well, this saint should probably be a female/woman, since I am a woman." But I looked everywhere. However, Mary Magdalene would not let things go. She kept coming back, and back, and back. Her persistence. The persistence of her in my mind made the choice for me. She was "the one for me." I started reading about her, and saw so many things I never thought about, but actions I wanted to emulate, actions I wished I'd had the chance to experience. Then... here came a song about the resurrection, just in time for her feast day, July 22.
El Greco - Penitent Magdalena (ca. 1590). Location: Cau Ferrat Museum (Spain)
Fritz von Uhde - Weib, warum weinest du (1892-94). "Woman, why are you crying?" (Public Domain). Location: Fry Art Museum (Seattle, WA, USA)
See Original Research Report. Distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial 4.0 License permitting non-commercial use.
Mary Magdalene: Faithful Follower, First to See, Apostle to the Apostles
Mary Magdalene: Faithful Follower, First to See, Apostle to the Apostles
My time with Mary began with trying to understand and envision her life, her sorrows, and her joys.
To quote the musical, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, let's go back, I mean, "Way way back many centuries ago." Put yourself in Mary's shoes, in her very existence. She was a follower, and a woman. So maybe if you're a man, you can be Peter or one of the other apostles. So, again, let's go back. They all followed him, all over the place.
Imagine your best friend (this is Jesus, if you're wondering), the person you most admire and want to emulate, the perfect person. Go there. He was walked through town (beaten, bruised, bleeding) and finally was stuck up on a cross, nails through the hands and feet, crucified. Take a moment. Go there in your mind. It's probably very hot, you're hot and sweating because you have a lot of clothing on too. Think of the smells, the anger, the sadness, the tears you're crying, the incredible pain your friend felt. Go there. You're seeing it all happen and you're there at the foot of the cross, watching Jesus die right before your eyes. Go there. Who's with you? What are you doing?
He dies. He DIES. He's taken to a tomb (thank you Joseph A. for making that happen). You're there, waiting, crying. You're still filled with anguish and grief because he's dead. You're best friend, your savior, the person you love with all your heart and soul, who loves you the same. He's dead. You have to leave. It's the end of the day and you're exhausted. You return every day, but on the third day, it's empty. You're terrified, you're mortified. Someone took the body? Someone desecrated your best friend's tomb and took his body away. You're distraught beyond belief. How could anyone do this? I've got to tell someone, his body is gone. You're walking on the road and see a man in a garden, but you don't recognize him. Then, he says your name, and you KNOW. It's him! But how? No matter, you don't care how, you're just excited and you go to embrace your friend. But wait, not yet, he says. I have to see my father first. But go and tell everyone that I've risen. You don't argue. You go. You find the disciples. "He's alive! I'm telling you, I saw him on the road. I bowed down and paid him homage. He's alive!"
Apostle to the Apostles - What Does This Mean?
Apostle to the Apostles - What Does This Mean?
St. Mary Magdalene was declared a saint pre-congregation (actual date is unknown). She was raised from memorial to feast day on June 3, 2016. Her feast day is July 22nd. She is the patron saint of the contemplative life, converts, glove makers and tanners, hairstylists, penitent sinners, people ridiculed for their piety, perfumeries and perfumers, pharmacists, and women.
St. Thomas Aquinas described her as the apostle to the apostles. Beyond Mary (his Mother) Mary Magdalene is mentioned in all four gospels (Matthew 27, 28, Mark 15, 16, Luke 8, 24, John 19, 20). Luke says she was among the women who were with him at the Sea of Galilee. She is described as being at his cross, seeing his empty tomb, and was the first, or among the first women, to announce his resurrection (depending on gospel account).
Fr. Stan Smolensky writes that, while St. John the Baptist prepares the way, "there should be someone representing the response to this call to whole hearted conversion. Immediately, St. Mary Magdalene came to my mind."
Where did she go during the time after the resurrection, after his ascension?
So many stories. This article by by Sr. Patricia Bruno is a great read as she explores the legends about Mary Magdalene that were perpetuated over time. It seems many suggest she preached in France with different disciples.
Sr. Patricia asks these important contemplative questions:
"Why do you think Jesus appeared to Mary first before any other apostle?
What wisdom can we gain from her life and preaching?
What difference has her faithful life made in your life of faith?"
St. Hildegard - Builder, "Medicine Woman," and Musician
St. Hildegard - Builder, "Medicine Woman," and Musician
Hildegard's Steady Love for God
Hildegard's Steady Love for God
Why St. Hildegard von Bingen? We were tasked by Fr. Farmer to also find a ministry saint. When the choir members were asked, St. Cecelia of course was mentioned and considered, but then a couple of them said, why not St. Hildegard von Bingen? Why not? So I began to learn more about her. As a musician with "lots of learning," I knew about her musical background as one of the few women to compose music during her lifetime. I had even sung in a choir that performed a modern arrangement of one of her works (O Verbum Patris, Frank Ferko) (1:30 Start Link) and heard countless others (here's one: O quam mirabilis est). Her music seems to have transcended time with many recordings available in various streaming services (pick your favorite and search Hildegard).
I knew about her musically, she was in all the music history books, but I'd not done much other research about her works. Well, I learned she was/is a big fixture in many people's lives. So, as the choir went, a few of the leaders decided St. Hildegard was "our gal."
St. Hildegard of Bingen (photo: Zvonimir Atletic / Shutterstock)
Stained glass window depicting five Benedictine female saints, Saints Hildegard, Walburga, Scholastica, Mechtild, and Gertrude, located at St. Benedictine Monastery in Bristow, Va. (photo: Nancy Bauer / Shutterstock)
St. Hildegard von Bingen's Music and Writings
St. Hildegard von Bingen's Music and Writings
Mural of Hildegard from the Benedictine Abbey of St. Hildegard near Bingen (Bob Sessions photo)
Detail of Hildegard of Bingen’s Vision of the Earth as a sphere. From Liber Divinorum Operum. Source: Wikipedia/Web Gallery of Art (Original in Biblioteca Statale di Lucca, MS 1942, fol. 1v (early 13th-cen.)
My time with Hildegard began with trying to see her vision, her complete devotion, and her research and intelligence as both an herbalist ("Doctor of the Church") and composer, but also as a woman who faced adversity.
She is the patron saint of ecology, musicians, writers (and, for me, women).
St. Hildegard von Bingen was beatified August 26, 1326 and canonized on May 10, 2012 by Pope Benedict XXVI. Later that same year, on October 7th, she was named a Doctor of the Universal Church. Her feast day is September 17th. You can find more about her life timeline here.
Musicians know her as a composer. You can see some of her music (in modern notation). But there's much more to her history.
She was known to have authentic visions and these were recorded in Scivias (1141-52) (Scito vias Domini/Know the Ways of the Lord), an account of her visions (translation of some visions and view images and summaries). Her visions were rather painful and rendered her immobile, in a trancelike state. The original books of the Scivias were destroyed, but fortunately a copy was made and it is still stored at the Abbey of St. Hildegard in Eibingen.
Hildegard was educated at a Benedictine cloister at Disibodenberg, and began wearing the habit at age 15 and later, in 1136, became the prioress. Nine years later, based on one of her visions, she and several other nuns left and founded a convent at Rupertsberg (ca. 1150). Subsequently, she founded a second monastery in 1165 in Eibington. The Rupertsberg convent was destroyed in 1632 during the Thirty Years War and the remaining nuns moved to Eibington. According to Bingen, Germany's website, "In terms of church law, St. Hildegard's Abbey is the successor monastery to the monasteries of Rupertsberg and Eibingen, which were founded by Hildegard in 1148 and 1165."
Symphonia armonie celestium revelationum (“Symphony of the Harmony of Heavenly Revelations”) - listen on Naxos and read more detail on the International Society of Hildegard von Bingen Studies.
Along with her visions, Hildegard also wrote Physica (1150) Causae et Curae (1150) books focused on natural approaches to medicine. Physica includes nine books (chapters) focused on plants, elements, trees, stones, fish, birds, animals, reptiles, and metals. From the Translator's Introduction of Physica:
Perhaps what distinguishes the work of Hildegard von Bingen are her visionary experiences, which she began having at a very young age. She had been keeping them to herself until one of these visions compelled her to write,
When I was forty-two years and seven months old, a burning light of tremendous brightness coming from heaven poured into my entire mind. Like a flame that does not burn but enkindles, it enflamed my whole heart and breast, just like the sun that warms an object with its rays…. A voice from heaven was saying, O weak person, you who are ash of ash and decaying of decaying, speak and write what you see and hear. Since you are timid about speaking, and simple in your explanation, and unskilled in writing about these things, speak and write … as one who hears and understands the words of a teacher and explains them in his own way.
One of St. Hildegard's Visions
And behold, He Who was enthroned upon that mountain cried out in a strong, loud voice saying, “O human, who are fragile dust of the earth and ashes of ashes! Cry out and speak of the origin of pure salvation until those people are instructed, who, though they see the inmost contents of the Scriptures, do not wish to tell them or preach them, because they are lukewarm and sluggish in serving God’s justice. Unlock for them the enclosure of mysteries that they, timid as they are, conceal in a hidden and fruitless field. Burst forth into a fountain of abundance and overflow with mystical knowledge, until they who now think you contemptible because of Eve’s transgression are stirred up by the flood of your irrigation. For you have received your profound insight not from humans, but from the lofty and tremendous Judge on high, where this calmness will shine strongly with glorious light among the shining ones.”
See the New Yorker Article: Hildegard of Bingen Composes the Cosmos.
See more about Bingen, Germany, and more about Hildegard locations.
See Britannica's Hildegard entry.
See the World History Encyclopedia Hildegard entry.
Watch/Read An Interview with Dr. Margo Fassler about Hildegard von Bingen.
See Medieval Histories Hildegard page.
Get Physica from Amazon.
The Life and Works of Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179) - Fordham University.
My Catholic Life! Hildegard Page.
Art Musings - Hildegard von Bingen.
More about Hildegard von Bingen.
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