St. Hildegard of Bingen: Doctor of the Church by Carmen
Acevedo Burcher
In this the life of St. Hildegard, Carmen helps us get into
the songs, theology, and letters of this amazing woman. Finally, we get a chronology of her life at
the end of the book with an excellent appendix on further revised spiritual
reader on St. Hildegard of Bingen, Carmen Burcher (Professor of Medieval
Studies) examines the life of this poet, mystic, artist, preacher, and
composer. After a 21 page chapter on reading
for those interested in future study.
Overall, I think the book was very well organized and brought out the
immense creativity of St. Hildegard while displaying the cultural situation in
which she lived.
Carmen brings out the real emotion of St. Hildegard that she
constantly battled with. Writing about
the Scivias, Hildegard’s visionary work, Carmen writes, “But Hildegard did not
begin immediately. She hesitated,
doubting her ability to serve as God’s prophet.
Medieval society judged women unworthy to write. Writing was manly….Finally she began a
ten-year writing effort that would bring her much contemporary recognition.”
(10) Eventually, Pope Eugenius would
laud praise upon the work of Hildegard.
She met with much opposition in founding her first abbey, but this didn’t
stop Hildegard from advancing her desire to serve. She wrote music and even a work on herbal
medicine. Although she was met with
opposition at every point, Hildegard was tenacious about leaving her mark in
service to God.
The visions in her Scivias range from apocalyptic visions to
denouncements upon the weakness of the church.
We even find an early apology for the changing of the elements in the Eucharist. “When the priest humbly speaks the genuine
words of salvation over the Eucharist, its elements are metamorphosed into the
body and blood of our Savior….In the Eucharistic offering, the bread and wine
undergo a transformation – into My Son’s body and blood,” writes Hildegard
(63). Much like a butterfly climbs out
of a cocoon, the transformation of the elements occurs through
metamorphosis. It is interesting to see
how Hildegard understands the Eucharist by taking what is in nature and
applying it to the sacred. There is
virtually no area of study in which Hildegard didn’t want to leave
footprint. She was a whirl of energy in the
body of follower.
This was a fascinating book indeed, one that makes you
wonder how such a woman could be so creative in a world with so much opposition strewn her way.
Thanks to Paraclete Press for the copy of this book in
exchange for review.
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