HILDEGARD OF BINGEN: A Saint for Our Times: Unleashing Her Power in the 21st Century

by Matthew Fox

In May, 2012, Pope Benedict XVI formally declared 12th century Benedictine nun Hildegard of Bingen a canonized saint, with the canonization ceremony scheduled for October. He regards her as one of the great thinker who has helped shape the thought of the Catholic Church.

Today there are many websites and Hildegard groups that celebrate and honor Hildegard's teachings, philosophy, art, and music. Author Matthew Fox writes in Hildegard of Bingen about this amazing woman and what we can learn from her.

In an era when women were marginalized, Hildegard was an outspoken, controversial figure. Yet so visionary was her insight that she was sought out by kings, popes, abbots, and bishops for advice. A sixteenth century follower of Martin Luther called her “the first Protestant” because of her appeals to reform the church.

As a writer, composer, philosopher, Christian mystic, Benedictine abbess, healer, artist, feminist, and student of science, Hildegard was a pioneer in many fields in her day.

For many centuries after her death Hildegard was ignored or even ridiculed but today is finally being recognized for her immense contribution to so many areas, including our understanding of our spiritual relationship to the earth—a contribution that touches on key issues faced by our planet in the 21st century, particularly with regard to the environment and ecology.

Genres: Nonfiction, Spirituality, History, Biography, Religion, Theology, Feminism

200 pages, Paperback

First published September 3, 2012

About the author

Timothy James "Matthew " Fox is an American priest and theologian. Formerly a member of the Dominican Order within the Catholic Church, he became a member of the Episcopal Church following his expulsion from the order in 1993.
Fox has written 35 books that have been translated into 68 languages and have sold millions of copies and by the mid-1990s had attracted a "huge and diverse following"

Reviews

[Dnicebear · Rating 5 out of 5]

After reading historical fiction that brought Hildegard von Bingen to life, I plunge into Matthew Fox's way of uncovering Hildegard's voice. Mr. Fox wants Hildegard to speak now, to empower each of us at this moment to be greenly alive with praise and compassion and justice.

I draw strength from Hildegard's visions of the church, and I thrill at Matthew Fox's interpretation: "So anthropocentric has religion become--just like education, economics, and politics--that when we hear the word "religion," we usually think of such things as church buildings, church officials, dogma, canon law, clergy, vestments, and seminaries--not to mention non-profit status and tax deductions. None of this constitutes the essence of religion." (p 35)

I love the way Fox explores Hildegard's understandings of "virtues," and I suspect it is somewhat akin to the way we use and overuse and surface use the word "energy." Hildegard keeps herself focused on a deep way of using the word "virtue" by tying everything she writes and sings and preaches (yes, she preached in her century!) to the green man (Christ), to greenness, to Viriditas, to God's ongoing creating work.

Through Fox, Hildegard meets various people who have lived closer to our times: Mary Oliver, Howard Thurman, Albert Eistein, Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estes and Dorothee Soelle. I so love these meetings.

I also think of a few more meetings that work for my life. In my imagination I have Hildegard meet Rudolf Steiner, whose life inspired Waldorf Schools, where I once taught and where I sent my children. To help bring about this meeting I am learning this week's verse from Steiner's "Calendar of the Soul" in German (Hildegard's native tongue). Hear how Steiner and Hildegard merge in just the first three lines of Steiner's verse:

Im Lichte, das aus Geistestiefen
Im Raume fruchtbar webend
Der Gotter Schaffen offenbart:


Within the light that out of spirit depths
Plays fruitfully through space
and manifests the Gods' creative work:


Light, play and creativity: can you see why, for Hildegard, church is a verb?

Here's how Matthew Fox speaks of Hildegard's recent canonization:

"Let those who canonize Hildegard of Bingen and name her a Doctor of the Church, while also clinging to their power, privilege, and hierarchical mindset of dominance over partnership, consciously doing everything in their power to exclude the Divine Feminine, beware. They are in for many surprises. The Wild Woman is on the loose! We have heard from Hildegard in the 12th century. Now she may be ready to thunder in the 21st." (p 124)

[Therese Fisher · Rating 3 out of 5]

Matthew Fox is a wonderful writer and thinker and Hildegard of Bingen is phenomenal. What frustrated me about this book is that it was a book about her and gave very little opportunity for direct connection with her essence. It left me hungry, thirsty, longing for Hildegard's words. Though I greatly appreciate Fox's words and those of all of the beings he likens Hildegard to, in the end, this book is about Fox's relationship to Hildegard. It is a good place to start I suppose, to have introductions from a mutual friend, but now I wish to lay down this book of scholarly pursuits and have a direct experience of the divine.

[Tyson · Rating 1 out of 5]

I picked this up hoping to read a book about the St Hildegard of Bingen. On reading the first chapter what stood out was the authors bitterness and anger towards the Catholic Church. It seemed to be a book promoting the communist ideals of Feminism, Globalisation, and nature worship, with St Hildegard turned into a shell for the authors ideology. DNF.

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyed the author’s bringing Hildegard’s theology to the modern era, and how desperately this is needed in these dysfunctional times. Comparisons with Mary Oliver, Einstein and others was enlightening. A brief book but packed with insight.

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this book up after seeing the author speak online about Hildegard of Bingen. The book wasn't quite what I expected. It is written as a "conversation" between Hildegard and other contemporary writers/thinkers. It was an interesting concept but unfortunately allowed for little of Hildegard's actual words as she was sharing space with the others that often took up more space. The author makes a lot of claims about what Hildegard believed and taught, but unfortunately did not back up much of that with evidence from Hildegard's own words. Apparently, this is the author's third work about Hildgard, so maybe that means he has done more of that before and didn't want to re-hash what he's already done. Or maybe it means that this book is more his interpretation of Hildegard's work rather than her actual views. It's a little hard to say. As other reviewers have mentioned, the description of the book (from the publishers) could have been more clear so you knew what you were getting. Overall she seems like a fascinating character. I would have preffered a book focused more on her actual words and theology, but this was good enough to make me want to learn more. Maybe I'll try another author next and see if the interpretations line up.

[Hunter Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Talk about a woman way ahead of her time. She was gutsy, genius and oozing with bravery. Fabulous read and have read this book many times.
Girl Power at its Best!
PS: One does not require any kind of religion to enjoy this book. It is a book that speaks to the musicians creatives and activists among us!

[Bobbi Robinson-Vann · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm most of the way through this book so feel able to give a review as I doubt it will change! I'm really struggling with it but will keep going to the end. My main frustration is that Matthew Fox seems to take Hildegard's words, puts his interpretation on them of what Hildegard means, but then state this meaning as fact. I don't know how any of us can definitively say what Hildegard meant - we'd have to ask her ourselves!

I think it's fine to give interpretations but we all have our own biases, beliefs and life experiences that will influence our interpretations of another person's words. I think interpretations are best given in a spirit of curiosity and of inviting others to reflect on our own views. I don't believe that Fox did that in this book and it bothered me that I was expected to take these interpretations as 'gospel' (forgive the pun).

Before this book, I read Fiona Maddocks' book (recommended) on Hildegard and enjoyed it much more because I got a real sense of Hildegard based on the letters she wrote and the historical context in which she lived. She sounds like a formidable woman and it feels like that was watered down in Fox's book.

[Robyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

I should preface this by saying that I am Catholic...I gave this book 2 stars, which is probably a little high in my opinion. I love Hildegard, don't get me wrong. I just found Fox's writing really confusing at times when he was trying to make connections between Hildegard and other important philosophers, poets, etc. I also didn't like how Fox put words into Hildegard's mouth...there's the saying, "We don't see things as they are, we see things as we are", and this book was a great example of that. Fox had an agenda, and it was obviously that he wanted to shape Hildegard into what he wanted....unfortunately, she's not around to ask! I, of course, did some more digging into Fox's background, and a lot of what he was saying started to make sense. He does have a lot of resentment towards the Catholic Church...I do want to read more by her or about her to see if I can sift through some of this.

[Bill Samuel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hildegard is an extremely fascinating historical figure from whom we can still learn a lot. She was brilliant, capable in a wide variety of ways, and fearless. You can learn a lot about her from this book. Matthew Fox's style is to cast everything in the light of his own perspective, and to weave in many other characters and try to fit them into his mold. Most of them genuinely held perspectives close in many ways to Fox's, but you're never quite sure if his description of other's views is exactly theirs or modified to agree with his own. Part of the reason this contains probably more material about others than about Hildegard is that it is his third book on Hildegard. And she is significant enough to deserve the multiple books.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sometimes you find a book at just the right time and this is one of those books. I feel like it is a confirmation to many concepts that I have been ruminating about lately. My copy is heavily highlighted and notated and I'll be referring back to it often. The concepts in it are deep and I've only just begun to wrap my brain around them.

This book also introduced me to Hildegard's music, which is absolutely sublime. I'm listening to it during yoga practice and it is far more transcendent and relaxing than any spa music I've found yet!

And it also introduced me to the wonderful art of Hildegard.

I have the feeling that it has introduced me to a new favorite author: Matthew Fox!

[Bobbi Mullins · Rating 4 out of 5]

There were times I felt a little lost, and I'm not sure if it was too deep or just too disjointed. However, Hildegard of Bingen is so fascinating, and Fox has a unique approach, introducing her in comparison to authors, poets, and activists we are familiar with. I enjoyed the book and learned a lot, so I'm overlooking the fact that it was a little hard to follow at times. If you're interested in some of the important female theologians of the Christian faith, I definitely recommend this book. If you're interested in the Divine Feminine, this is absolutely a book for you.

[Pam · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a fan of Saint Hildegard and of Matthew Fox. Fox provides in this book a wonderful account of the the many aspects of this "grandmother of the Rhineland mystics." She is certainly relevant today and would be well worth listening to. Care for the Earth, care for one another and care for the systems that are a threat to our well-being are all in her wheel-house. This would be a great read for a book club!

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although Matthew Fox's passion for Hildegard's work is certainly exciting and contagious, I felt like he was inserting a lot of his hopes and wide interpretations into her sayings with limited context for the reader. I felt tantalized by her snippets and unsure of his interpretations of them. Like a truly good teacher however, Fox has inspired me to go on a quest of my own with Hildegard to read her letters and writings in full, and for that I am very grateful!

[Jules · Rating 2 out of 5]

I actually didn't finish this one. It wasn't the biography I was expecting from the cover copy, but instead some facts of Hildegard's life interspersed with New Age Christian mysticism. Which, hey, if that's the book you want to write, more power to you, but kindly 'fess up to it in the write-up, so people who are thinking about buying the thing know what they're getting into.

[Belinda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to love this book because of Fox’s compelling project—putting Hildegard in conversation with contemporary theologians and voices of justice. But Fox’s work eroded into rants against the Catholic Church. I appreciate a good critique of Catholicism but these rants overwhelmed the more interesting themes of the book.

[Powell Cotter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Insight into the Heart of a Fierce Woman of Faith

Having read Matthew Fox's excellent book on Julian of Norwich,
I found his account of the passion and courage of Hildegard of Bingen an even more, and earlier, spiritual contribution to the Church and to the importance of Vatican II.

[Marlene M. Oaks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonder-ful

I have read a lot of her writings and writings about her. This nook is chockful of Hildegard and what she brings to now. For many decades , she has been a light in my life. I feel she is a kindred soul. I hope she ignites a light in you as you read this marvelous book.

[Fj Cutshaw · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Matthew and his voice in the world. Love the way he put Hildegard in dialogue with so many other greats. Felt that the beautiful suggestions for embodiment at the end of the book could have been dispersed throughout.

[Aprilmilly · Rating 3 out of 5]

The info about Hildegard was very descriptive and the author did a good job of touching on all aspects of her life (spiritual, musical, artist and religious). I was turned off by the authors personal opinions regarding the Catholic Church expressed in this book.

[Heather Morgan · Rating 1 out of 5]

Heretical apostasy

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great primer on an exceptionally cool nun. Matthew Fox compares her to 20th century figures and it shows just how prophetic she really was in the 12th century.

[lisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was hoping this would be more biographical and less political than it was. It got repetitive and the “conversations” with contemporary scholars was very thin.

[Kathleen Dore]

Great, but I wanted more factual historical detail. As much as I appreciate Fox's approach, I feel he sometimes presents opinion as fact. It might be partially the WAY he presents information...in the end, I appreciate a more journalistic approach, which is not what Fox set out to do, so I can't criticize him on failing in that regard.

[Susan Dehn Matthews · Rating 4 out of 5]

Heartfelt thanks to my former professor for sharing his intimate knowledge of Hildegard. A must-read for this transitional time that we live in.

[Francine Apollo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this for my group for April discussion. I love Matthew Fox's work and I love this book on Hildegard. The book is well done and gives the reader lots to think about!

[Coralea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyed this book. First book I've marked up with questions and comments in a long time. Wonderful book for further research into Hildegard's life and legacy.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A highly personal reflection on the legacy of Hildegard, not quite what I was expecting, however, in a dark world, I found this book inspiring and encouraging.

[Linda Vb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Currently reading for a book club and I am amazed by its relevance today. Wonderful book.

[Casey]

Loved this perspective on Hildegard as a creation spiritualist and defender of the Earth as an extension of ourselves, or vice versa. It's way to the left, but that's how I like it.