OPTIONAL MEMORIAL OF SAINT HILDEGARD OF BINGEN, VIRGIN AND DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH, SEPTEMBER 17, 2026

MASS READINGS

Gospel Matthew 25:1-13

Jesus told his disciples this parable: “The Kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 

Five of them were foolish and five were wise. 

The foolish ones, when taking their lamps, brought no oil with them, but the wise brought flasks of oil with their lamps. 

Since the bridegroom was long delayed, they all became drowsy and fell asleep.

At midnight, there was a cry, ‘Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’ 

Then all those virgins got up and trimmed their lamps. 

The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ 

But the wise ones replied, ‘No, for there may not be enough for us and you. Go instead to the merchants and buy some for yourselves.’ 

While they went off to buy it, the bridegroom came and those who were ready went into the wedding feast with him. 

Then the door was locked.

Afterwards the other virgins came and said, ‘Lord, Lord, open the door for us!’ 

But he said in reply, ‘Amen, I say to you, I do not know you.’ 

Therefore, stay awake, for you know neither the day nor the hour.”

REFLECTION

One of today's optional memorials is that of St. Hildegard of Bingen. She was born at Böckelheim on the Nahe, 1098. Early biographers give the first names of her parents as Hildebert and Mechtildis (or Mathilda), speak of their nobility and riches, but give no particulars of their lives. Later writers call the saint Hildegard of Böckelheim, of Rupertsberg, or of Bingen.

Legends would make her a Countess of Spanheim. J. May (Katholik. XXXVII, 143) shows from letters and other documents that she probably belonged to the illustrious family of Stein, whose descendants are the present Princes of Salm.

Her father was a soldier in the service of Meginhard, Count of Spanheim. Hildegard was a weak and sickly child, and in consequence received but little education at home.

Her parents, though much engaged in worldly pursuits, had a religious disposition and had promised the child to the service of God. At the age of eight she was placed under the care of Jutta, sister of Count Meginhard, who lived as a recluse on the Disenberg (or Disibodenberg, Mount of St, Disibod) in the Diocese of Speyer.

Here also Hildegard was given but little instruction since she was much afflicted with sickness, being frequently scarcely able to walk and often deprived even of the use of her eyes. She was taught to read and sing the Latin psalms, sufficient for the chanting of the Divine Office, but never learned to write. (There is a debate whereas she learn to write or not amongst her biographers-- emphasis mine).

Eventually she was invested with the habit of St. Benedict and made her religious profession. Jutta died in 1136, and Hildegard was appointed superior. Numbers of aspirants flocked to the community and she decided to go to another locality, impelled also, as she says, by a Divine command. She chose Rupertsberg near Bingen on the left bank of the Rhine, about fifteen miles from Disenberg.

After overcoming many difficulties and obtaining the permission of the lord of the place, Count Bernard of Hildesheim, she settled in her new home with eighteen sisters in 1147 or 1148 (1149 or 1150 according to Delehaye). Probably in 1165 she founded another convent at Eibingen on the right side of the Rhine, where a community had already been established in 1148, which, however, had no success. She died on the Rupertsberg near Bingen, 1179 at the age of 81.

Even though she might have never learned to write, she created great works of theology such as Scivias ("Know the Ways of the Lord")—which explored creation, salvation, and the concept of Viriditas (divine "greening power" or spiritual vitality found in nature and the soul), where she points to the battle between vices and virtues, urging people to remain morally courageous even when "the world is being shipwrecked". She maintained that a person’s true identity is anchored in being intentionally created in the image of God, offering an antidote to the despair of feeling lost or depersonalized in a complex world.

She was a mystic and Church reformer, corresponding widely with popes, emperors, and clergy, and undertook four public preaching tours across Germany to denounce corruption and call for spiritual renewal.

She is one of the most recorded and best-known composers of sacred monophony from the Middle Ages. She wrote over 70 chants and the Ordo Virtutum ("Play of the Virtues"), which is considered the oldest surviving morality play independent of church liturgy.

Amongst many of her books there are some foundational texts on natural history, medicine, and herbalism (such as Physica and Causae et Curae), detailing the medicinal properties of plants, stones, and animals. She observed that body and soul cannot be cured in isolation by introducing the concept of Viriditas (divine "greening power" or spiritual vitality), teaching that exhaustion and spiritual dryness occur when our connection to nature, community, and the Creator is blocked.

St. Hildebrand was an extraordinary 12th century woman. We could probably spend a lifetime learning from her and never finish. Let us pray for her intercession for us and our children, specially nowadays where we have to battle over exhaustion and identity wars. St. Hidelbrand of Bingen, pray for us!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGPZWUNwLG0&list=RDwGPZWUNwLG0&start_radio=1

Source: https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/library/st-hildegard-5088 https://www.amazon.com/Hildegard-Bingen-Classics-Spirituality-Paperback/dp/0809131307/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1OKSP7P6F1GVW&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.3KVdwlResMfEthAmfoVUkFiqy7I-lqur4p7m-LC91d95t5udSnUw8PT5LaD30dtSKXL20DAv70MEg0jI4WKzNyiSmjx8DXhVCFgB5KN2BKrbrcXgOs6n6erL1InSbbbuOGo6VVuReORhJ5K4zptD5elAuuGwPFI5lf9rSvBv5nVpYv5iMf5kz-bTQ7umFBvyuBEOn_UOMC-aMnwXatvLK9OTtj5nSssrYCtyDK0j09s.XdEHAdNY0XHlbHVayCBOLUHdGy_RN8eu0oXy-Sd_4T4&dib_tag=se&keywords=scivias+by+hildegard+von+bingen&qid=1789418021&sprefix=scivitas%2Caps%2C181&sr=8-1