17 September 2026 - St Hildegard of Bingen - homily for Thursday of the 24th week in Ordinary Time - Luke 7:36-50

"Glance at the sun.  See the moon and the stars.  Gaze at the beauty of earth’s greenings.  Now think.  What delight God gives to humanity with all these things.  All nature is at the disposal of humankind.  We are to work with it.  For without it, we cannot survive.”  These words were written by St Hildegarde of Bingen, who was born in the year 1098, more than 900 years ago. She was named as a Doctor of the Church by Pope Benedict XVI in 2012. She is only the fourth woman to be named as a Doctor of the Church. Hildegard was a mystic who had experiences of God in her life that go beyond our normal human realm. 

It is overwhelming to try to describe the life of Hildegard of Bingen. At the age of 8, she was made an anchoress by her family, as they saw this as offering up her life as a sacrifice and offering to God. As an anchoress, she lived as a hermit, shut off from the rest of the world, living in a tiny cell attached to a church, where she was able to see mass from a small slit in the wall of the call. Another anchoress, the noblewoman Jutta of Sponheim, was her caretaker and mentor. Jutta taught her Latin. She spent her days in prayer and study.  When Jutta died, she left her cell and became the abbess of a Benedictine monastery. Hildegard was an author, a theologian, a mystic, a scientist, a poet, an herbalist, and a theater director, among other things. What a remarkable woman. God calls us to use our different gifts in different ways. God calls us to a specific reality in the midst of our challenges and hardships and struggles. Sometimes that reality is particularly harsh. But in that reality, we can find beauty and love. Hildegard of Bingen does not fit into a neat tidy little box. She responded to her reality with creativity and imagination. She is a great example for all of us, no matter who we are. Here is another prayer of hers that calls out to God in the midst of our journey: 

Holy Spirit, the life that gives life - 

You are the cause of all movement, 

You are the breath of all creatures, 

You are the salve that purifies our soul, 

You are the ointment that heals our wounds, 

You are the fire that warms our hearts, 

You are the light that guides our feet. 

Let all the world praise you. 

We see the sinful women reach out to Jesus in the Gospel in the midst of her reality, in the midst of her humility and sinfulness. She repents from her sins and from her past. She comes to Jesus in love and service, anointing his feet with oil. Like Hildegard of Bingen, she responded to God’s presence with love and passion and mercy, asking for God’s mercy and forgiveness in return. Both the women and the Gospel and Hildegard of Bingen give us a great example to follow in the reality of our lives, in the midst of the gifts and struggles and challenges that we are going through. Like the message in the Gospel today, may our faith save us. And may we proceed on our journey in peace.