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Hildegard says that she first saw "The Shade of the Living Light" at the age of three, and by the age of five she began to understand that she was experiencing visions.[16] She used the term 'visio' to this feature of her experience, and recognized that it was a gift that she could not explain to others. Hildegard explained that she saw all things in the light of God through the five senses: sight, hearing, taste, smell, and touch.[17] Hildegard was hesitant to share her visions, confiding only to Jutta, who in turn told Volmar, Hildegard's tutor and, later, secretary.[18] Throughout her life, she continued to have many visions, and in 1141, at the age of 42, Hildegard received a vision she believed to be an instruction from God, to "write down that which you see and hear."[19] Still hesitant to record her visions, Hildegard became physically ill. The illustrations recorded in the book of Scivias were visions that Hildegard experienced, causing her great suffering and tribulations.[20] In her first theological text, Scivias ("Know the Ways"), Hildegard describes her struggle within:
But I, though I saw and heard these things, refused to write for a long time through doubt and bad opinion and the diversity of human words, not with stubbornness but in the exercise of humility, until, laid low by the scourge of God, I fell upon a bed of sickness; then, compelled at last by many illnesses, and by the witness of a certain noble maiden of good conduct [the nun Richardis von Stade] and of that man whom I had secretly sought and found, as mentioned above, I set my hand to the writing. While I was doing it, I sensed, as I mentioned before, the deep profundity of scriptural exposition; and, raising myself from illness by the strength I received, I brought this work to a close – though just barely – in ten years. (...) And I spoke and wrote these things not by the invention of my heart or that of any other person, but as by the secret mysteries of God I heard and received them in the heavenly places. And again I heard a voice from Heaven saying to me, 'Cry out therefore, and write thus!'[21]
I was given the "Vision" cd about 8 years ago and became fascinated with her story. I read everything I could find. One of the most fascinating things about her is that had she not been approved by the Pope she would have probably been seen as some kind of heretic. If she had been born a century later she most likely would have been hanged or burned at the stake for being a witch during the burning times. To me it shows that she probably had amazing powers of persuasion.
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Saint Hildegard was born in 1098 in West Franconia, Germany, into a wealthy clan. As part of the Benedictine faith she later established her own convent in Rupertsberg, taking on evangelical work as well. Having renowned visions, she was also a poet, composer and science/history writer. Hildegard, who died in Rupertsberg on September 17, 1179, was officially recognized as a saint by the Pope in 2012.
She had so many opportunities that other women, of her time, didn't have. I would love to go back in time and meet her. :content: