O prophetissa oecologica: A Chronogram for the Feast of St. Hildegard of Bingen

Scivias 3.12: The Last Judgement
Rupertsberg MS, fol. 225r

o prophetIssa oeCoLogICa,
eLeMenta CVnCta,
propter praVa opera nostra sVbVersa,
qVereLas sVas
qVasI aegrIs et strepItIs VoCIbVs
In VIsIone tVa proferVnt:
ora pro nobIs,
Vt spIrItVs nostrI
VIrtVtIbVs VIresCentes
pro saLVte CreatVrae operentVr.

O prophetess of ecology,
all the elements,
overturned by our perverse deeds,
utter their complaints
as with sick and strident voices
in your sight:
pray for us,
that our spirits,
growing green with the virtues,
might act for the health of creation.

"Sexual Abuse and the Shadows of the Fall"

In this new essay published today at The Church Life Journal, I look at St. Hildegard of Bingen's views on the origins of sexual abuse and the universal #MeToo moment. She notices precisely the ways in which the abuse of power distorts our ability to know and understand reality, and thus distorts our relationships with each other and with God. Her solution lies in the redemption of human nature through Christ's humility.

“Hildegard of Bingen’s Lament for the Environmental Crisis Caused by Human Sin”

For Earth Day, I've got an extended look at the integrated ecological vision of St. Hildegard of Bingen up over at the Church Life Journal of the McGrath Institute for Church Life at the University of Notre Dame--check it out!