Hildegard of Bingen: A Saint of Our Times: Unleashing Her Power in the 21st Century
History 101 (Spring16)
1st Draft
April 09 2016
Summary
In this third Hildegard inspired book by Matthew Fox, Hildegard of Bingen: A Saint of Our Times: Unleashing Her Power in the 21st Century, Hildegard’s wisdom and forewarnings is brought back to life. Fox states what Hildegard means “she is what we expect a saint to be: a mover and a shaker, a force to be dealt with not only in her day but also in ours, a bold and courageous human being to be listened to and emulated. Hildegard’s message is remarkably on target four our era- over eight centuries after her passing! In this 21st century, when time is running out for our species unless we make drastic changes to how we function on this planet, Hildegard’s voice is sorely needed, for she speaks to the core issues that are ushering us down the path to oblivion.”1 Fox believes that Hildegard’s wisdom and knowledge were meant not only for the primitive era but also for the 21st century.
Fox dedicates the book to “all those women and men who have committed themselves to reversing the patriarchal consciousness that has dominated humanity for so long by heralding the return of the Divine Feminine and the healthy masculine- and by so doing, daring to challenge the entrenched status quo.”
Published in 2012, the same year the Roman Catholic Church’s Pope Benedict XVI declared Hildegard, a Doctor of the Church eight centuries after Hildegard’s death. Hildegard of Bingen: A Saint of Our Time is written more often like a journal of Hildegard's work and beliefs. Fox starts his book with a foreword from Joan Chittister a Benedictine nun, author, speaker, social analyst and an influential religious leader. Chittister states in the preface “This book doesn’t look at Hildegard of Bingen as an icon of an age long gone by. This book looks at Hildegard as harbinger, prophet, template of our own. This book doesn’t...