Optional Memorial of St. Hildegard Bingen, Virgin and Doctor of the Church

Brief Background:

St. Hildegard of Bingen (1098–1179) was a German Benedictine abbess, mystic, theologian, writer, and composer. Known for her visions and writings on faith, music, and creation, she often spoke of viriditas—the “greenness” or life-giving power of God. Pope Benedict XVI named her a Doctor of the Church in 2012. She is commonly associated as a patron of musicians, writers, and herbalists.

REFLECTION:

So in my dining room, there’s a plant sitting on the dining table that came from the White House property of the school. It was actually the only plant in the living room of that house. And I remember when I first moved in, one of my first thoughts was, “I should just throw this plant away.” I’ve never really liked taking care of plants because I always feel like they’re never going to survive under my care anyway! But something told me, “Just try.”

So I started watering it. I would trim off the dead leaves. I tried to give it enough sunlight. And little by little, I just kept caring for it. Well, somehow that plant survived me! It lasted a year and a few months at the White House, and now it has moved with me and has a new home in the rectory. What I almost threw away is still alive and growing.

That little plant makes me think about St. Hildegard of Bingen, whom we celebrate today. One of the beautiful ideas associated with her spirituality is viriditas—a kind of “greenness,” vitality, or life that comes from God. God has a way of bringing life into places that seem dry or hopeless. And that is exactly what we see in today’s readings.

In the first reading, St. Paul looks honestly at his past. He persecuted the Church. He even says that he is “the least of the apostles.” But then he gives us this beautiful line: “By the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me has not been ineffective.”

Paul could have looked at his past and thought, “God should just throw me away.” But God didn’t. Instead, grace worked on him. God watered what was dry. God trimmed away what needed to die. God patiently worked with him. And the man who once persecuted Christians became one of the greatest apostles of Christianity.

We see the same thing in the Gospel. This woman enters the house of Simon the Pharisee carrying a reputation. Simon looks at her and sees one thing: a sinner. He has already decided who she is. But Jesus looks at her differently. Simon sees her past. Jesus sees what grace is doing in her heart.

And maybe that is something we need to remember about other people—and about ourselves. Sometimes we are very quick to throw people away. We see their mistakes, their reputation, their weaknesses, or something they did years ago, and we decide, “That’s who they are.” Sometimes we even do that to ourselves. But God sees differently. God sees what can still grow.

Maybe there are some dead leaves that need to be trimmed. Maybe there are parts of our lives that have become dry. Maybe there are things that need healing, forgiveness, conversion, or simply a little more patience. But that doesn’t mean God is finished with us.

That plant in my dining room reminds me of something very simple: sometimes what we are ready to throw away, God is still ready to work with. Paul became an apostle. The sinful woman went away forgiven and in peace. And St. Hildegard reminds us that God’s grace can bring “greenness” and life into places that seem dry.

So today perhaps the question is not, “What is wrong with me?” Maybe the better question is: “God, what are you still trying to grow in me?” Because, as St. Paul says, “By the grace of God I am what I am.” And thank God, his grace is not finished with us yet.