Koinonia Academic Journal
Volume 5, Paper 1
October – December 2021
Hildegardian Gemology in the Light of Biblical Revelation
Angelology/Systematic Theology
Catherine N Whittle DD (Ed)
www.koinonia.org
Abstract: “A light for her people and her time”: with these words Saint John Paul II described Saint Hildegard of Bingen in 1979, the occasion of the eight-hundredth anniversary of this German mystic’s death. This great woman stands out against the horizon of history for her holiness of life and the originality of her teaching.
Hildegard’s intellectual and spiritual brilliance was of such a calibre that she became herbalist, writer, dramatist, poet and composer, Abbess, mystic, theologian, visionary, monastic advisor, consultant exorcist, psychotherapist and visiting preacher. Within the cloister, Hildegard cared for both spiritual and material well-being of her sisters.
Further, she devoted herself to strengthen the Christian faith and reinforce religious practice. Hildegard promoted Church reform through writings and preaching. She contributed to improvement of clerical discipline and life. At the invitation of Hadrian IV andAlexander III, Hildegard preached in public squares and the cathedral churches of Cologne, Trier, Liege, Mainz, Metz, Bamberg and Wurzburg .
The profound spirituality of her writings and ministry encompassed many fields including gemology, the science of gemstones. Hildegard was famed as a dedicated collector of healing stones. She considered minerals and stones to be accompanied by divine blessing. Hildegard utilized the jewels in healing therapies, cooking and infusion of drinks. Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI observed that with acute wisdom-filled and prophetic sensitivity, Hildegard focused her attention on the event of revelation.
Her investigation developed from the biblical page in which, in successive phases, it remains firmly anchored.This paper explores Hildegardian gemology in the light of biblical revelation.
Keywords: :Bible, celestial kingdom, Christ, gemology, gemstones, Germany, healing, healing stone therapies, Hildegard of Bingen, living stones, mystic, minerals, precious stones, revelation :
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