Using What Is Within Us

In her book Scivias, the mystic Hildegard of Bingen said, “You understand so little of what is around you because you do not use what is within you.” What is within us? Nothing less than our connection to God!

Hildegard of Bingen, "Werk Gottes"

In our creativity we are connected to the Creator of the universe. In our physical body we are connected to Jesus, Word made flesh, who is the Bread we eat. In our breath we are connected to the Holy Spirit, who gives us insight and energy to act. How can we ever say we don’t have what we need for fullness of life?

Here at the Mount, the pandemic has demonstrated that through our connection to God within, we have what we need to stay safe and continue our life of prayer and ministry. We have tapped into God’s creativity to make homemade masks, hand sanitizer, and protective gowns. We stay nourished through the Word and Eucharist at communion services. We have been energized to provide a food pantry for our employees and continue some of our Keeler Women’s Center and Sophia Spirituality Center programs online.

St. Paul says, “God is able to make every grace abundant for you, so that in all things, always having all you need, you may have an abundance for every good work” (2 Cor 9:8). Often we fear we won’t have enough of what we need, so we hoard our resources and our energies. If, as St. Hildegard says, we use what is within us—our connection to God who is creative, nurturing, and generous—then we will understand how God’s kingdom of abundance operates: it is in giving that we receive, it is in pardoning that we are pardoned, and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.