R105: Richard von Springiersbach an Hildegard von Rupertsberg
Salutation and Greeting
Richard, abbot of Springiersbach, sends a humble greeting to Hildegard and her community, explaining that he sends a messenger to speak on his behalf.
Richard, abbot of Springiersbach. To Hildegard. Richard, unworthy minister of the servants of God in Springiersbach. To Hildegard, to the congregation of the most holy Robert, and to the stewardess worthy of God. After the end of this world. To receive the fellowship of the heavenly city.✦ That by letter, or truly by the bearer [REDACTED] these present to him— For on my behalf I have now instructed him to attend upon your holiness and to speak. The reason is this:
Confession of Wasted Time and Inadequacy
Richard confesses that he has wasted years in vain thinking, longs deeply for Hildegard's presence, calls God to witness his sincerity, and laments his utter weakness in pastoral office.
Because I myself—though I truly wanted to come in person on my own behalf and for my sake—was unable to do so, and I confess I have wasted days, and not a few years. Up to now I have spent these things in vain, thinking and rethinking them. How greatly—and from how magnificent a source—I have always desired, from the very beginning, the presence and conversation of your holiness, I cannot say enough. Now I turn to Him to whom all things are bare and open.✦ Not deceptively, but truly and truthfully I call God to witness. So here I am, wretched, appointed to the charge of pastoral care—a responsibility to be managed and administered. And indeed I am utterly abandoned in strength—of mind no less than of body. Because when it comes to managing or administering these things—
Despair and the Desire for Deliverance
Richard sees himself as useless and unequal to his task, can only grieve and weep, and increasingly longs to be set free from the body of this death.
I see myself as thoroughly useless, weak, and unequal to the task. I can do nothing but grieve and weep. and to be set free from the body of this death.✦1 I long for it more and more.
Petition for Counsel and Closing
Richard asks Hildegard to seek the Lord's guidance on whether he should leave his pastoral charge, seals his letter, urgently requests a reply, and asks her to gladden his heart with her counsel.
And so now, most holy one and blessed among women, through you I wish to seek the Lord concerning my situation, and it is in character that I desire to consult the Lord.2 and whether I should now cease and desist from this very occupation and administration — if it were permitted through you — that above all is what I would wish to learn and find out.3 The letters are therefore sealed, in the customary manner, and closed. As for the substance of this matter, I beg you — for God's sake — let me know as soon as you can! And my deserving heart — gladden it by your counsel and aid, in the Lord.
Read the original Latin
Richardvs abbas in sprinchersbach. hildegardi. Richardus seruorum dei in sprinchersbach minister indignus. hildegardi congregationi sancti roberti sanctissimę et deo dignę dispensatrici. post huius mundi terminum. supernę ciuitatis recipere consortium. Quod litteris uel ipsi sane presentium latori. pro me nunc uestrę sanctitudini interim precepi assistere et loqui hęc causa est.
quia ego ipse per me atque pro me uenire quidem uolens et non ualens dies fateor et annos non paucos. hactenus in uanum hęc cogitando consumpsi. Nam quantum certe et ex quanto magnifice sanctitatis uestrę presentiam et collocutionem ab inicio semper desiderauerim. ipsum nunc cui nuda et aperta sunt omnia. non fallaciter sed uere et ueraciter deum testificor. Infelix igitur ego in dispensanda uel administranda cura pastorali constitutus. uiribusque nimirum tam mentis quam corporis prorsus destitutus. quia ad hęc dispensanda uel administranda.
me satis inutilem debilemque et inparem aspicio. dolere tantum et flere. et de corpore mortis huius liberari. magis ac magis desidero. Nunc itaque sanctissima et inter feminas benedicta per uos dominum querere de causa mea ex more dominum cupio consulere. et an mihi iam ab hac ipsa occupatione et dispensatione potius cessandum et desistendum si id liceret per uos maxime uellem cognoscere et inuestigare. Litteris igitur sigillatis more et clausis. huius rei tenorem me queso causa dei quantocius rescire facite!
et merens cor meum consilio et auxilio uestro in domino letificate.
Scripture echoes
- ↩Heb.12.22 — But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels,
- ↩Heb.4.13 — And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.
- ↩Rom.7.24 — Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?
Notes
- 1 ↩'de corpore mortis huius' is a dense phrase; it likely echoes the Pauline 'body of death' (Rom 7:24), though the exact allusion awaits scriptural resolution.
- 2 ↩The double use of 'dominum' and the phrase 'ex more' ('according to custom/manner') create a slightly tangled sentence; the rendering preserves the sense of habitual devotional practice and direct appeal to God through Hildegard's intercession.
- 3 ↩The construction 'et an... potius cessandum et desistendum' is a deliberative question ('whether one must rather cease and desist'); the rendering captures the conditional, exploratory tone.
Epistolae: Letters to Frederick Barbarossa and Henry II of England companion
Read one voice like Hildegard's every morning
Chosen Portion delivers daily excerpts from Hildegard and 77 other historic devotional writers, free on iOS.
Hildegard directed souls through short written portions sent one at a time, and Chosen Portion continues that letter-a-day rhythm as daily devotionals.
- Daily 2-minute readings including Hildegard's letters and visions
- 78 complete historic works, translated into modern readable English
- A weekly email tracing one writer's story in depth