R11: Arnold von Selenhofen an Hildegard von Rupertsberg
Greeting to Hildegard
Arnold, archbishop of Mainz, greets Hildegard with fatherly love and acknowledges the Spirit's freedom in inspiring her.
Arnold, archbishop. To Hildegard. Arnold, by the grace of God archbishop of the see of Mainz! To Hildegard. To the virgin dedicated to God and to the mistress on the mount of the blessed Robert the confessor, his greeting! With fatherly love. We know that the Spirit blows where it wills.✦ And whom it wills, it inspires!
God's Surprising Gifts
Citing Scripture, Arnold argues that God distributes His gifts freely and humbly, using unlikely instruments, so they must not be rejected.
He distributes his gifts to each one as he wills.✦ This, however, we say: saying nothing doubtful about you. For what's so surprising if he teaches you by his own inspiration? He who once appointed farmers and fig-gatherers — plucking fruit — as prophets!✦1 And he made a she-ass utter human words.✦ So we ought not to reject the gifts of God! Nor could we, even if we wished.
A Request for Prayer
Arnold asks Hildegard for her prayers, wishing to live in fear and love of God and to attain lasting life and happiness.
And so we ask for your love: help us with your prayers to the Lord. May our days be lived in the fear and love of our Creator, at the very least. So that, having been brought to completion in good things, we may deserve to have life in the length of days and in the perpetual happiness of it.2
Read the original Latin
Arnoldus archiepiscopus. hildegardi. Arnoldus dei gratia mogontinę sedis archiepiscopus! hildegardi. deo dicatę uirgini et magistrę in monte beati roberti confessoris gratiam suam! cum paterna dilectione. Scimus quia spiritus ubi uult. et quem uult inspirat!
diuidens unicuique dona sua prout uult. Hoc autem dicimus! nichil hesitantes de te. Nam quid mirum est si ille inspiratione sua te docet. qui quondam agricultores et siccomoros uellicantes prophetas constituit! et asinam humana uerba proferre fecit. Dona ergo dei refutare non debemus! nec ualemus.
Rogamus autem dilectionem tuam ut precibus tuis ad dominum nobis succurras. quatenus dies nostri in timore et in amore creatoris nostri saltem sint. ita ut in bonis consummati uitam in longitudine dierum perpetuę felicitatis habere mereamur.
Scripture echoes
- ↩John.3.8 — The Spirit blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.
- ↩1Cor.12.11 — But the one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as he wills.
- ↩Amos.7.14 — Then Amos answered and said to Amaziah, "I am no prophet, nor am I a prophet's son; I am a herdsman and a dresser of sycamore figs."
- ↩Num.22.28 — Then the LORD opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, "What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?"
Notes
Epistolae: Letters to Frederick Barbarossa and Henry II of England companion
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