These days of the Dark Night of soul, society and our species, I find myself returning frequently to the wisdom of the mystics who dare to speak of the dark night, as well of the ecstasies of life and God and our souls. Of the Sacred or Holy as well as Evil.
Rabbi Heschel is such a mystic. As he puts it, The Biblical answer to evil is not the good but the holy. It is an attempt to raise humans to a higher level of existence, where humanity is not alone when confronted with evil. Living in ‘the light of the face of God’ bestows on humans a power of love that enables them to overcome the powers of evil.
It is by way of mitzvah that we experience the holy. Holiness arrives by way of good deeds.What is a mitzvah? “A prayer in the form of a deed.” Good deeds and standing up to evil usher in the Holy. The Via Transformativa is as valid a prayer as praise or forgiveness.
In the light of the Bible, the good is more than a value; it is a divine concern, a way of God….He is present in all our deeds….There is no reverence for God without reverence for humans. Love of humans is the way to the love of God.
But it all begins with the Via Positiva and the truth of original blessing. The idea with which Judaism starts is not the realness of evil or the sinfulness of man, but rather the wonder of creation and the ability of man to do the will of God.*
Another person I find myself drawn to in particular in times of darkness is Hildegard of Bingen, for she teaches not only in words but also in poetry and music and lyrics and opera and paintings.
It is in these paintings especially that she addresses vividly her theology of evil. In many ways Evil begs to be painted and not just discoursed about. For Evil, like the Sacred, is beyond mere words.
Of course, pictures take us deeper than language. Images invite images from ourselves. Color, form, and shape are all part of the story that evil weaves. So there is a kind of invitation to participation on Hildegard’s part that she is extending to us, so we are not just spectators sitting on the side of history but actual participants. Not unlike what Jesus did by way of his parables.
Yesterday I received in the mail from a former student of mine the following response to a Hildegard painting and commentary I shared in a recent DM: “Here is the one sentence that may indeed change my life again forever: ‘They become other Christs, other anointed mountains of God.’”
*Abraham Joshua Heschel, God in Search of Man: A Philosophy of Judaism, pp. 375-378.
Matthew Fox, Illuminations of Hildegard of Bingen.
And Fox, Hildegard of Bingen: A Saint For Our Times.
And Fox, ed., Hildegard of Bingen’s Book of Divine Works with Letters and Songs.
See Matthew Fox and Rupert Sheldrake, The Physics of Angels: Exploring the Realm Where Science and Spirit Meet.
See Fox, Trump & The MAGA Movement as Anti-Christ.
And Fox, Sins of the Spirit, Blessings of the Flesh: Transforming Evil in Soul and Society.
And Fox, Original Blessing: A Primer on Creation Spirituality.
To read the transcript of Matthew Fox’s video meditation, click HERE.
Banner Image: Moonrise on a foggy night. Photo by Sylvester Sabo on Unsplash.
Queries for Contemplation
Are you busy making mitzvah and holiness, namely “prayers in the form of deeds”? Do Hildegard’s paintings of both evil and the sacred assist you in that blessed task? And her refusal to deny that evil is real? Are you another Christ and ‘anointed mountain of God’?
Related Readings by Matthew Fox
Illuminations of Hildegard of Bingen
An introduction to the life and work of Hildegard of Bingen, Illuminations reveals the life and teachings of one of the greatest female artists and intellectuals of the Western Mystical Tradition. At the age of 42, she began to have visions; these were captured as 36 illuminations–24 of which are recorded in this book along with her commentaries on them.
“If one person deserves credit for the great Hildegard renaissance in our time, it is Matthew Fox.” – Dr Mary Ford-Grabowsky, author of Sacred Voices.
Hildegard of Bingen, A Saint for Our Times: Unleashing Her Power in the 21st Century
Matthew Fox writes in Hildegard of Bingen about this amazing woman and what we can learn from her.
In an era when women were marginalized, Hildegard was an outspoken, controversial figure. Yet so visionary was her insight that she was sought out by kings, popes, abbots, and bishops for advice.
“This book gives strong, sterling, and unvarnished evidence that everything – everything – we ourselves become will affect what women after us may also become….This is a truly marvelous, useful, profound, and creative book.” ~~ Andrew Harvey, author of The Hope: A Guide to Sacred Activism.
Hildegard of Bingen’s Book of Divine Works: With Letters and Songs
Today there are many websites and Hildegard groups that celebrate and honor Hildegard’s teachings, philosophy, art, and music. Author Matthew Fox writes in Hildegard of Bingen about this amazing woman and what we can learn from her. In an era when women were marginalized, Hildegard was an outspoken, controversial figure. Yet so visionary was her insight that she was sought out by kings, popes, abbots, and bishops for advice. A sixteenth century follower of Martin Luther called her “the first Protestant” because of her appeals to reform the church. As a writer, composer, philosopher, Christian mystic, Benedictine abbess, healer, artist, feminist, and student of science, Hildegard was a pioneer in many fields in her day.
The Physics of Angels: Exploring the Realm Where Science & Spirit Meet
By Matthew Fox and Rupert Sheldrake
When was the last time a scientist and a theologian discussed angels together? What are angels? Many people believe in angels, but few can define these enigmatic spirits. Now visionary theologian Matthew Fox and acclaimed biologist Rupert Sheldrake—pioneers in modern religious thinking and scientific theory—launch a groundbreaking exploration into the ancient concept of the angel and restore dignity, meaning, and joy to our time-honored belief in these heavenly beings.
Trump & The MAGA Movement as Anti-Christ: A Handbook for the 2024 Election
Matthew Fox tells us that he had always shied away from using the term “Anti-Christ” because it was so often used to spread control and fear. However, given today’s rise of authoritarianism and forces of democracide, ecocide, and christofascism, he turns the tables in this book employing the archetype for the cause of justice, democracy, and a renewed Earth and humanity.
From the Foreword: If there was ever a time, a moment, for examining the archetype of the Antichrist, it is now…Read this book with an open mind. Good and evil are real forces in our world. ~~ Caroline Myss, author of Anatomy of the Spirit and Conversations with the Divine.
For immediate access to Trump & The MAGA Movement as Anti-Christ: A Handbook for the 2024 Election, order the e-book with 10 full-color prints from Amazon HERE.
To get a print-on-demand paperback copy with black & white images, order from Amazon HERE or IUniverse HERE.
To receive a limited-edition, full-color paperback copy, order from MatthewFox.org HERE.
Order the audiobook HERE for immediate download.
Sins of the Spirit, Blessings of the Flesh: Transforming Evil in Soul and Society
Visionary theologian and best-selling author Matthew Fox offers a new theology of evil that fundamentally changes the traditional perception of good and evil and points the way to a more enlightened treatment of ourselves, one another, and all of nature. In comparing the Eastern tradition of the 7 chakras to the Western tradition of the 7 capital sins, Fox allows us to think creatively about our capacity for personal and institutional evil and what we can do about them.
“A scholarly masterpiece embodying a better vision and depth of perception far beyond the grasp of any one single science. A breath-taking analysis.” — Diarmuid O’Murchu, author of Quantum Theology: Spiritual Implications of the New Physics
Original Blessing: A Primer in Creation Spirituality
Matthew Fox lays out a whole new direction for Christianity—a direction that is in fact very ancient and very grounded in Jewish thinking (the fact that Jesus was a Jew is often neglected by Christian theology): the Four Paths of Creation Spirituality, the Vias Positiva, Negativa, Creativa and Transformativa in an extended and deeply developed way.
“Original Blessing makes available to the Christian world and to the human community a radical cure for all dark and derogatory views of the natural world wherever these may have originated.” –Thomas Berry, author, The Dream of the Earth; The Great Work; co-author, The Universe Story
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6 thoughts on “Rabbi Heschel & Hildegard of Bingen on Dark Nights & Holiness”
Thank you for these daily reflections.
The recent focus of these daily meditations has understandably been the darkness inflicted on this land by some ninety million eligible voters who thought that an election widely characterized as one of the most consequential political contests in recent US history was not worth an hour of their time. So be it.
However, would it not be fair and appropriate, especially during this week that so many call “holy” and ritually remindful of a passage from enslavement to freedom (mind you, through a desert), to extend the geographical focus of these meditations on the Via Negativa to the land that so many also call “holy” ? The mention of Rabbi Heschel in today’s meditation led me to this quote from Heschel : “Our world seems not unlike a pit of snakes . . . The greatest task of our time is to take the souls of men out of the pit.”
With apologies to the snakes…
Trump and the Snake, November 2020:
https://www.irishpost.com/news/donald-trump-recites-controversial-poem-the-snake-during-rally-196725
Thank you again Matthew for helping us understand the deeper meaning of our Christian and Jewish faiths this Holy Week, especially the Divine Love ~ Wisdom Always Present with-in and among Us as the Body of Christ to guide and strengthen Us personally and communally on Our daily spiritual journeys during these challenging modern times, as our ancestors did in the past and continue eternally supporting Us from the spiritual realms… the LOVING Diverse ONENESS of Our COSMIC CHRIST CONSCIOUSNESS….
Thank you, Matthew for focusing on the Via Positiva and the Via Transformativa this week to help us find a way to respond to the evil regime in Washington. Daniel’s comment gives me an idea. Maybe all of us here—the mainstream news and we as individual purveyors of thought—could take a break from focusing on the U.S. and especially from the orange menace and his clown cabinet, and write articles and especially headlines about the mitzvah emanating from other countries as they work toward replacing the supremacy of the U.S. in the world order. Let’s watch what they are doing. Oh, absolutely, we need to stay active making mitzvah as we work for the demise of this evil administration, but there’s a whole world out there and we aren’t hearing enough about the high-minded, ethical things they are doing in response to the psychopathic actions of this demented president and the fascist clowns he’s invited into the sacred halls of American government. Once again, thank you, Matthew, for reminding us that every action we take for the sacred is a prayer in action. We are called to be prophets, mystics in action.
That is one reason why I subscribe to the online version of the Christian Science Monitor. In my opinion, the articles are measured and well thought out, and there are always hopeful stories of some of the good things going on in the world, even in repressive regimes. I am fully aware of the depth of depravity and sadism of this administration, but I am also with Jack Gilbert in his poem, “A Brief for the Defense”, when he says, “We must risk delight…..To make injustice the only measure of our attention is to praise the Devil.”
Thank you, Matthew, for your-as always-thoughtful reflections and for this web site. I am 77 now and although I am considered youngish, I know that energy is sometimes limited. And at your age you are an inspiration and appreciated for the seemingly tireless energy you give to others.
This morning, Easter, I was late to attend an Episcopal church service-no parking, so I returned home. I was in the process of sending e-cards to my family and friends and chose to look at your weekly meditations. Thank you for sharing your love of Hildegard with us, her music uplifted my heart and spirit, as well as, your musings of Holy Week.
Reading the comments I was unaware of Trump using the snake poem for his perverse interpretation. In many parts of the world that symbol is interpreted as a transformative encounter. We can only hope he will be bit by that Divine teacher and shed his ugly skin and take with him those he has chosen.