Monks, mystics and monasticism

History

Monasticism developed as a form of religious life usually conducted in a community under a common rule. Monastic life is bound by ascetical practices expressed typically in the vows of celibacy, poverty and obedience. These are sometimes called the evangelical counsels. Monasticism is traditionally of two kinds: the more usual form is characterised by a completely communal style of life; the second kind entails a hermit's life of almost unbroken solitude and is now very rare.

The earliest Western forms of monasticism imitated those of the East. Western forms of monasticism spread with Christianity to Ireland in the sixth century, where the church was organised around the monasteries. In Italy, St. Benedict (6th century) began the work from which sprang the Benedictines and the more moderate monastic rule that gradually became universal in the West, even the Celtic foundations assimilating to the Benedictine practice. The role of monasticism in the development of the new civilisation of the West is incalculable. Monasteries were islands of stability and their inhabitants, almost alone, preserved learning in the West, particularly during periods of instability and upheaval.

In the early thirteenth century, the Dominicans and Franciscans abandoned enclosure as a principle and with the other friars became a feature in the town life of Europe until the Reformation. Their energy gave the universities and schools definitive form and they dominate the whole history of scholasticism.

Contemporary Christian monasticism

A number of Catholic monastic movements continue today. Monks are attached to a monastery, subordinate chiefly to their abbot and are typically Benedictine; the Cistercians are a class of Benedictines and the Trappists are a division of the Cistercians. Most other religious orders are highly centralised systems and usually have their work outside their house. The friars are the oldest of this type, chiefly Dominicans, Franciscans, Augustinians and Carmelites. Clerks regular are represented principally by the Jesuits, the largest single order in the church today. The communities of priests loosely called ecclesiastical congregations number more than 50; they include the Oratory of St. Philip Neri, the Redemptorists, the Vincentians and Maryknoll.

The term contemplative is ordinarily applied to the life of monks and nuns who are enclosed, i.e., who rarely leave the monastery or convent in which they live and work, but many unenclosed religious also lead contemplative lives. There are also monastic orders of men and women in the Anglican Church.

Hildegard of Bingen

Much of medieval European life and culture was related to and regulated by the Catholic Church. Among the talented writers of the time were women in convents and at royal courts. One of these writers was Hildegard von Bingen (or Hildegard of Bingen). She wrote about religion, science and medicine and she also composed music.

At a time when few women wrote, Hildegard, known as "Sybil of the Rhine", produced major works of theology and visionary writings. When few women were accorded respect, she was consulted by and advised bishops, popes and kings. She used the curative powers of natural objects for healing and wrote treatises about natural history and medicinal uses of plants, animals, trees and stones. She is the first composer whose biography is known. She founded a vibrant convent, where her musical plays were performed. Her story is important to all students of medieval history, religion and culture and an inspirational account of an irresistible spirit and vibrant intellect overcoming social, physical, cultural, gender barriers to achieve timeless transcendence.

In 1141, Hildegard had a vision that changed the course of her life. A vision of God gave her instant understanding of the meaning of the religious texts and commanded her to write down everything she would observe in her visions.

“And it came to pass ... when I was 42 years and 7 months old, that the heavens were opened and a blinding light of exceptional brilliance flowed through my entire brain. And so it kindled my whole heart and breast like a flame, not burning but warming... and suddenly I understood of the meaning of expositions of the books . . .

But although I heard and saw these things, because of doubt and low opinion of myself and because of diverse sayings of men, I refused for a long time a call to write, not out of stubbornness but out of humility, until weighed down by a scourge of God, I fell onto a bed of sickness."

With papal imprimatur, Hildegard was able to finish her first visionary work Scivias and her fame began to spread through Germany and beyond. (Scivias is a contraction of Sci vias Domini = Know the Ways of the Lord.)

It is now generally agreed that Hildegard suffered from migraines and that her visions were a result of this condition. The way she describes her visions, precursors to visions, as well as debilitating after effects, point to classic symptoms of migraine sufferers. Migraine attacks are usually followed by sickness, paralysis, blindness - all reported by Hildegard and when they pass, by a period of rebound and feeling better than before, a euphoria also described by her. Also, writes Oliver Sacks; "Among the strangest and most intense symptoms of migraine aura and the most difficult of description and analysis are the occurrences of feelings of sudden familiarity and certitude... or its opposite. Such states are experienced, momentarily and occasionally, by everyone; their occurrence in migraine auras is marked by their overwhelming intensity and relatively long duration."

It is a tribute to the remarkable spirit and the intellectual powers of this woman that she was able to turn a debilitating illness into significant service to the Word of God and create so much with it.