Hello everyone.
Hey yo! Welcome back to Scattering Flowers with Elise and Miles, a podcast where you read the daily Gospels and the Saint of the Day.
Let’s get started.
Today is Thursday, September 17th, and the scripture to reflect on is Luke 7:50.
And he said to the woman, ‘Your faith has saved you.
Go in peace.’ We are going to play a game called Would You Ever to see how loyal you are to your friends.
Would you ever share your lunch with a friend who forgot their lunchbox, even if that meant you would be hungry?
Would you help your friend finish their chores faster so you could play, even if he had a lot of chores to do?
Would you ever let your friend borrow your favorite stuffed animal and take it home, even if you always sleep with it at bedtime?
Would you tell the mean kids to stop being mean to your friend, even if they would start picking on you instead?
In today’s Gospel reading, we see how Jesus was willing to do the hard things to keep someone out too.
Sometimes doing hard things to help a friend is a hard thing to do.
We can remember that Jesus is the best friend we can ever find.
Today’s saint of the day is Saint Hildegard of Bingen.
She was born 1098 and died 1179.
She is the patron saint of musicians.
Though never formally educated, Hildegard was a woman of inner peace, talent, and religious insight.
Before her death, among many other accomplishments, she would become the abbess of two monasteries, compose music, practice the art of herbal medicine, and author biblical and theological commentary.
As a child, Hildegard’s family placed her with a family relative, Jutta, who lived as an anchoress.
Jutta taught her to pray the Psalms and read and sing in Latin.
Hildegard also received visions and divine revelations from a very young age.
In fact, she was so surprised when she discovered that most people did not have this experience, so she kept her visions to herself.
Later in life, when Hildegard finally confided to her confessor that she regularly received visions, he encouraged her to dedicate them.
These writings were eventually submitted and improved by Pope Eugene III, who convened a committee that included Saint Bernard of Clairvaux to examine the visions.
Though Hildegard received no explicit training, she became a popular preacher and was shocking feats considering the times and the fact that she was costered a nun.
On October 7, 2012, Pope Benedict XVI recognized Hildegard’s wisdom and theological contributions by naming her a Doctor of the Church.
Let’s pray.
In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Dear God, help me to be a good friend to everyone.
And help me to be friends with you, just like Saint Hildegard of Bingen was.
Saint Hildegard of Bingen, pray for us.
Amen.
In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Thank you so much for listening.
We’ll be back tomorrow, scattering more flowers.
See ya.