"Embodiment of Soul and Earthly Life"
by Hildegard of Bingen

In this vision of Hildegard of Bingen, we have on the left, the soul coming from Heaven. On the right we have some of the trials the soul goes through in this life. In her description of the vision, the divine energy quickening the soul in its mother's womb is called "the Knowledge of God."

The resolution of the trials can be found in the heavenly symphony that Hildegard heard, addressed to the Virgin Queen of the celestial choirs:

"For I should have been a companion of the angels, for I am a living breath, which God placed in dry mud; thus I should have known and felt God. But alas! ... Oh, who will console me, since even my mother has abandoned me when I strayed from the path of salvation? Who will help me but God?"

Links to performances of this music can be found at The International Society of Hildegard von Bingen Studies (www hildegard-society (dot) org), along with additional commentary on this vision. You also might find music by searching "O splendidissima gemma".


** IMPORTANT ** THE IMAGE IS SMALLER THAN THE PAPER! There is a white border of about 0.5" inch for 5x7", 1.3" for 8.5x11", or 1.6" for 11x14" pictures. All Approx! Fine art printers do this because the images are almost never the same rectangular ratio of the standard paper sizes. It also gives the prints a finished look, and lets them look good in a frame without a matt.

- Acid-free paper
- Archival pigments, rated to last for generations.
- Cardboard backer
- Above story of the art
- Enclosed in a tight-fitting, crystal clear bag.

Thanks for your interest!
Sue & John

"In order to communicate the message entrusted to her by Christ, the Church needs art." ~ St. Pope John Paul II

Original image is out-of-copyright. Descriptive text and image alterations (hence the whole new image) © by Sue Kouma Johnson - CatholicArtAndJewelry.