Oh dear. Is there a St. Hildegard for Dummies because all I can see in that depiction of her vision is a woman holding a book while looking at a framed picture of different styles of castle buildings? Is that supposed to be St. Hildegard herself in the bottom picture?
LOL, yes indeed that is St. Hildegard transcribing her visions at the bottom. I'm afraid that there is no St. Hildegard for dummies book I've added some explanatory description of this vision in italics under the image, namely this: Here is a contemporary depiction of her Five Ages: You will see above the ages of the "Fiery Dog", "Yellow/Tawny Lion", "Pale Horse", "Black Pig" and "Grey Wolf" depicted in their symbolic animal form (curiously the Lion is depicted a different colour). The summaries below are from the "capitula" (composed sometime in the decade after the work’s completion, likely by one of Hildegard’s close secretaries or aides to frame each chapter of her Visions and summarize its contents). I've added what belongs to what age in brackets (or rather when each age begins/ends) to make them easier to navigate. I hope folks find it helpful: The final vision, in which a wheel of great size is shown and what it is is carefully described; and again the image of Divine Love is glimpsed under a different form. For it would not be possible to truly call God “one” if there were another exactly like him by nature; and the aforeshown quality of the wheel shows that God himself has neither beginning nor end and is equipped for all good things; how the whole description of that wheel refers to God’s eternity and power as well as to the salvation of souls. Why the virtue of Love is glimpsed, adorned with different trim than in the vision above. On the transparent tablet in the form of crystal that appears before the image of Love, and what it signifies that, as that image gazes upon that tablet, the line on which she sits moves; a brief repetition of the creation of heaven, earth, the angels, and humankind. Justice, moral integrity, and the dignity of the virtues grew stronger through the prophets from the days of the flood until the Lord’s coming, and then they gleamed for a long time in the Church through the apostles and teachers—but though now they are corrupted, after these days that languish in injustice, [Fiery Dog] they will again be reformed among people before the end and after many tribulations. For when the heavenly Judge once receives Justice’s complaint, he will bring his vengeance upon the transgressors of equity, and in particular upon the wicked leaders of the Church through many disastrous judgments, until, purged by penitence in the trial they have earned, they recover their senses; and thus each rank will be restored to uprightness and returned to the honor of its dignity. [Yellow Lion] When the ordinance of justice and peace has been settled by God’s vengeance and the correction of transgressors, tranquility will gleam before the Lord’s second coming just as it had before his first, and some part even of the Jews will be converted and will rejoice and confess that he has come whom now they deny. The words of the prophet Isaiah attesting to the Lord’s first coming (Is 4:2),[17] which will be most especially fulfilled before his second coming with the illumination of the Jews, who, blinded by the stumbling block of Christ, with his suffering withered away from the viridity of the faith and good works. Because of the restoration of Justice, the various ranks of the Church will enjoy for a time in the next-to-last days both a great plenty of temporal things and a great abundance of spiritual goods, while that portion of the Jews and heretics who persist in evil will exult with pernicious presumption at the Antichrist’s impending arrival. [End of Yellow Lion] But because people attribute this quiet peacetime and fruitful abundance to themselves and not to God and meet once more with lethargy when it comes to religion, so many tribulations will again follow as have never before seethed within the world...[Pale Horse] For in that time, when the Christian people has been driven to repentance and exhausted by many afflictions for their sins, divine grace will come to their aid through many miracles, just as it once did for God’s people of old; and after their enemies are subdued, it will join a great multitude of the pagans to their faith. In those days, as the Roman Emperors fall away from their pristine strength, the imperial power in their hands will over a short time diminish and fail, and even the mitre of the apostolic office will be divided, and different masters or archbishops will replace the others in various places. Again, in that time, after wickedness has been put down and justice revived, honorable discipline and the laws of ancient customs will spring forth anew and be observed, and there will be many prophets and the hidden things of the Scriptures will lie open to the wise—nevertheless, everywhere heresies will bubble up to declare that the Antichrist’s coming is near. [End of Pale Horse] On the kind of judgments of the divine power that are to be manifested near the end of the world, especially because then a very great portion of humanity will abandon the integrity of the catholic faith and be converted to the son of perdition. [Black Pig] On the conception and origin of the Antichrist—filled up from the very beginning with a diabolical spirit and kept hidden and raised in secluded places, until he reaches the age of manhood; both in the world and in the Church, there will be in those days a great disturbance and uncertainty of both affairs and the seasons. [Grey Wolf] The ancient enemy, who conquered the first man by seducing him, only to be conquered by Christ the Man, will assume that he can again win through another man, and so flood the Antichrist (with God’s just permission) with all his malice and press upon him to fight against the catholic faith and destroy Christ’s teaching. Those listed above are but a handful of the chapter summaries.
On July 20, 2017, the BVM message to Pedro Regis mentioned that the Church of Jesus would go back to the church entrusted to Peter This message can be found on the forum list Last posted by Fatima today It corroborates what St Hildegard said "The return to the simple life of the golden age of the Church" I am not trying to hijack this thread But sometimes a light bulb goes off in my head when I read prophetic words that confirm each other
This description of the Pale Horse sounded to me like a very plausible road ahead. It also seems that it would happen over a long period of time, something like the next 50 years or more - more realistic that everything happening by 2018.
I hope so. My thoughts are that we may be entering the 6th age of the church which Ven. Holzhauser spoke of, the age of the Great Monarch and the Holy Pope and I hope it is a long age. Many prophecies seem to state that it will be long but there is no way to be certain. I mentioned Ven. Holzhasuer's 6th age because it confusing that now we are talking about Saint Hildegard's ages which are different. So if we are in the Pale Horse age of Saint Hildegard's, you are correct that it could be many years before it is complete.
I provided the forum with a basic outline of all St. Hildegard's Five Ages in this post: http://motheofgod.com/threads/the-great-monarch-and-the-holy-pope.1083 1. Fiery Hound Description of Time Period: Time of spiritual weakness or "feminine debility" (tempus muliebre) --clergy are "perversi mercenarii" forerunners of Antichrist --both secular and spiritual leaders, simoniacs and heretics are corrupt --Church has fallen away from pristine apostolic discipline 2. Yellow Lion Description of Time Period: Time of chastisement and disendowment of Church and purgation through tribulation for all --"tempus utile" or "tempus virile" --renewal of spiritual strength revealed through prophecy, abundance and peace-- vision of church renewal, world unity in truth --conversion of large numbers of pagans and Jews 3. Pale Horse Description of Time Period: Time of sorrows --Church polluted --persecution of Christians by heathens --Christians saved by miracle and conversion of heathens --Papacy and Empire dispersed --Church returns to pristine discipline --renewal of spiritual strength again revealed through prophecy, abundance and peace but also heresies cropping up everywhere in anticipation of the coming of Antichrist 4. Black Pig Description of Time Period: --Reign of heretics and forerunners of Antichrist --many Christians desert orthodoxy --moral decay and spiritual decline --signs of the End 5. Grey Wolf Description of Time Period: Antichrist's "ministry" --persecution of faithful and traditional eschatological events Death of Antichrist Second Coming and Last Judgement I think you make an excellent point. The Pale Horse age could last for an indefinitely, or relatively, long time given that St. Hildegard says in relation to its beginning: Liner Divinorum Operum 10: 21 "...Although in these days [after the great peace ending the Age of the Lion] justice and piety will grow increasingly weary and disappear, they will soon regroup their forces. Now evil will rise up, only to decline again. Often wars, famine, pestilence, and mortality will achieve power and then fade away. None of these things will be able to maintain itself for long in power. Each of these developments will waver to and fro, achieving prominence in one time and then moving into the background. This will be the time that in Scivias is described as under the sign of the Horse..." It's looks like it could be a "ping-pong" age of tribulation, renewal, build-up back to collapse and tribulation, renewal, build-up and so on. There's no guessing how long this will go on for until the Age reaches its great consummation as described earlier, with the "dust and fog" prophecy converting the heathens. But she crucially never states how long or short her ages will be. Pope St. John Paul II clearly stated during his Magisterium that our century would not be the last within temporal history, prior to the end of time. For in his apostolic letter on the Millenium, Tertio Millenio Adveniente in 1994 we find the following: "... The future of the world and the Church belongs to the younger generation, to those who, born in this century, will reach maturity in the next, the first century of the new millennium. Christ expects great things...If they succeed in following the road which he points out to them, they will have the joy of making their own contribution to his presence in the next century and in the centuries to come, until the end of time: "Jesus is the same yesterday, today and for ever"..." Notice the operative wording "in the next century and in the centuries to come". I have long disagreed with the Catholic commentators who aver that we are near or at the "end of the world". So much has not happened yet. The full "times of the Gentiles" are not yet fulfilled; "all Israel" has not as we speak converted to Faith in Christ; an "era of peace and security" spearheaded by the GM/HP before the advent of Antichrist has not thus far been vouchsafed to humanity, to name but a few. I do believe that eschatologically significant events remain to be fulfilled in our lifetimes, but perhaps not the ones some people tend to think. That said, my own reading of St. Hildegard's prophecies would lead me to believe (and note this is just an opinion on my part, no more valid than anybody else's) that we might only be nearing the "end of the beginning" of her Age of the Lion prior to the Great Peace, in the tribulation phase characterised by the following: Vision 10: 17 "...In the meantime occurs the Age of the Lion, which has been described in Scivias: terrible and cruel wars that cause the death of countless men and women and raze many cities to the ground. Just as a man conquers by his strength the weakness of a woman and a lion overawes other wild beasts, the cruelty of certain individuals will destroy the peace of others in these days, according to God's decree. Then God will permit dreadful punishments for enemies as a purification of their sins, just as the Divinity has constantly done since the beginning of the world. When human beings are purged by these challenges, they will be disgusted at their quarrelsomeness. Out of the awe for God they will seek justice in all Church institutions that are pleasing to God. They will do this in the days of freedom as well as in the days of war... Then so many new and unknown arrangements with respect to order and peace will occur that people will be amazed and talk about them..."
It must be remembered, of course, that St. Hildegard's Five Ages cover only the period of time between the era she lived in and the end of the world; whereas St. Bonaventure and Ven. Holzhauser cover the entire history of the Church with their Seven Ages. St. Bonaventure's Ages can be read here, in this post: https://forums.catholic.com/showthread.php?t=1037508 In my opinion (and again only mine), Holzhauser's 5th-6th Ages may be comprised of St. Hildegard's Ages of the Lion and Horse. His final Age one would thus be comprised of her Ages of the Pig and Wolf. If you look at the image I posted earlier, I wonder if you notice something potentially interesting about where the animals are placed? Three Ages are grouped together on the left hand side, ascending upwards sequentially from the Hound (Dog) - the Lion - Horse; with the final two ages grouped on the right hand side descending downwards in sequence from the Pig - Wolf. To me, this has not been done by accident rather the first Three Ages involve both "highs and lows" - periods of decline and renewal, such that the faith and humanity can still be understood as "advancing" during those periods. But when you get to the Black Pig, temporal history then can only go downwards to the degradation of the final persecution and the reign of Antichrist. The Age of the Black Pig begins "level" with the Pale Horse which ends with another period of peace and renewal (albeit with heresies also bubbling up everywhere in anticipation of the Antichrist) meaning that this peaceful phase continues into the start of the Age of the Pig but there is no "advancement" left after that. From being level, you go down towards the Grey Wolf - in ever greater decline, until the Wolf's tail extends lower than the body of the Dog to its left. If we correlate the different visions of the future together from each of these three approved visionaries, and then add in the contributions from others, I think we can perhaps arrive at a fuller picture of what we might expect to come.
Vouthon, There is one striking difference here in what you posted on the Great Monarch and the Holy Pope thread in relation to Saint Hildegard's Five Ages, http://motheofgod.com/threads/the-great-monarch-and-the-holy-pope.10836/page-6 On the GM/HP thread, the last bullet of the Yellow Lion states, --conversion of pagans and here the last bullet reads, --conversion of large numbers of pagans and Jews This is a big difference in trying to determine which of Saint Hildegard's ages we are in. IMO, since a large number of Jews have not converted I think we could not be past the age of the Yellow Lion. I don't believe that I took a guess about which of Saint Hildegard's ages that we are on the public forum but I was commenting on Jarg's post and stated if, etc. I was leaning towards the Pale Horse but with this slight change in specifications of the Yellow Lion, I find it more difficult to state an opinion on this. Yesterday, I ordered a used copy of Matthew Fox's book for $6, my fear is that I will not be able to interpret anything, lol.
Don't fear Carol! Pray to the Third Person of the Most Blessed Trinity, the Holy Spirit, to guide your understanding as you read. Be open to the spirit. Yes, that was an important detail that I originally omitted and thought that I should mention because I think it helps to significantly sway it. The conversion of a large number of Jews, according to St. Hildegard, will take place during her Age of the Lion - see: Liber Vision 10: 17 "...In the meantime occurs the Age of the Lion, which has been described in Scivias: terrible and cruel wars that cause the death of countless men and women and raze many cities to the ground... Then so many new and unknown arrangements with respect to order and peace will occur that people will be amazed and talk about them. For such things have not in the past been heard of or known. And because peace before the Day of Judgement to these Christians may be given, just as indeed peace came before the first advent of the Son of God...they will seek all justice in the Catholic Faith from the Omnipotent God, rejoicing with the Jews who formerly denied Christ. That peace which preceded the advent of Christ, in these days will be fully perfected because strong men will arise then in great prophecy so that all the buds of justice in the sons and daughters of men will flourish... The Princes and everyone else will put God's decrees into proper practice. They will forbid all weapons used to kill people and only tolerate such iron tools as are needed in farming and for the benefit of humanity. Those who disobey this command will be killed with their own weapons or cast away in some remote place..." As is obvious to all, the vast majority of Jews have not embraced Faith in Christ to this day. And secondly, world leaders have never, to this day, completely proscribed all weapons of war. These events, according to St. Hildegard, take place during the great period of peace nearer the end of the Age of the Lion. As such, we must therefore be in the earlier phase of the Age of the Lion. St. Hildegard predicted that the peace during the "age of the Lion" would be preceded by terrible wars resulting from the emergence of a new class of heretics during the earlier "age of the Fiery Hound/Dog" who encouraged secular princes to secularize/confiscate ecclesiastical property, dissolve the monasteries and reject the sacral authority of the priesthood in favour of lay rule. The majority of commentators have understood this prophecy to have possibly been an anticipation of the sixteenth century Protestant Reformation, centuries before it took place and correct as to its main particulars as a movement. As such, the Age of the Lion would likely begin with the Thirty Years War during the sixteenth century, which culminated in the Treaty of Westphalia. I would argue that we presently remain in the last days of this "Westphalian era" typified by war between national kingdoms. The Westphalian era was a direct outgrowth of the Protestant Revolt. And the implication is that we have another portion of this Age to go followed by another Three Ages, which fits Pope St. John Paul II's statement in that encyclical I mentioned: "in the next century and in the centuries to come, until the end of time". There are, at least, centuries still to come yet.
Vouthon, The reason I immediately noticed this change is because I have the impression that a miracle (or some momentous event) will be required to convert the Jews and a miracle is specified in the Pale Horse age. I have this impression from reading prophecies but also from something I remember reading Saint Benedict stated, that we are not supposed to evangelize the Jews... I think it is possible that Israel received several miracles during the 6-day war but, of course, these miracles did not point to Christ so there was no conversion. I do not know if you believe in the Warning/Illumination of Conscience but this event is supposed to reveal a cross in the sky to all mankind and I think this is what will convert the Jews. I also believe that it will happen at the end of the Gog/Magog war (Ezekiel 38/39). If you read this scripture it appears to include a conversion of the Jews, they will eat flesh and drink blood but yet Gog and his hordes are buried. I came to this conclusion, about the placing of the Warning after the Gog/Magog War and then I read a prophecy from Saint Paisios which seemed to confirm it. So if I was to venture a guess, the Illumination of Conscience will occur in the Yellow Lion age which is the cause of the conversion of the Jews. Thank you again.
Do you know of any prophecies where this "illumination of conscience" is explicitly spoken about? St. Hildegard does not mention the event which leads to the conversion of Jews during the Age of the Lion, unfortunately. But she does refer to it pointedly as "the illumination of the Jews", noting: "...The Old Testament and its offspring will wither away like the winter which has hidden within it all the green freshness of life when the New Testament, which is like the summer, causes every kind of seed and bud to reach maturity...In these days [during the peace of the Age of the Lion] a true summer will reign through God's power because everyone will be steadfast in the truth...When the light of true faith illuminates the hearts of the Jews, my Son will be glorified by them: For they will believe that he has arisen from me, and they will acknowledge in hymns of praise that he has returned to me in splendour..."
The best out there, a book written by a Passionist priest who was a saint. If anyone really wants to understand here is the book, free to read online http://www.101foundation.com/laf/publications/tw/explanation.html
Vouthon, In addition, to what Padraig posted there is also this quote from Saint Faustina, "Before I come as the just judge, I am coming first as the King of Mercy. Before the day of justice arrives, there will be given to people a sign in the heavens of this sort: All light in the heavens will be extinguished, and there will be a great darkness over the whole earth. Then the sign of the cross will be seen in the sky, and from the openings where the hands and the feet of the Savior were nailed will come forth great lights which will light up the earth for a period of time. This will take place shortly before the last day." I am not expert on this topic but I have read much about this on the forum. I have also read some books on Garabandal which are available on the internet for free. I find it very interesting that Saint Hildegard states, "...When the light of true faith illuminates the hearts of the Jews, my Son will be glorified by them..." I have two questions that I should have thought of sooner, did Saint Hildegard receive all of her visions from God directly? It appears that the above is directly from God. The second question is, did she hear a voice speaking to her, in addition to the visions she saw? Thank you.
Padraig, Thank you for posting this. I have not read this yet but I will probably do so today. I skimmed through it yesterday and I think that there is no mention of the quote that I posted from Saint Faustina. It is of no consequence but I wonder why, unless I missed it.
Padraig, Thank you, I didn't think of that. I also think that there was some controversy over her visions at first.
She became known and accepted at about the same time as Pope St John ascended the Papacy. He was a fan and cleared the way for her coming from the same city, Krakow were she one time lived he knew all about her.
Father Gobbi, Marian Movement of Priests locutions, in his blue book sopke a great deal on the illuminatation of conscience.
I'm also interested in the answers to Carol's two questions. Here's a link to the page about St. Hildegard on the New Advent Catholic Encyclopaedia website http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07351a.htm Reading that, it seems that she had had visions from childhood, told her superiors but nothing came of it until she was in her forties. I also read this on her New Advent page: "Some would impugn the genuineness of her writings, among others Preger in his "Gesch. der deutchen Mystik", 1874, but without sufficient reason. (See Hauck in "Kirchengesch. Deutschl.", IV,398 sqq.). Her correspondence is to be read with caution; three letters from popes have been proved spurious by Von Winterfeld in "Neue Archiv", XXVII, 297. " In the Foreword to the Book of Divine Works, she says "A voice from heaven resounded, saying to me: "O wretched creature and daughter of much toil, even though you have been thoroughly seared, so to speak, by countless grave sufferings of the body, the depth and mysteries of God has completely permeated you. Transmit for the bernefit of humanity and accurate account of what you see with your inner eye and what you hear with the inner ear of your soul. As a result, human beings should learn how to know their Creator and should no longer refuse to adore God worthily and reverently. Therefore, write this down - not as your heart is inclined but rather as my testimony wishes. For I am without any beginning or end of life. This vision has not been contrived by you, nor has it been conceived by any other human being. Instead, I have established all of it from before the beginning of the world and just as I knew the human species even before its creation, I also saw in advance everything that humanity would need." The above suggests that the voice she was hearing was God's voice and the visions she had were given her by God but they were all revealed to her internally and not via an apparition like the apparitions of Our Lady at Fatima and Lourdes.
