We have been blessed with a well stocked theological library in the lower level of our church building, including a growing number of books related to Hildegard.

Hildegard was brilliant but she claimed her knowledge came not from learning but from her encounters with the Living Light. She often referred to herself as unlearned and simple. Modern scholarship has determined that while she may not have had access to the same type of education as a male Benedictine monk, she was tutored and likely had access to the monastery library. She seemed to have been familiar with a variety of earlier works, including the writings of the early Church Fathers, though she never directly quotes or cites them.

While she made use of scribes, particularly Volmar, Hildegard was a prolific writer and she respected the value of education. In a letter she wrote to a teacher near the end of her life, she praised the teacher in the following way:

“Thus, O teacher, many of those who have earnestly heard the words of your instruction have been strengthened and fortified in good by the grace of God. And so do not cease to do this in pure love, which is like the sapphire-colored cloud and which cannot be overshadowed by unstable and unwholesome morals. In the performance of this task, climb up ‘the mountain of myrrh’ and, there, gather the wholesome herbs of the virtues so that those who have been steeped in the streams of your knowledge may be edified by the example of the holy virtues and your good works, which you do by the grace of God” (78).

Our Hildegard Haus library came to us originally from one donor, Rev. Dagmar Celeste. We named it the “celestial library” in honor of the donor but also because it is a spiritual library. Its shelves are filled with books guiding the seeker in her or his heavenly quest.

This collection of books came from Rev. Dagmar’s retreat house on Kelly’s Island, Ohio. She was looking for a place to move her library and the Hildegard Haus happily accepted the gift.

In addition to making the trip to the island to move the books, it took almost a year to reshelve them and log them into a catalogue system. Over the years, collections have been gifted to our library from other clergy. As donations of books continue to be received from additional sources, the work of keeping the library up to date is ongoing.