Today is the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which celebrates the belief that Mary was preserved from original sin from birth, making her a uniquely pure vessel to bear Jesus.
The medieval mystic and composer St. Hildegard of Bingen captured the ecstasy of Mary’s response to God's invitation to bear his Son in her beautiful chant, “O virga mediatrix” (12th c.):
The medieval mystic and composer St. Hildegard of Bingen captured the ecstasy of Mary’s response to God's invitation to bear his Son in her beautiful chant, “O virga mediatrix” (12th c.):
Alleluia!
O virga mediatrix,
sancta viscera tua
mortem superaverunt
et venter tuus omnes creaturas illuminavit
in pulchro flore de suavissima integritate
clausi pudoris tui orto.
O virga mediatrix,
sancta viscera tua
mortem superaverunt
et venter tuus omnes creaturas illuminavit
in pulchro flore de suavissima integritate
clausi pudoris tui orto.
Alleluia!
O branch and mediatrix,
your sacred flesh
has conquered death,
your womb all creatures illumined
in beauty’s bloom from that exquisite purity
of your enclosed modesty sprung forth.
O branch and mediatrix,
your sacred flesh
has conquered death,
your womb all creatures illumined
in beauty’s bloom from that exquisite purity
of your enclosed modesty sprung forth.
To hear St. Hildegard of Bingen’s spectacular “O Virgo mediatrix,” presented by Laurie Monahan and Barbara Thornton, click on the video below:
Happy Feast of the Annunciation!
Image source: Ukranian artist Ivanka Demchuk, Annunciation, https://stories.spu.edu/articles/from-the-reader-3
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