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God hugs you. You are encircled by the arms of the mystery of God.

Hildegard of Bingen

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God Hugs You

Topic: Love, Compassion, & Kindness

God hugs you. You are encircled by the arms of the mystery of God.

Hildegard of Bingen

Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179) was a Benedictine abbess and mystic of medieval Germany. She was born into a noble family in Bermersheim vor der Höhe, Germany, and entered religious life at the age of eight. She received a rudimentary education, but at the age of forty-two, she began to experience a series of visions that would shape her life and work.

Hildegard described these visions as "the living light," and they were often accompanied by physical sensations such as heat, cold, and pain. She believed that these visions were a gift from God, and she felt called to share them with the world. She began to write down her visions, and she also composed music and poetry to express her spiritual insights.

Hildegard was a prolific writer, and her works cover a wide range of topics, including theology, natural science, medicine, and music. She is best known for her three volumes of visionary theology: Scivias, Liber Vitae Meritorum, and Liber Divinorum Operum. These works are rich in symbolism and imagery, and they offer a unique perspective on the nature of God, the human soul, and the world.

In addition to her writings, Hildegard was also a gifted musician and composer. She wrote over 70 songs, including the Ordo Virtutum, an early example of liturgical drama. Her music is characterized by its simple melodies and its use of plainchant.

Hildegard was a complex and multifaceted figure, and her work continues to inspire and challenge people today. She was a visionary, a mystic, a writer, a composer, a scientist, and a healer. She was also a woman of great courage and determination, and she used her gifts to make a difference in the world.

Hildegard of Bingen was a remarkable woman who left a lasting legacy. She was a pioneer in the fields of theology, natural science, and music, and her work continues to be studied and appreciated today. She was also a powerful voice for women's rights, and she challenged the patriarchal structures of her time. Hildegard of Bingen was a true visionary, and she continues to inspire us with her courage, her intellect, and her creativity.

(1098-1179) Christianity
Book of Divine Works

Hildegard of Bingen. Book of Divine Works, translated by Matthew Fox, Bear & Company, 2001, p. 185.

Hildegard of Bingen


Theme: Love

About This Hildegard of Bingen Quotation [Commentary]

In The Book of Divine Works, Hildegard of Bingen shares a vision in which a voice from a great cloud of light says, “God hugs you. You are encircled by the arms of the mystery of God.” This is not symbolic language but a direct expression of God’s nearness. The words “God hugs you” speak plainly of divine closeness—an embrace that is both immediate and sustaining. To be “encircled by the arms” is to be fully held, not in part or in passing, but with complete attention. Hildegard’s vision invites the listener into a relationship where divine care is not conditional or distant, but real and all-encompassing.

The phrase “the arms of the mystery of God” deepens this image. It acknowledges that God remains beyond full understanding while still choosing to be close. The mystery does not separate—it encircles. This is not a contradiction but a central insight in Hildegard’s theology: that the unknown presence of God is also the most intimate. Rather than explaining away the mystery, she places the human soul within it, already embraced. “God hugs you,” and this embrace comes not after understanding, but before it—as the ground of being and the center of spiritual life.

Hildegard’s vision does not appeal to fear or distance, but to belonging. Her words reflect a deep awareness of God as the divine Mother of Creation—nurturing, protective, and near. “God hugs you” is more than reassurance; it is an image of the Creator who holds the world in maternal arms. In describing us as “encircled by the arms of the mystery of God,” Hildegard portrays divine love not as abstract or distant, but as embodied care. This is a love that embraces without condition, that surrounds the soul like a mother holding her child. Through this vision, she invites the listener to trust in a love that is at once vast and deeply personal.

Hildegard of Bingen’s Vision About the Divine Feminine

“I heard a voice speaking to me: ‘The young woman whom you see is Love. She has her tent in eternity… It was love which was the source of this creation in the beginning when God said: ‘Let it be!’ And it was. As though in the blinking of an eye, the whole creation was formed through love. The young woman is radiant in such a clear, lightning-like brilliance of countenance that you can’t fully look at her… She holds the sun and moon in her right hand and embraces them tenderly… The whole of creation calls this maiden ‘Lady.’ For it was from her that all of creation proceeded, since Love was the first. She made everything… Love was in eternity and brought forth, in the beginning of all holiness, all creatures without any admixture of evil. Adam and Eve, as well were produced by love from the pure nature of the Earth.”

—Adapted from Matthew Fox, Hildegard of Bingen: A Saint For Our Times, pp. xiii, xiv, xvi.

Resources

  • Healthy Hildegard website
  • Wikipedia, Hildegard of Bingen
  • Hildegard of Bingen's Vision of the Divine Feminine, Matthew Fox 5/15/19
  • Hildegard of Bingen's Vision of the Divine Feminine, Matthew Fox

Related Quotes

  • God Hugs You - Hildegard of Bingen, Book of Divine Works
  • Awakens Your Love - Saint Teresa of Avila, The Interior Castle
  • Love Alone - Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, The Phenomenon of Man
  • God Is Love - Apostle John, The Gospel of John
  • The Lord’s Prayer - Jesus of Nazareth, The Gospel of Matthew
  • The Human Form - Hildegard of Bingen, Scivias
  • A Point of Pure Truth - Thomas Merton, Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander
  • The Love That Will Not Die - Pema Chödrön, When Things Fall Apart
  • Only By Love - Wendell Berry, The Art of the Commonplace: The Agrarian Essays

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