At approximately the same time the Opening Mass for the Synod on the New Evangelisation was being celebrated in St. Peter's in Rome and the doctorates on Hildegard and John of Avila were being promulgated.

Apart from being only the 4^th woman in the history of the church to receive this honour Hildegard was an extraordinary woman. Her life spanned much of the 12^th century being born in Germany in 1098 and dying in 1179. She wrote extensively, composed music which subverted the principles of liturgical music of the time, was a philosopher, ecologist, mystic, Benedictine abbess and visionary.

She wrote theological, botanical and medicinal texts, as well as letters to people such as Bernard of Clairvaux, founder of the reformist Cistercian monastic order. He sent the text of some of her work to Pope Eugenius 111 who endorsed her works and visions, giving her approval to document her visions as revelations from the Holy Spirit.

Her world at that time was in some ways not unlike our own time. There was an atmosphere of fear. New ideas were condemned as heresy. What helped Hildegard navigate through this minefield?

She was a prophet in that she lived immediately before Francis of Assisi, Dominic, Thomas Aquinas and the great Mechtilde of Magdeburg. Perhaps it is providential that she has remained hidden until now so that her impact on our time may be more beneficial, in releasing the spring of new discoveries into exploring God in the Gospel as revealed by Jesus, the Word.

Amazingly at sixty she did the unthinkable for her time. She travelled to cathedrals, churches, abbeys and monasteries preaching. This was at a time when only men preached and women were safely enclosed within monastic walls. What an inspiration for us today!

A Doctor of the Church who can speak the Word of God to all who listen. Catherine Hannan.

• Sister Catherine Hannan is a Home of Compassion sister.

Saturday's DomPost Your Weekend section ran an article "$2.25 Buys a big Lesson" where Ruth Nichol recalls her family being part of last year's "Live Below the Line" challenge. When she shopped for the minuscule amounts she could afford she was humbled to see other shoppers doing the same. But they weren't economising for just a few days. They shopped like this all the time. She was struck by how privileged her life is.

Many years ago with a couple of other Sisters I ran a Mission in the west of New South Wales with the local Aboriginal people. We ran a medical clinic, pre-school and junior school on a pittance and aimed to live as closely as possible to the people around us.

But I learnt that despite all our intentions we could never truly live their lives. We had the education and the networks, which enabled us to escape. We never faced the despair and sense of helplessness that seemingly never-ending poverty can bring.

Probably the big thing "Live Below the Line" achieves is that it raises the awareness of the general population of how others are struggling to survive.

And these are not only the 1.4 billion people in developing countries but also thousands of low-income New Zealanders.

Perhaps with celebrities raising the consciousness of many of us it may prevent the snide remarks of some prominent businessmen when the organisation "The Living Wage" was launched last week. Perhaps some celebrities may even lend their fame to help New Zealanders who are finding it so difficult to raise their families despite their hard work. Perhaps they may join "The Living Wage."

Source

• Sr. Catherine Hannan