MECHTILDE (MECHTILD) OF HACKEBORN. - Cistercian mystic, b. in the ancestral castle of Helfta (Saxony) ca. 1241, d. in the monastery of Helfta on 19 Nov. 1299. Taken, at the age of 7, to visit her elder sister Gertrude in the monastery of Rodersdorf, she wished to remain there, and several years later, Gertrude, having been elected abbess, brought her with her to the new monastery of Helfta, given to her by her two brothers Louis and Albert. There M. was of valuable help to her sister, who entrusted to her the direction of the school and of the sacred chant (domna cantrix). In 1261 she had among her pupils the future St. Gertrude the Great. Her wondrous virtues, which she wished to center in the praise and love of God, with an heroic constancy despite the piercings of continual physical sufferings, merited for her to ascend to the highest peaks of mysticism.

At the age of 50 she learned that some of her pupils had assiduously noted down everything that they had learned from her concerning the favors and teachings received in contemplation. Troubled at first, she was soon reassured by the Savior who, calling her "his nightingale," told her that everything had happened by his will and inspiration, and that many graces would be bestowed on all who read those pages. M. then asked for the manuscript and set about correcting it. Eight years later M. died offering "her heart to the Savior and plunging it into his."

The work of M. bears the title Liber specialis Gratiae and contains in its five books, besides the description of the visions and graces obtained in contemplation, also the colloquies with the Savior, considerations stimulating to his love and to the most trustful dedication to him, and a glance at the future life; a sixth book, added, describes the virtues and the death of M. and of her sister Gertrude. Many passages of the work speak of the love and the graces of the Heart of Jesus in so intimate and vivid a manner and are accompanied by prayers and practices of devotion to the Sacred Heart so penetrating and trustful, that they served greatly, from the 14th century to the present, to spread and deepen devotion to the Sacred Heart. M. can therefore be considered a true forerunner of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque. M. of H. was never canonized; but her feast (16 Feb. or 19 Nov.) is celebrated in several Benedictine monasteries.

Bibliography6 works

BIBL.: Revelationes Gertrudianae et Mechtildianae, edited by the Benedictines of Solesmes, II, Paris 1877, pp. 1-121. Studies: J. W. Preger, Gesch. der deutsch. Mystik im Mittelalter, I, Leipzig 1874, p. 112 ff.; E. Michael, Gesch. des deutsch. Volkes, III, Freiburg im Br. 1903, pp. 176-81; C. Richstaetter, Herz-Jesu-Verehrung des deutsch. Mittelalter, 2nd ed., Paderborn 1924, pp. 82-87, 301-10; O. Karrer, Die grosse Glut, Freiburg im Br. 1926, pp. 203-16; A. Hamon, Hist. de la dévotion au S. Coeur, II, Paris 1935, pp. 125-51. On the question whether the Matelda of Dante is M. of H. or Matilda of Magdeburg, cf. A. Lubin, La Matelda di Dante, Graz 1860; J. W. Preger, Dantes Matelda, Munich 1873.

Celestino Testore

@incollection{ec8_matilde_mechtild_di_hackeborn, author = {Testore, Celestino}, title = {Matilde (Mechtild) di Hackeborn}, booktitle = {Enciclopedia Cattolica}, volume = {VIII}, pages = {400--401}, note = {Cited by column}, publisher = {Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico}, address = {Città del Vaticano}, year = {1952}, url = {https://azioneromana.com/article/matilde-mechtild-di-hackeborn} }

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Mechtilde (Mechtild) of Hackeborn

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