I “met” Alice von Hildebrand in 2022. On January 14 of that year, she passed into eternal life, and the news of this event struck me, although I was not sure why. Her name was vaguely familiar to me; the prior semester in my college studies I had already discovered the work of her husband, the great Catholic philosopher Dietrich von Hildebrand. Of Alice, I had only received a glimpse, although I knew that she, too, was a philosopher and a renowned voice for femininity.
That summer, I picked up “The Privilege of Being a Woman” for the first time. The pages of my copy soon bore ubiquitous underlines and little hearts penciled in the page margins, and I wanted to know more about the compelling persona behind the philosophy. Who really was Alice von Hildebrand? What formed her mind and soul? In particular, where could I discover more about the great love story between her and Dietrich von Hildebrand?
I found the answers to my burning questions when I read “Remnant of Paradise”, a collection of essays by Alice von Hildebrand with remembrances by her friends. Published by the Hildebrand Project soon after she entered eternity, this little book carries a quiet simplicity yet contains a symphony inside.
Wisdom, witness, authentic womanhood
“Few missions are as noble as the one of seeking truth and of spreading it when it is found.”
“Remnant of Paradise” reveals a woman who witnessed to the truth and sowed its seeds wherever her words reached. It contains 16 short essays by Alice von Hildebrand that magnificently showcase the originality and sparkle of her thought. Themes that recur in her works are echoed in many of them: Our Lady, the gift of womanhood, procreation, and the momentous nature of love. She unpacks a range of topics in the other selections, from sacramentals to telling the truth to old age. Yet, in every single one, von Hildebrand writes with unparalleled wisdom, pithy directness, and a twinkle of wit, all imbued with the utmost gentle grace. Each piece is a genuine window into her soul.
We also reencounter two familiar Catholic personages through Alice von Hildebrand’s eyes: Mother Angelica and Pope St. John Paul II. Significantly enough, here she writes about souls kindred to her own: Alice von Hildebrand was a Mother-Angelica-type in her own way, in the contemporary landscape of Catholic philosophy, and she exemplified the same luminous presence and clarity of soul as the great pontiff.
The woman who was received in papal audiences as “Mrs. Dietrich von Hildebrand” is also revealed as such in “Remnant of Paradise.” Here was my long-sought deeper glimpse into the love between these two souls of exemplary holiness! The book is sprinkled with hints of what made their marriage great, as Alice von Hildebrand refers to her husband’s work with a discernible sparkle in her words and touches on the central pillars of their relationship. They were committed to all that made culture and art genuinely great, sharing the same spiritual and moral values as well as a close circle of friends. “We shared everything important,” she concludes in an interview. Together, they waged a fierce battle against moral relativism and proved a veritable philosophical power couple.
“Remnant of Paradise” also points to Alice von Hildebrand’s compelling influence in the classroom. She taught at Hunter College in the City University of New York for 37 years, confronting brutal challenges in secular academia there. Yet despite resistance from many of her students, some were authentically impacted by her unmistakable intrepidity for the truth. As Father Gerald Murray shared in the homily for her funeral Mass (also included in the book):
“Lily’s love for the truth was a fruit of her love for Christ, who is the Truth. She did not speak about Catholicism in the classroom at Hunter, a secular school. … But her students who heard about the existence of objective truth in her classes were free to ask themselves questions about the origin of truth. And that led a good number of them to seek answers beyond philosophy.”
A brief chapter, “Classroom Conversion,” shares one such episode of God’s redemptive Providence at work through her example and teaching.
Wisdom, witness, and authentic womanhood are three foremost marks of Alice von Hildebrand’s life and thought, realities she illuminated through her writing and personal example.
To peer into paradise
“Friendship is the remnant of paradise … the beauty of true friendship — even if it is a rare jewel — shines all the more brightly because it may be the exception.”
One of Alice von Hildebrand’s essays begins with this stunning insight, the inspiration for the book’s title. The many personal remembrances from her peers in the second half of the book bespeak her as a true friend, indeed a magnificent rare jewel, such that her life and legacy disclose a remnant of paradise.
All to whom she was dear knew her as “Lily,” a nickname testifying to her luminous nobility of heart. Among her close friends are many of the eminent intellectuals and Catholic leaders of our time. The light anecdotes and deeper insights in their personal remembrances made Alice von Hildebrand more vividly present to me, such that I could laugh and be moved to tears with those who knew her best, and I came away with the impression that their cherished memories were somehow mine, too. In their brief lines and longer tributes alike, Alice von Hildebrand’s friends repeatedly attest to her grace, humor, “spiritual wakefulness,” joy, and overall greatness of soul.
“Remnant of Paradise” illuminates the life of a woman who magnificently united word and wisdom within her. Alice von Hildebrand did not merely comment on the pernicious ideologies of the secular landscape via her pen but also confronted it head-on as a professor. Her professional and personal life each fully aligned, with the indwelling of God in her soul as the true key to her peace and presence. She was a woman with faults and fears like us, but who strove for transformation in Christ and to lead a recollected life in the light of eternity.
There are no better words in closing than those of one personal remembrance from the book: “May Lily von Hildebrand’s legacy grow, and may it continue to point people toward Heaven!”
More about Alice von Hildebrand
Want to dive deeper into the writings of Alice von Hildebrand? Check out:
“The Privilege of Being a Woman” and “Man and Woman: A Divine Invention” are undoubtedly her most decisive and popular works, particularly in response to feminism.
“By Love Refined: Letters to a Young Bride” offers a profound set of correspondences that come from Alice’s very soul; it is perfect for engaged and newlywed women but is also universally valuable.
“The Art of Living”, a work she co-authored with her husband.
You also can hear her voice on weekly episodes of Lily: The Voice of Alice von Hildebrand, a podcast released by the Hildebrand Project. For a full list of the works authored by Dietrich and Alice von Hildebrand, visit Hildebrand Press!