Saint Gertrude the Great - Feast Day November 16th

Taken from the booklet "SAINT GERTRUDE THE GREAT - HERALD OF DIVINE LOVE"

One thing is particularly remarkable in the life of St. Gertrude, the like of which cannot be found in the life of any other saint; it is the extraordinary promises made to her by our Savior in favor of those who venerate her.

TESTIMONIES OF GERTRUDE'S SUBLIME SANCTITY

Even during St. Gertrude's lifetime, Our Lord revealed her sublime sanctity to many holy souls. Once He addressed these words to a person bound to the saint by the bonds of a holy friendship:
"She for whom thou prayest is My dove who has no guile in her, for she rejects from her heart, as gall, all the guile and bitterness of sin.

"She is My chosen lily which I love to bear in My hands, for it is My delight and My pleasure to repose in the purity and innocence of this chaste soul.

"She is My rose whose fragrance is full of sweetness, because of her patience in every adversity and the thanksgiving which she continually offers Me, which ascend before Me as sweetest perfume.

"She is that spring flower which never fades; and I take pleasure in gazing upon her, because she keeps and maintains continually in her breast an ardent desire, not only for all virtues, but for the utmost perfection of every virtue.

"She is a sweet melody which ravishes the ears of the blessed, and this melody is composed of all the sufferings she endures with so much constancy."

To another person our Divine Savior thus praised the favorite of His Heart: "I have borne her (Gertrude) in My arms from her infancy. I have preserved her in her baptismal purity and innocence, and she, by her own free choice and will, has given herself to Me entirely and forever. As a recompense for the perfection of her desires, I, in return, have given Myself entirely to her. So pleasing is this soul to Me that when I am offended by men I often enter her heart to repose, and I make her endure some pain of body or of mind, which I inflict on her for the sins of others.
She accepts this suffering with the same thanksgiving, humility and patience as she receives all that comes from Me, and offers it to Me in union with My sufferings.
Thereby she appeases My anger and obliges My mercy to pardon, for her sake, an immense number of sinners."

Jesus showed to another soul a precious stone, the beauty of which cannot be described. "This jewel," said Our Lord, "I always wear as a pledge of My affection for My spouse. By its brightness the whole celestial court knows that there is no creature on earth so dear to Me as Gertrude, because there is no one at this present time amongst mankind who is so closely united to Me by purity of intention and uprightness of will. There is no soul still bound by the chains of flesh and blood whom I am so disposed to enrich with My graces and favors. There is no soul who refers to My glory alone the gifts received from Me, with such sincerity and fidelity as Gertrude. . . You can find Me in no place where I delight more, or which is more suitable for Me, than in the Sacrament of the Altar, and after that, in the heart and soul of Gertrude, My beloved."

Jesus Himself condescended to reveal to St. Mechtilde: "I have united My Heart so closely to Gertrude's soul by the ties of My mercy, that she has become one spirit with Me."

A similar revelation was made about the same time to another saintly person. Our Savior said that Gertrude would become still more perfect and would attain to so intimate a union with God that her eyes would see, and her lips would speak only what God willed, and all her other senses would be equally submissive to Him.

"Saint Gertrude the Great - Herald of Divine Love" booklet is available from www.tanbooks.com.

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St. Gertrude's life was the mystic life of the Cloister -- a Benedictine nun. She meditated on the Passion of Christ, which many times brought a flood of tears to her eyes. She did many penances and Our Lord appeared to her many times. She had a tender love for the Blessed Virgin and was very devoted to the suffering souls in Purgatory.
She died in 1334.

PRAYER OF ST. GERTRUDE THE GREAT

"Eternal Father, I offer Thee the most Precious Blood of Jesus, with all the Masses being said all over the world this day, for the Souls in Purgatory."

Our Lord showed St. Gertrude a vast number of souls leaving Purgatory and going to Heaven as a result of this prayer, which the Saint was accustomed to say frequently during the day.

Taken from the "Prayer of St. Gertrude the Great" prayer card.

This card reflects the prayer and revelations of Our Lord to St. Gertrude as given in Fr. O'Sullivan's booklet "Read Me or Rue It" which has the approval of D. Manuel Goncalves Cerejeira, Cardinal Patriarch of Lisbon, Portugal (1929 - 1971) -- March 4, 1936.