11/16 St. Gertrude the Great

[Denise]

SAINT GERTRUDE THE GREAT
Feast day - November 16

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.

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.

olrl.org