St. Gertrude the Great

Herald of Divine Love

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• Publisher: TAN Books
• Year: 1994
• eBook ISBN: 9781618904690
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Christian Denominations

A brief life of this 12th century German Benedictine nun, the only female saint titled "The Great." Discusses her method of prayer, some sample prayers, and covers some of her revelations. Shows the depth and sublimity of Our Lord's love for souls who give themselves completely to Him. Contains many actual words of Our Lord from His conversations with Gertrude. Beautiful and inspiring to see how much Jesus loves us and wants to be loved! Here is a soul that never denied Him anything, who kept her baptismal innocence, and so was extremely pleasing to her Divine Spouse.

St. Gertrude the Great

A Wonderful Saint

ST. Gertrude is one of the greatest and most wonderful saints in the Church of God. Holy Church has distinguished her from all others of her sex by adding to her name the honorable title, “the Great.” Saint Gertrude is the diadem, the queen-flower of the Benedictine Order, the most beautiful lily among the holy virgins who flourished during the glorious middle ages. For hundreds and thousands of pious Christians, St. Gertrude has become a guide in the spiritual life, a teacher of the most intimate spirit of prayer and familiar intercourse with God. Who can enumerate the hosts of elect souls that have obtained union with God through the pious reading and consideration of her writings? Countless numbers of the blessed jubilantly praise and extol this privileged, favored virgin in whom Our Lord takes His special delight.

St. Gertrude was the herald of devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus—that sacred cult which has become so dear and which has proved a fountain of consolation and graces to millions of Christians. Our Divine Savior repeatedly disclosed to her His Divine Heart, the furnace of love, as though for her sake He could not await the time decreed by His eternal wisdom for the revelations of his Heart. Devotion to the Sacred Heart was the special characteristic of St. Gertrude’s piety. The mystery of mercy and love contained in that Divine Heart had been revealed to her by the Son of God Himself four centuries before it became an object of special devotion to the Church at large. St. Mechtilde, a contemporary of St. Gertrude, and also a Benedictine, shared with St. Gertrude this glorious privilege. Thus the Heart of Jesus had long been an object of adoration and love to the sons and daughters of St. Benedict when, in the 17th century, it pleased God to procure for It, through St. Margaret Mary, that more solemn worship with which It is now surrounded.

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.

Gertrude in the Sacred Convent-Garden

In the year 1261, Gertrude, then a mere child of five years, entered the cloistered convent of Helfta, in Germany. This convent had been founded but a few years previously. The community was composed of angelic religious, who with unsullied hearts and childlike faith conversed with Jesus in the most intimate love. An old cloister chronicle relates:

“From the foundation of this religious community, its members led an uninterrupted angelic life for almost ninety years. The Lord Jesus was so familiar with persons of this convent that they conversed with Him as with their dearest Lord and Bridegroom, as a friend speaks to a friend. Also the entire heavenly host had a particular joy and exultation in this blessed community of religious.”

Yes, the secluded community at Helfta was Our Lord’s holy family. Entirely separated and detached from the world, those pious virgins surrendered themselves, soul and body to their Divine Master, whom in holy love and innocence they had chosen as their Spouse from their tenderest years. They knew that He was really and truly present in their little church in the Blessed Sacrament, just as He is in heaven. From this faith sprang their love for the Divine Office. With burning love their hymns of praise resounded day and night.

How those noble virgins loved silence and recollection! The sweet voice of their Beloved attracted them to loving meditations and affectionate intimacy. As industrious bees draw honey from flowers, so those angelic souls flew to the great, beautiful Eucharistic Flower, immersed their whole being into the depths of Its infinite love, and extracted from It the honey of celestial joy. Words failed them to express the sweetness and kindness of their Lord, the inexpressible delights of His Heart! If holy obedience hindered them from visiting their Beloved, the Lord sought them instead. Everywhere the Heavenly Bridegroom found His chosen souls and held tender converse with the loved ones of His Heart. In them was fulfilled our Savior’s promise: “If any one love Me . . . My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him” (John 14:23).

In this sacred convent-garden, Gertrude flourished as a resplendent white lily. “I delight so much in her,” said Jesus, “that I have chosen her as My abode. All that others see and love in her is My work; and whoever loves My work in her, loves Me. I have decreed that she stand alone, without friends or relatives, that none may love her from ties of relationship, but that I Myself may be the sole cause of her being loved and esteemed.”

The Wonderful and Privileged Life of St. Gertrude

Truly, this little convent-maid, whose birthplace, parentage and ancestry have remained shrouded in obscurity, became, in the bloom of her youth, the loving confidante of the Divine Master. Gertrude had won not only the Heart of God, but the wonderful charms and innocence of her refined disposition soon made her a favorite also among the pious sisterhood.

“She was,” states a religious of that community, “wise and prudent of mind, far beyond her age; clever and full of gentle grace. In school she quickly out-stripped her companions. It was marvelous to see how easily she mastered the sciences. Despite Gertrude’s cheerful, open disposition, however, she did not care to take part in play. She preferred, if permitted, to withdraw into the dark, silent church, and there, by the glimmer of the perpetual light, to converse with the heavenly Playmate of her pure childish soul. It was thus Gertrude grew from childhood to womanhood, full of loving innocence.”

When Gertrude had reached the proper age, she answered the call of heaven which beckoned her to the venerable Order of St. Benedict. Like the great Patriarch, she, too, was to be filled with the spirit of all the just. Worldly science and heavenly knowledge were freely imparted to her. The Lord crowned her with the diadem of His richest and most precious graces, but upon her heart He impressed, as the sacred liturgy so significantly expresses it, the seal of His Divinity.

Gertrude had now reached her twenty-fifth year. Her piety and her many eminent qualities of mind and heart combined to make her the ornament and the treasure of the monastery of Helfta. On the 27th of January, 1281, she was favored for the first time with a vision of her ardently-loved Bridegroom. In her own charming words we give the account of this great event of her life: —

“Since the preceding Advent my heart had been filled with an indescribable longing and unrest, whose salutary effects were to give me a disgust for the frivolities and levity of youth. This was the first step of Thy love in preparing my heart for Thyself . . . I was in the dormitory, just at the beautiful hour of evening twilight. According to the rule, I inclined toward an aged Sister in token of respect. Raising my head, whom should I behold but Thyself, O my Beloved, my Redeemer, the most beautiful among the children of men! Thou didst appear as a most charming youth, who in a friendly and pleasant manner didst approach me.

“Standing before me, Thou didst say in accents of indescribable sweetness: ‘Thy salvation is at hand! Why art thou consumed by grief?’ Then I felt myself transported to the choir and heard these wonderful words: ‘I will save thee and deliver thee; fear not. Thou hast sucked honey amidst thorns, but return now to Me—I will inebriate thee with the torrent of My celestial delights.’

“Thou didst open Thy arms invitingly. I endeavored to approach—but, lo! a great hedge of sharp thorny bushes barred the way. Dismayed, I stood there, bewailing my sins and defects. In a moment, Thou, O Lord, didst extend Thy hand to me, and immediately I was beside Thee and reposed on Thy Heart. My gaze fell upon Thy hands and feet, and I saw, good Jesus, those five glorious Wounds with whose Blood Thou didst pay the ransom of the whole world.

“From this moment,” adds the saint, “I commenced to taste only Thyself, O my God. With new spiritual joy I began to follow in Thy footsteps, and I found Thy yoke sweet and light.”

Though hitherto Gertrude had been very pious and a model of religious observance, after the above mentioned grace she considered the previous time lost, and believed that, as the prodigal son, she had just returned to her God. From this hour she discontinued all secular studies. One book alone became very dear to her, and its contents daily engraved themselves more deeply upon all the powers of her soul:—it was the Holy Scripture. To meditate thereon was her greatest delight. God taught her heart to penetrate the most hidden sense of the Inspired Books. She possessed a wonderful facility to use texts from the Holy Scripture to comfort and refresh all who came to her, according to each one’s need.

How Our Lord loved His chosen bride! He poured abundant graces in ever-increasing fullness into Gertrude’s heart. The humble virgin herself declares: “Thou hast so often melted my soul by loving caresses that if I did not know the abyss of Thine overflowing condescension, I should be amazed were I told that even Thy Blessed Mother received such extraordinary marks of tenderness and affection.” That which filled and animated her interior could not remain concealed. The warmth and fervor which emanated from her was poured out upon all her associates.

The Perfect Spouse of Christ

It seems Our Lord raised Gertrude in a short time to that degree of perfection where the soul has no other will, no other thought, no other life, than Christ. This was certainly indicated by the mysterious grace of Our Lord’s exchanging His Heart for hers. From this union sprang the sublime virtues which distinguish this incomparable virgin. She was remarkable, above all, for an unlimited abandonment to the Divine will, a love for God’s decrees, even the most severe, a perfect peace of heart, boundless desires for the glory of God and the salvation of the world, and that holy, evangelical liberty which is extolled as the noblest inheritance of the true children of St. Benedict.

Gertrude’s heart sought God alone, and found Him everywhere. To please Jesus in all things was the one aim of her life. A saintly person once prayed earnestly that he might know what virtue attracted Our Lord’s greatest complacency in His well-beloved spouse, Gertrude. Our Savior deigned to respond: “Her liberty of spirit. This priceless gift includes the deepest self-knowledge and love of God, and leads the soul to the heights of perfection. It disposes the heart of Gertrude to receive, at every moment of her life, graces of inestimable value, and prevents her from attaching her heart to anything which could either displease Me or impede My work in her soul.”

Jesus was her all—her constant thought day and night. Every movement of her body and soul was offered to God and directed to His glory. Unceasing union with her Beloved was Gertrude’s life. Yet she did not neglect her exterior occupations. The happy manner in which she combined active labor with interior union was once manifested to Saint Mechtilde.

This saint beheld Jesus seated on an elevated throne in the church. St. Gertrude was actively engaged in exterior occupations, walking to and fro. But her countenance was always steadfastly fixed upon the Lord and she seemed to drink in with burning ardor the graces which flowed to her from His Most Sacred Heart. At the same time she appeared to fulfill her exterior duties with utmost zeal. St. Mechtilde was amazed at this vision.

“Behold,” said Our Savior, “such is the life which Gertrude, My beloved, leads before My face. She walks ever in My presence, never losing sight of Me for an instant. She has but one desire: to know the good pleasure of My Heart. As soon as she has ascertained this, she executes My will with care and fidelity. Her whole life is an unbroken chain of praise consecrated to My honor and glory.”

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Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• St. Gertrude, the Great
• Examples of St. Gertrude’s Prayers
• Acts of Praise in Honor of the Most Holy Trinity