The Life And Revelations Of Saint Gertrude The Great (Virgin & Mystic) → Audio One Of Two Gertrude the Great (or Saint Gertrude of Helfta; Italian: Santa Gertrude, German: Gertrud die Große von Helfta …More
The Life And Revelations Of Saint Gertrude The Great (Virgin & Mystic) → Audio One Of Two
Gertrude the Great (or Saint Gertrude of Helfta; Italian: Santa Gertrude, German: Gertrud die Große von Helfta, Latin: Sancta Gertrudis; January 6, 1256 – November 17, 1302) was a German Benedictine nun and mystic. She is recognized as a saint by the Catholic Church and by The Episcopal Church. In addition to being commemorated in the Episcopal Calendar of Saints on November 19, Gertrude is inscribed in the General Roman Calendar for optional celebration throughout the Roman Rite, as a memorial on November 16.
Gertrude produced numerous writings, though only some survive today. The longest survival is the Legatus Memorialis Abundantiae Divinae Pietatis (known in English today as The Herald of Divine Love or The Herald of God's Loving-Kindness, and sometimes previously known as Life and Revelations), partly written by other nuns. There also remains her collection of Spiritual Exercises. A work known as Preces Gertrudianae (Gertrudian Prayers) is a later compilation, made up partly of extracts from the writings of Gertrude and partly of prayers composed in her style. It is also very possible that Gertrude was the author of a part of the revelations of Mechthild of Hackeborn, the Book of Special Grace.
The Herald is composed of five books. Book 2 forms the core of the work, and was written by Gertrude herself; she states that she began the work on Maundy Thursday, 1289. Books 3, 4, and 5 were written by another nun, or possibly by more than one, during Gertrude's lifetime and probably at least in part at her dictation. Book 1 was written shortly before or after Gertrude's death as an introduction to the whole collection; it is possible it was written by Gertrude's confessor, but more probably by another Helfta nun.
The importance of the Spiritual Exercises extends to the present day because they are grounded in the themes and rites of Catholic liturgy for occasions such as baptism, conversion, commitment, discipleship, union with God, praise of God, and preparation for death. Gertrude's Spiritual Exercises can still be used by anyone who seeks to deepen spirituality through prayer and meditation.
One of the most esteemed women saints of the Christian West, she was a notable early devotee of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.[8] Book 2 of the Herald of Divine Love is notable within the history of Christian devotion because its vivid descriptions of Gertrude's visions show a considerable elaboration on the long-standing but ill-defined veneration of Christ's heart. This veneration was present in the belief that Christ's heart poured forth a redemptive fountain through the wound in his side, an image culminating in its most famous articulation by Bernard of Clairvaux in his commentary on the Song of Songs. The women of Helfta—Gertrude foremost, who surely knew Bernard's commentary, and to a somewhat lesser extent the two Mechthilds, Mechthild of Magdeburg and Mechthild of Hackeborn—made this devotion central to their mystical visions.[14] Gertrude reported a vision on the Feast of John the Evangelist. She was resting her head near the wound in the Christ's side and hearing the beating of his heart. She asked John if on the night of the Last Supper he had felt these pulsations, why he had never spoken of the fact. John replied that this revelation had been reserved for subsequent ages when the world, having grown cold, would have need of it to rekindle its love.
Gertrude was never solemnly canonized, but a liturgical office of prayer, readings, and hymns in her honor was approved by Rome in 1606, considered the equivalent of a canonization. The feastday of Saint Gertrude was extended to the Latin Church by Pope Clement XII and is nowadays celebrated on November 16, her presumed dies natalis, or date of death. Some religious communities, including some Benedictines, celebrate her liturgically on November 17, which had originally been chosen, but was already occupied by Gregory Thaumaturgus. It is said that Benedict XIV deemed it unfitting for him to be unseated by a woman. In the event, the Pope established November 15 as the date for Gertrude,[18] since become November 16. Pope Benedict XIV gave her the title "the Great" to distinguish her from Gertrude of Hackeborn and to recognize the depth of her spiritual and theological insight.
In 2018, The Episcopal Church of the United States added Gertrude, along with Mechtilde, to its calendar of saints by including them in Lesser Feasts and Fasts.
Gertrude showed "tender sympathy towards the souls in Purgatory" and urged prayers for them.[20] She is therefore invoked in aid of the suffering souls in Purgatory. The following prayer is attributed to Gertrude, and is often depicted on her prayer card:
Eternal Father, I offer Thee the Most Precious Blood of Thy Divine Son, Jesus, in union with the Masses said throughout the world today, for all the Holy Souls in Purgatory, for sinners everywhere, for sinners in the universal Church, for those in my own home and in my family. Amen.
Gertrude the Great (or Saint Gertrude of Helfta; Italian: Santa Gertrude, German: Gertrud die Große von Helfta, Latin: Sancta Gertrudis; January 6, 1256 – November 17, 1302) was a German Benedictine nun and mystic. She is recognized as a saint by the Catholic Church and by The Episcopal Church. In addition to being commemorated in the Episcopal Calendar of Saints on November 19, Gertrude is inscribed in the General Roman Calendar for optional celebration throughout the Roman Rite, as a memorial on November 16.
Gertrude produced numerous writings, though only some survive today. The longest survival is the Legatus Memorialis Abundantiae Divinae Pietatis (known in English today as The Herald of Divine Love or The Herald of God's Loving-Kindness, and sometimes previously known as Life and Revelations), partly written by other nuns. There also remains her collection of Spiritual Exercises. A work known as Preces Gertrudianae (Gertrudian Prayers) is a later compilation, made up partly of extracts from the writings of Gertrude and partly of prayers composed in her style. It is also very possible that Gertrude was the author of a part of the revelations of Mechthild of Hackeborn, the Book of Special Grace.
The Herald is composed of five books. Book 2 forms the core of the work, and was written by Gertrude herself; she states that she began the work on Maundy Thursday, 1289. Books 3, 4, and 5 were written by another nun, or possibly by more than one, during Gertrude's lifetime and probably at least in part at her dictation. Book 1 was written shortly before or after Gertrude's death as an introduction to the whole collection; it is possible it was written by Gertrude's confessor, but more probably by another Helfta nun.
The importance of the Spiritual Exercises extends to the present day because they are grounded in the themes and rites of Catholic liturgy for occasions such as baptism, conversion, commitment, discipleship, union with God, praise of God, and preparation for death. Gertrude's Spiritual Exercises can still be used by anyone who seeks to deepen spirituality through prayer and meditation.
One of the most esteemed women saints of the Christian West, she was a notable early devotee of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.[8] Book 2 of the Herald of Divine Love is notable within the history of Christian devotion because its vivid descriptions of Gertrude's visions show a considerable elaboration on the long-standing but ill-defined veneration of Christ's heart. This veneration was present in the belief that Christ's heart poured forth a redemptive fountain through the wound in his side, an image culminating in its most famous articulation by Bernard of Clairvaux in his commentary on the Song of Songs. The women of Helfta—Gertrude foremost, who surely knew Bernard's commentary, and to a somewhat lesser extent the two Mechthilds, Mechthild of Magdeburg and Mechthild of Hackeborn—made this devotion central to their mystical visions.[14] Gertrude reported a vision on the Feast of John the Evangelist. She was resting her head near the wound in the Christ's side and hearing the beating of his heart. She asked John if on the night of the Last Supper he had felt these pulsations, why he had never spoken of the fact. John replied that this revelation had been reserved for subsequent ages when the world, having grown cold, would have need of it to rekindle its love.
Gertrude was never solemnly canonized, but a liturgical office of prayer, readings, and hymns in her honor was approved by Rome in 1606, considered the equivalent of a canonization. The feastday of Saint Gertrude was extended to the Latin Church by Pope Clement XII and is nowadays celebrated on November 16, her presumed dies natalis, or date of death. Some religious communities, including some Benedictines, celebrate her liturgically on November 17, which had originally been chosen, but was already occupied by Gregory Thaumaturgus. It is said that Benedict XIV deemed it unfitting for him to be unseated by a woman. In the event, the Pope established November 15 as the date for Gertrude,[18] since become November 16. Pope Benedict XIV gave her the title "the Great" to distinguish her from Gertrude of Hackeborn and to recognize the depth of her spiritual and theological insight.
In 2018, The Episcopal Church of the United States added Gertrude, along with Mechtilde, to its calendar of saints by including them in Lesser Feasts and Fasts.
Gertrude showed "tender sympathy towards the souls in Purgatory" and urged prayers for them.[20] She is therefore invoked in aid of the suffering souls in Purgatory. The following prayer is attributed to Gertrude, and is often depicted on her prayer card:
Eternal Father, I offer Thee the Most Precious Blood of Thy Divine Son, Jesus, in union with the Masses said throughout the world today, for all the Holy Souls in Purgatory, for sinners everywhere, for sinners in the universal Church, for those in my own home and in my family. Amen.