St. Gertrude the Great Novena – Day 8 – For the Grace of a Greater Devotion to the Sacred Heart
St. Gertrude had a great devotion to her beloved patron, St. John the Evangelist. With aid of his Gospel and the action of the Holy Spirit, she deeply perceived the unceasing love of Jesus Christ for us, particularly through His Sacred Heart, which is an enduring symbol of His divine love and mercy. St. Gertrude’s insights laid the groundwork for the devotion that St. Margaret Mary Alacoque would later be known for. In the spirit of St. Gertrude, may we present our heartfelt intentions to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, embracing His unfailing love. May she also intercede in the intention we bring to this novena.
We join St. Gertrude in a prayer she composed for the Holy Souls in Purgatory:
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,
those in my own home and within my family.
Amen.
St. Gertrude the Great Novena – Day 7 – For the Grace of a Greater Love of the Holy Eucharist
St. Gertrude embraced the Mass as a profound encounter with Christ’s redemptive suffering. Let us reflect on this prayer that she composed,
‘Through this Mass, I offer You in reparation, loving Father, all the sufferings of Your Son from His first cry in the manger to His last breath on the Cross. In my humble state, I praise and adore Your mercy,’ Amen.
Let us ask St. Gertrude to intercede for us as we seek to unite our own joys and sorrows with the Eucharistic sacrifice. May this act of communion inspire us to live out each day in accordance with God’s loving plan for our lives. May she also intercede in the intention we bring to this novena.
We join St. Gertrude in a prayer she composed for the Holy Souls in Purgatory:
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,
those in my own home and within my family.
Amen.
St. Gertrude the Great Novena – Day 6 – For the Grace of Holy Recollection
St. Gertrude cherished the scene of the shepherds in quiet awe as they discovered the Infant Jesus, cradled in the humble stable by Mary and Joseph. This tender image served as her daily reminder to remain conscious of God’s intimate presence and to observe her emotions as carefully as a shepherd tends their flock. Let us ask St. Gertrude to intercede for us, that we might receive the grace to keep our hearts attuned to the gentle movements of the Holy Spirit and to the loving encounters we experience throughout our day, and may she also intercede in the intention we bring to this novena.
We join St. Gertrude in a prayer she composed for the Holy Souls in Purgatory:
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,
those in my own home and within my family.
Amen.
St. Gertrude the Great Novena – Day 5 – For the Grace of Compassion, especially for the Holy Souls in Purgatory
St. Gertrude was given a vision by Jesus of a golden table adorned with luminous pearls, each representing a prayer for the Souls in Purgatory. Let us join our prayers to this offering, trusting in God’s infinite and divine mercy. May St. Gertrude aid us in lifting our prayers for the holy souls, enveloping them in the love and compassion of Christ. May she intercede for us for the intention we bring to this novena.
We join St. Gertrude in a prayer she composed for the Holy Souls in Purgatory:
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,
those in my own home and within my family.
Amen.
Santa Gertrudes de Helfta Museu de Arte Religiosa de Puebla (México) – Foto: Francisco Lecaros
St. Gertrude the Great Novena – Day 4 – For the Grace of Right Intention
St. Gertrude asked Jesus for fewer distractions in her days to have more time for prayer. The Lord answered her, “If I took pleasure only in spiritual exercises, I would have reformed human nature after Adam’s fall so that it would not need food, clothing, or other things. I require only that your will be directed to me with a right intention”. St. Gertrude mastered the Benedictine call to balance the active and contemplative life. Her dialogue with the Lord teaches us that sanctity lies not in tasks but in intention. We pray for her guidance to discern daily God’s will. May she also intercede for the intention we bring to this novena.
We join St. Gertrude in a prayer she composed for the Holy Souls in Purgatory:
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,
those in my own home and within my family.
Amen.
St. Gertrude the Great Novena – Day 3 – For the Grace of Holy Counsel
St. Gertrude, at only 30 years old, became the leader of her monastery. For more than 40 years, she guided her community with love and wisdom. May she inspire us to listen deeply to God’s voice and discern His will for our lives. May she intercede for us with our intention for this novena if it be in alignment with the will of the Father.
We join St. Gertrude in a prayer she composed for the Holy Souls in Purgatory:
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,
those in my own home and within my family.
Amen.
St. Gertrude the Great Novena – Day 2 – For the Grace of Holy Zeal
St. Gertrude the Great is held in the highest regard for her unwavering love for the Sacred Heart of Jesus and her profound compassion for the Holy Souls in Purgatory. Esteemed by many of her fellow saints, including St. Teresa of Avila, St. Gertrude’s spiritual insights have long inspired the faithful. With reverence, we invoke her patronage and beseech her to intercede for us that we may receive the graces most suited to our spiritual growth and needs (mention personal intention). May she also intercede for the intention we bring to this novena.
We join St. Gertrude in a prayer she composed for the Holy Souls in Purgatory:
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,
those in my own home and within my family.
Amen.
St. Gertrude the Great Novena – Day 1 – For the Grace of Self-Knowledge and Holy Understanding
As we begin our novena on this day, we reflect upon the providential beginnings of St. Gertrude, born on the Feast of the Epiphany in 1256. At the tender age of five, she was entrusted to the care of the holy St. Mechtilde at the Benedictine monastery, which became her lifelong spiritual home. Gertrude acknowledged that had she not been nurtured in such sanctity from her youth; she might have strayed far from her spiritual calling. Let us seek the intercession of St. Gertrude that we may have the grace to acknowledge our own sins of commission and omission. Let us pray together for the knowledge to recognize our missteps and the grace to pursue perfect contrition for our sins. May she also intercede in the intention we bring to this novena.
We join St. Gertrude in a prayer she composed for the Holy Souls in Purgatory:
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,
those in my own home and within my family.
Amen.
Urged to reflect upon myself, I entered under your guidance into the inmost depth of my soul. I was able to do so because you were my helper. On entering into myself I saw, as it were with the eye of the soul, what was beyond the eye of the soul, beyond my spirit: your immutable light. It was not the ordinary light perceptible to all flesh, nor was it merely something of greater magnitude but still essentially akin, shining more clearly and diffusing itself everywhere by its intensity. No, it was something entirely distinct, something altogether different from all these things; and it did not rest above my mind as oil on the surface of water, nor was it above me as heaven is above the earth. This light was above me because it had made me; I was below it because I was created by it. He who has come to know the truth knows this light.
O Eternal truth, true love and beloved eternity. You are my God. To you do I sigh day and night. When I first came to know you, you drew me to yourself so that I might see that there were things for me to see, but that I myself was not yet ready to see them. Meanwhile you overcame the weakness of my vision, sending forth most strongly the beams of your light, and I trembled at once with love and dread. I learned that I was in a region unlike yours and far distant from you, and I thought I heard your voice from on high: “I am the food of grown men; grow then, and you will feed on me. Nor will you change me into yourself like bodily food, but you will be changed into me.”
I sought a way to gain the strength which I needed to enjoy you. But I did not find it until I embraced the mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who is above all, God blessed for ever. He was calling me and saying: I am the way of truth, I am the life. He was offering the food which I lacked the strength to take, the food he had mingled with our flesh. For the Word became flesh, that your wisdom, by which you created all things, might provide milk for us children.
Late have I loved you, O Beauty ever ancient, ever new, late have I loved you! You were within me, but I was outside, and it was there that I searched for you. In my unloveliness I plunged into the lovely things which you created. You were with me, but I was not with you. Created things kept me from you; yet if they had not been in you they would not have been at all. You called, you shouted, and you broke through my deafness. You flashed, you shone, and you dispelled my blindness. You breathed your fragrance on me; I drew in breath and now I pant for you. I have tasted you, now I hunger and thirst for more. You touched me, and I burned for your peace.
Lord Jesus Christ, You have destroyed the power of death and given the hope of eternal life in body and soul.
You granted your Mother a special place in your glory, and did not allow decay to touch her body.
As we rejoice in the Assumption of Mary, give to us a renewed confidence in the victory of life over death.
You live and reign forever and ever.
Amen
Day 9
O Blessed Mother Assumed into Heaven, after years of heroic martyrdom on earth, we rejoice that you have at last been taken to the throne prepared for you in Heaven by the Holy Trinity.
Lift our hearts with you in the glory of your Assumption above the dreadful touch of sin and impurity.
Teach us how small earth becomes when viewed from heaven. Make us realize that death is the triumphant gate through which we shall pass to your Son and that someday our bodies shall rejoin our souls in the unending bliss of heaven.
From this earth, over which we tread as pilgrims, we look to you for help.
In honor of your Assumption into Heaven we ask for this favor.
(mention your request)
When our hour of death has come, lead us safely to the presence of Jesus to enjoy the vision of God for all eternity together with you.
Pray for us O Queen Assumed into Heaven, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
Lord Jesus Christ, You have destroyed the power of death and given the hope of eternal life in body and soul.