A Great Woman

As I learn more about the saints, I realize that it can be easy to be bogged down by gender equality.  I do not think the Church intentionally chooses male over female.  Maybe there are more male saints because their extraordinary lives are  more public.  Traditionally, the females are more likely to show their faith through the ordinary daily routine.  In fact, we can probably all agree that there is a woman or two in our lives who quietly live their faith and are examples for others of the virtues that are often attributed to the saints I mention on this blog.  In turn, to be fair there are also men who I greatly admire who will never be among the canonized saints of the Church.

With all that said, I am thankful for the Church that can allow me to be inspired regardless of gender as we look to the soul of the matter...the virtuous life portrayed for us to learn what it means to be a Christian as they lived out their lives with Christ.

Today's saint (I had several to choose from but have decided to only have one saint per blog unless there is a real connection.  Again, it is so nice to have this problem that I have to struggle to choose who to learn about in more detail!)  is the ONLY female saint who has the honor of being considered a GREAT (a term given to a saint who is prolific in their religious writing)!

Gertrude the Great

Feast Day:  November 16
Born  1256
Death  1302
Holy Roman Empire
Patron of the West Indies; Nuns; travelers
Devout parents

Gertrude was sent to a convent school at an early age.  It is not known if her parents desired their daughter to be at this convent school to further her faith or if Gertrude entered the school as an orphan.  She would join the convent as a novice in 1266.

In 1281, Gertrude began to receive visions that would continue for the rest of her life.  At this time, she dedicated her life to the knowledge of prayer and theology.  Gertrude became one of the great mystics of the 13th century. Together with her friend and teacher St. Mechtild, she practiced a spirituality called "nuptial mysticism," that is, she came to see herself as the bride of Christ.

Gertrude produced numerous writings, though only some survive today.  The longest survival of her writings is the The Herald of Divine Love, partly written by other nuns. 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 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 far more like that the author was another Helfta nun.  She also wrote many books of prayers.  Her books were highly regarded by saints after her death and was taken up as a must read by Carmelites in the 16th century.

Gertrude introduced the devotion to the Sacred Heart which, four centuries later, St. Margaret Mary spread throughout the Church.  Gertrude showed "tender sympathy towards the souls in purgatory" and urged prayers for them.  She is therefore invoked for suffering souls in purgatory. The following prayer is attributed to St. Gertrude :

Eternal Father, I offer You 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.