On the Franciscan calendar, today is the Feast Day of St. Gertrude The Great. 

Born in Germany in 1256 on The Feast of The Epiphany, Gertrude began her education at the age of four at a Benedictine Monastery where she was guided by St. Mechtilde. 

In 1266, at the age of ten, Gertrude joined the monastery and began a journey that would make her one of the great mystics of The Church. 

In her mid-20s, she began to have a series of visions that would continue for the rest of her life. 

Gertrude was a prolific writer and “The Herald of Divine Love ” and her spiritual exercises continue to be outstanding resources for those seeking a deeper spiritual walk with The Lord. 

Gertrude also had a great devotion to The Sacred Heart of Jesus and a deep love for the Holy Souls in Purgatory. 

During one of her visions, Jesus gave St. Gertrude a special prayer telling her that, every time it was said, one thousand souls would be released into heaven. 

Here is that prayer,
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. 

St. Gertrude, please pray for us.