For the Poor Souls in Purgatory
Saints: Saint Gertrude the Great of Helfta (1256-1301/2); Saint Margaret of Scotland (1046-1093); Saint Edmund of Abingdon (1175?-1240); Our Lady of the Gate of Dawn (Vilnius, Lithuania)
Readings of the Day
Rule of Saint Benedict: Ch 38 The Reader for the Week
Mass: For Solemnity of Saint Gertrude the Great: Songs 8:1-4 or 6-7; Eph 3:14-19; Jn 15:1-8
Ferial Day: Rev 4:1-11; Resp Ps 150; Lk 19:11-28
You will find me in the heart of Gertrude.
MARY, QUEEN OF PEACE,
MARY, QUEEN OF VIRGINS,
OUR LADY OF MONTILGEON,
SAINT NICHOLAS OF TOLENTINO,
SAINT MICHAEL THE ARCHANGEL,
PRAY FOR US.
May Christ dwell in your hearts through faith.
(Eph 3:17)
We have more heavy hitter saints on tap for today. Before the featured stories, we invoke Saint Edmund of Abingdon, "venerated as a vigorous and reforming bishop and as a peacemaker, as well as being a distinguished commentator on the Scriptures and an effective spiritual writer." God is praised. Then there is Our Lady of the Gate of Dawn. She is in Vilnius, Lithuania, in the Chapel of the Gate of Dawn. Venerated by the faithful since the 17th century, she has become a symbol of the national identity that Lithuania's invaders like the Prussian, Austrian and Russian Empires in 1793, and the Soviet Union until 1989, sought to obliterate. Pope Saint John Paul II was there in 1993; I was there around 2010. God is praised.
And if that's not enough we have two very different, most powerful and holy women to commemorate. First, Saint Gertrude the Great who, as a little girl of four years old, the Lord withdrew from the turmoil of the world to introduce her into the bridal chamber of holy religion (see Gertrude the Great, The Herald of Divine Love, I, 1). She is my patron saint and I have so much to say about her that I do not know where to begin and then I may never stop. So, let's leave it at this. Jesus lived in the heart of Gertrude (see today's image). Jesus is praised. One will find too, like I just did when I randomly opened Gertrude's Herald of Divine Love (I, 16), that a man unknown to her except that she had recommended herself to his prayers, was praying for Gertrude and received this answer from the Lord: "I have chosen to dwell in her because it delights me to see that everything that people love in her is my own work. Those who know nothing of interior, that is, spiritual things, love in her at least my exterior gifts, such as intelligence, eloquence and so on. Therefore I have exiled her from all her relatives, so that there should be no one who would love her for the sake of the ties of blood, and that I may be the only reason why all her friends love her." Saint Gertrude the Great of Helfta is my patron. Thank you, Jesus!
And then we have Saint Margaret of Scotland, wife to King Malcolm III of Scotland and mother of eight children. Saint Margaret is remembered for the "happiness of her marriage, for her devotion to prayer and learning, and especially for her generosity to the poor." God is praised.
United in faith and prayer, may we remain in Jesus as He remains in us. Whoever remains in Him will bear much fruit, because without Him we can do nothing. This is how His Father is glorified, that we bear much fruit and become His disciples (see Jn 15:4-5, 8). Amen.
Bless me, most loving Jesus, bless me and have mercy on me in the loving-kindness of Your most gracious heart. Ah! That my soul may choose to know nothing apart from you and that, disciplined by Your grace and instructed by the anointing, I may progress well, passionately, and powerfully in the school of Your love.
(Saint Gertrude the Great of Helfta, Spiritual Exercises, II, 51-55)
SAINT GERTRUDE THE GREAT OF HELFTA,
SAINT MARGARET OF SCOTLAND,
SAINT EDMUND OF ABINGDON,
OUR LADY OF THE GATE OF DAWN,
PRAY FOR US.
Today's image: This is what Jesus told one of the nuns at Helfta: You will find me in the heart of Gertrude. Imaged used with the kind permission of the Benedictine Sisters of Mt. Angel, OR. Set me as a seal on your heart.
© Gertrude Feick 2022
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