The Sacraments of Christian Initiation and Healing in the Mystical Experiences of St. Gertrude the Great

Abstract

Saint Gertrude the Great (1256-1302) was a Saxon Christian saint. She died in the monastery of Helfta. As a young girl, she joined the Benedictine monastery at Helfta, under the direction of its abbess, Gertrude of Hackeborn. She is sometimes confused with her abbess, which is why she is often incorrectly depicted in art holding a crosier. She later experienced a conversion to God and began to strive for perfection in her religious life, turning her scholarly talents to scripture and theology. Many of the writings of St. Gertrude have unfortunately perished. Those now extant are: The Legatus Divinae Pietatis, the Exercises of St. Gertrude and the Liber Specialis Gratiae of St. Mechtilde. The Exercises, which are seven in number, embrace the work of the reception of baptismal grace to the preparation for death. Her glowing language deeply impregnated with the liturgy and scriptures exalts the soul imperceptibly to the heights of contemplation. St. Gertrude the Great hada very special devotion for the Sacred Heart. St. Gertrude taught that Jesus has given us the gift of His Sacred Heart so that, when suffering, we can seek our refuge and our consolation there. The characteristic trait of St. Gertrude's piety is her devotion to the Sacred Heart, the symbol of that immense charity which urged the Word to take flesh, to institute the Holy Eucharist, to take on Himself our sins, and, dying on the Cross, to offer Himself as a victim and a sacrifice to the Eternal Father.