St. Gertrude, Pray for Us!

November is the month the Church is particularly encouraged to remember and pray for all souls, including those in Purgatory.

Purgatory. Sounds pretty terrible right?

Through private revelations to many of the saints, we know that many of us will have to face purgatory before we would be allowed into heaven.  St. Gertrude’s Prayer helps our loved ones that have passed away to find their way into the eternal paradise promised to us all.

While we all try our best to live by the word and guidance of the Lord Almighty. It’s inevitable that we would step out of His loving light at some point in our lives and commit sin.

Think of your soul as starting out as a bright clean canvas at baptism.  Throughout your life it loses its shine and its white surface becomes soiled with sin.  While confession and repentance can help us to clear our souls of sin, when we die many of us still need to be cleansed of the sin in our soul in order to get into the eternal paradise that is heaven.

Think of Purgatory as a type of detox clinic for sinners, not the sinful that deserve the fires of Hell, but for those that haven’t been able to live a truly clean and pure life to the service of the Heavenly Father and His son Jesus Christ.

Purgatory is where we purge our souls of sin with fire and pain, so that we may be ready to enter heaven.  This is not a pleasant experience with the old adage of “no pain, no gain” being rather suitable for the experience.  How long you linger in purgatory will largely depend on how much sin stains your soul. This is where St. Gertrude the Great comes in.

Gertrude is known as one of the great mystics and theologians of the 13th century.  Through her devotion as a Benedictine Nun, Gertrude was able to develop a deep relationship with the Lord through prayer.  Thanks to St. Gertrude’s commitment and devotion to the Lord, He has blessed us with the means to help our loved ones to be cleansed of their sins and be granted passage into Heaven sooner.

It was through Gertrude’s prayers that the Lord communicated with her.  He promised her that every time her prayer is said devoutly, He would ease the suffering of 1000 souls, and release them from purgatory, welcoming them into heaven.

Though those in purgatory can do nothing for themselves, they can and do pray for those that pray for them.

There are many references in scripture, concerning prayers for the dead.  One of the more well-known references comes from the Old Testament.

“It is therefore a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from sins.” (2 Maccabees 12:43-46)

Here is the prayer, if you feel so inclined:

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.