St. Gertrude the Great (1256-1302)
Image: St. Paul Street Evangelization
(Franciscan Media) Born at Thuringia Eisleben (today part of East Central Germany) we don’t know anything of her parents according to SQPN or what may have become of them — Gertrude may have been an orphan as she was raised at the Benedictine Abbey of ‘Saint Mary of Helfta’ from the age of five.
Gertrude is said to have been an extremely intelligent girl and dedicated student, excelling in her studies of Literature and Philosophy, when she became old enough, Gertrude took her vows and became a Benedictine Nun in Germany at Saxony Helfta, becoming one of the great Mystics of the 13th century.
Together with Sister Gertrude’s friend and teacher St. Mechtilde (Feast Day: 19 November) they practiced a spirituality called “Nuptial Mysticism’ that is, one comes to see themselves as the Bride of Christ. Gertrude’s spiritual life was a deeply personal union with Jesus and devotion to His Sacred Heart leading her into the very life of the Holy Trinity but this was no individualistic piety.
Sister Gertrude lived the rhythm of the Liturgy where she found Christ. In the Liturgy and the Holy Scripture, she found the themes and images to enrich and express her devotion–there was no clash between her personal prayer life and the Liturgy.
More here Monastery of St. Gertrude