Born in Germany in 1256 and raised by the Benedictine nuns, St. Gertrude was an intelligent student. She eventually joined the Benedictine order and became a nun. When she was 26 years old, she experienced the first of a series of revelations of Christ. She recorded these revelations and experiences of God’s grace in her book, Book of Extraordinary Grace. Right before she died, she said, “I am certain whether my death be sudden or foreseen, that I shall never be without the mercy of God.” Our Lord told St. Gertrude that the following prayer would release souls from purgatory each time it is said:
“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.”
