Today is the feast of St. Gertrude; in Saint of the Day from St. Anthony Messenger Press, we read about her life and life of prayer:
St. Gertrude, a Benedictine nun in Helfta (Saxony), was one of the great mystics of the thirteenth century. Together with her friend and teacher, Saint Mechtild, she practiced a spirituality called "nuptial mysticism", that is, she came to see herself as the bride of Christ. Her spiritual life was a deep personal union with Jesus and his Sacred Heart, leading her into the very life of the Trinity.
But this was no individualistic piety. Gertrude lived the rhythm of the liturgy, where she found Christ. In the liturgy and Scripture, she found the themes and images to enrich and express her piety. There was no clash between her personal prayer life and the liturgy.
and a COMMENT that follows speaks of the prayer that is at the heart of the Christian life:
St. Gertrude's life is another reminder that the heart of the Christian life is prayer; PRIVATE and LITURGICAL, ORDINARY or MYSTICAL, always PERSONAL.
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