Thursday, December 4 : Saint Gertrude of Helfta

One day when Gertrude was praying for [their Mother’s health] with the desire to know in what situation she found herself, the Lord replied: “It is with incomparable joy that I waited for this day to lead into solitude, the one I have chosen, in order to speak to her heart (cf. Hos 2,16). I have not been disappointed in my expectation (cf. Ps 77:30): she always responds according to my perfect pleasure and obeys me in everything for my sweetest joy. » Which means: illness is this solitude where the Lord speaks to the heart and not to the ear of his beloved. (…) These words that the Lord says to his chosen one are the trials and preoccupations of his heart: the sick person thinks that she is useless, that she is wasting her time without result, that others are working for her, and this is a pure waste since the good of health will perhaps never follow. To all this she responds in a manner consistent with divine good pleasure, keeping patience in her heart, desiring that the will of God be accomplished perfectly in her. (…) And the Lord added: “My chosen one submits to me for my greatest joy when she does not seek to escape the inconveniences of illness. (…) Now, the more I make infirmity and fatigue weigh on her, the more docile she is to me by patiently and discreetly accepting for the pleasure of my very sweet Heart, the relief and care necessary for her body. And this is another stone in her crown, because sometimes she does not do it without difficulty. However, let her take courage by remembering that thanks to my benevolence and my tenderness “all things work together for the good of those who love Him” (cf. Rom 8:28)

Roman Catholic Ordinary Calendar – rosary,team