Saint Gertrude the Great Novena
Day 1 of 9
Day 1 — Faith before the Eucharist — Saint Gertrude the Great Novena, Day 1
Free to pray — no account needed. An account only saves your progress and reminders.
Anonymous artist, Saint Gertrude the Great, seventeenth-century oil painting; public-domain artwork on Wikimedia Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:An%C3%B4nimo_-_Santa_Gertrudes_Magna.JPG
Sign of the Cross
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Opening prayer
Make the Sign of the Cross. Act of contrition (from the historical novena): My sweetest Jesus, because Thou art so good, I am deeply sorry for having offended Thee; and with the help of Thy grace I resolve to die rather than sin. Amen. Pray the distinct daily prayer, then five Our Fathers and five Hail Marys in remembrance of Christ’s five wounds.
Prayer for day 1
O Jesus, lover of souls, who remainest with them in the Blessed Sacrament: I offer Thee the living faith with which Thy servant Gertrude adored Thee beneath the appearances of bread. She beheld Thee by heavenly light in the consecrated Host. Grant that I may imitate her faith, obtain my petition through her prayers, and rejoice with her in Thy glory. Amen.
Saint Gertrude the Great, pray for us.
Traditional prayers
Our Father
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.
Hail Mary
Hail, Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.
Glory Be
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning is now, and ever shall be world without end. Amen.
Closing prayer
God, who joyfully prepared a dwelling for Thyself in the heart of Thy blessed servant Gertrude: by her merits and intercession, cleanse us mercifully from every stain, that we may become a worthy dwelling-place of Thy divine majesty. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Sign of the Cross
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Source · Novena en honor a Santa Gertrudis la Magna, reprinted 1764 under Antonio de Albarracín in Murcia, historical nine distinct daily prayers and common final collect, faithfully abridged and independently translated from Spanish: https://wwwmileschristi.blogspot.com/2018/11/novena-en-honor-santa-gertrudis-la-magna.html ; 1799 printed edition catalogue of a novena to Gertrude: https://liburutegibiltegi.bizkaia.eus/handle/20.500.11938/72919 . Source includes some non-verifiable hagiographic traditions and apparently conflates her with an abbess named Gertrude; factual assertions were not imported without qualification. The popular “1,000 souls released” claim is NOT reproduced or endorsed.