St. Gertrude and the Crowd
Once, St. Gertrude was present when Communion was being distributed to the people. Her wish was merely to catch a view of the Host. The crowd was so great, however, that she could not even do that.
Then, she heard the voice of Jesus saying, “A sweet secret shall be between us, which is unknown to those who absent themselves from Me, but you, if you would enjoy it, approach.” He then told her that while she would not see Him in the Host, she would still “taste and prove the sweetness of this hidden manna.”
Source: St. Gertrude, and a religious of her monastery, The Life and Revelations of St. Gertrude the Great (Charlotte, North Carolina, Tan Books, 2010) p. 167.
St. Gertrude and the Banquet
Once, Gertrude gave thanks to God for being invited to His sacred Banquet. She asked, however, “what glory can accrue to Thy Divinity when I touch this Sacrament with my unworthy lips?” She heard Him tell her, “even as the love which we have for a friend makes us take pleasure in hearing him speak, so also the charity which I have for My elect makes Me sometimes find satisfaction in that in which they find none.”
Source: St. Gertrude, and a religious of her monastery, The Life and Revelations of St. Gertrude the Great (Charlotte, North Carolina, Tan Books, 2010) p. 167.
St. Gertrude and the Bell
Once St. Gertrude heard the bell that called her to Communion. She did not feel, however, that she had worthily prepared herself to receive her Lord. She prayed to the Him, confessing her condition and inquiring why she had not been given the grace to present herself to Him with more devotion.
She then heard His voice telling her that “I prefer the virtue of humility to the grace of devotion.”
Source: St. Gertrude, and a religious of her monastery, The Life and Revelations of St. Gertrude the Great (Charlotte, North Carolina, Tan Books, 2010) p. 167.
St. Gertrude and The Third Sunday of Advent
Once, on the third Sunday of Advent, St. Gertrude could not hear Mass. She was prevented by some affliction. She was allowed, however, a rapture in which Christ Himself said the Mass for her.
At the moment that the bell rang in the church for the Elevation of the Host, St. Gertrude saw the Lord perform the same actions as the priest performs at the Mass. When it came time for Communion, the Lord communicated Himself to her directly. He also told her that had He been able, by His Passion and Death, to attain nothing but this union of Himself to her, He would have been fully satisfied with that.
Source: St. Gertrude, and a religious of her monastery, The Life and Revelations of St. Gertrude the Great (Charlotte, North Carolina, Tan Books, 2010) p. 461-62.
St. Gertrude and the Scepter
Following the death of St. Gertrude, another nun in her community was at Mass. As the bell rang at the elevation of the Host for adoration, the nun prayerfully made an offer of the Host as to fill and compensate for all the deficiencies of St. Gertrude. The nun then saw the Host as a radiant scepter before the soul of St. Gertrude. It was not stationary, however, and moved about in a certain manner. Whenever St. Gertrude tried to touch it, she could not. The nun understood the reason for this. Whatever is neglected in this life cannot be supplied or made up for in the next.
Source: St. Gertrude, and a religious of her monastery, The Life and Revelations of St. Gertrude the Great (Charlotte, North Carolina, Tan Books, 2010) p. 48.
The Story of Colleen Willard (Part II)
Following dinner, Colleen went to Eucharistic Adoration at St. James. Arriving half an hour early, she went right up to the sanctuary in front. Kneeling on the bare marble floor, she soon beheld a small Host, surrounded by the deepest red and the golden portions of the monstrance.
For more than half an hour she gazed at Him, motionless, kneeling on the marble. Then John tapped her on the shoulder. Benediction was beginning. She looked and saw the priests bringing in the Host for Adoration. They placed It in the Monstrance and now, for all to see, was the white Host, surrounded by the golden monstrance. There was no deep red circle around the Host, the Host that had only now been brought out. Suddenly, it became clear to her what had happened. She had been given a private Adoration. She understood that she had been allowed a chance to thank Him personally, privately. A final grace on top of the extraordinary grace already bestowed earlier that day.
The next morning Colleen was taken to the pastor of St. James. She was advised to simply continue on with her stay in Medjugorje as an ordinary pilgrim. She was asked not to talk of her experiences or give interviews in Medjugorje, but to return home, be examined by her doctors and return the test results to Medjugorge so they could be forwarded to the Vatican.
The next day, Colleen climbed Apparition Hill, on her own, sometimes even going faster than her husband. The day after that, she climbed part of the way up Mr. Krizevac, again on her own, and only stopped when she was convinced to do so, even though she wanted to continue up to the top.
Upon returning home, Colleen had an appointment with a doctor who had tested her before. She walked into his office, and the nurses immediately asked what had happened to her. They could see at a glance the tremendous change. The doctor had a similar reaction. She was tested again to determine her oxygen level. They could not understand it. The level was completely normal. The doctor told her there was no way to scientifically explain what had happened to her and what he was now observing in her.
She went to the Mayo Clinic quite soon after that. Each doctor she saw had the same reaction, asking, “what happened to you?” An MRI of her brain was performed to check the size of the tumor in the center of her brain. Where each MRI test report done before this had listed a specific size, this test report listed none. It simply reported a “small, focal signal abnormality,” meaning a small reading that the radiologist interpreted as a false indicator, as if nothing was actually there.
The doctors at Mayo told her they would indeed send her test results to Medjugorje.
Source: Eck, Larry and Mary Sue, Medjugorje Miracles of Physical Healings (Westmont, Illinois, Medjugorje Magazine, 2004), p. 18 – 28.
The Story of Colleen Willard (Part I)
In honor of the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, the prior series of stories involving St. Gertrude will be interrupted. The following story involves Our Lady Herself, and Her Son, Our Lord, truly present in the Eucharist.
It was 2003. Colleen Willard sat in the airport. Her face and legs were greatly swollen and she could not talk very much at all. There, in her wheelchair waiting to be checked in, she had to take morphine for the pain. Just the night before, she had collapsed and had to be taken to the hospital. But, the next day, she was at O’Hare Airport, waiting to begin her trip to Medjugorje.
She was not traveling there to seek a miracle. She was simply going because she felt a need to go, because she felt she was being told to go, because she wanted to see for herself what was taking place there. She had plenty of cause, however, for which a miracle could be the only answer. Colleen suffered from an inoperable brain tumor, metabolic bone disease, myofacial-fibromylalgia, Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis, connective tissue disease, adrenal insufficiency, severe osteomalacia, lymphedema, pulmonary disease and severe daily headaches.
One doctor had already refused to give her medical clearance for the trip, fearing she might die on the way. Yet, she persevered and found another who would. She had to be carried on and off buses and other points between where she could be placed in a seat. Trying to walk herself was out of the question. She could not even lift a glass, her bones were so brittle and her strength so weak.
The day after Colleen and her husband, John, arrived in Medjugorje, they went to a courtyard for a talk being given by a woman named Vicka. She was one of the six people known as visionaries. Vicka, it was said, had daily apparitions from the Blessed Mother.
The courtyard was crowded, and in their zeal to hear Vicka, many of the people failed to be courteous. People stood between the wheels of Colleen’s wheelchair, and children were passed over her head. As they passed, some of them knocked into Colleen or stepped on her. The pain which resulted from this was excruciating.
As she listened to Vicka speak of a time when the Mother of Our Lord had led her and Jakov by the hand on a certain journey, Colleen prayed to God, thanking Him for the pain. She had come to know pain as her cross to bear, and she bore the pain she was feeling now with a head bowed, so people could not see her cry.
Then, she prayed to see Vicka up close, to see the woman who had seen His Mother. Then, she boldly prayed to even touch Vicka’s hand, to touch the hand that had touched Our Blessed Mother’s hand. At that precise time, she heard Vicka announce, “Momento, Momento.” The next thing she saw was the crowd moving out of the way and Vicka standing in front of her. Vicka hugged her tightly, which caused her no pain. Colleen feverishly told Vicka that she did not come for herself, and only asked that Vicka tell Our Blessed Mother of her request for the prayers of all those she had ever known to be answered.
Vicka released the hug, and for the next five minutes, prayed over Colleen, with her hand on Colleen’s head. After it was over, Colleen said her head felt like it was burning, like “hot coals going all through my head.” There was, however, no pain from the heat.
While further extraordinary gifts were to come, these would await the Mass, and culminate with the Eucharist.
As they then drove to St. James for Mass, Colleen still felt the heat. She said it lasted for about forty minutes. In fact, it was still there when, just before the consecration, Colleen heard a voice. It was clear and distinct. It said, “Now will you give me your whole heart and your whole soul for My Son?” Colleen said, “Yes, I will.” Then She said, “Now will you give your whole heart and your whole soul to the Father?” Colleen said, “Yes, I will.” Then She said, “Now will you give me your whole heart and your whole soul to My Spouse, the Holy Spirit?” Colleen said, “Yes, I will.” Then She said, “You are My daughter.” At that moment, the heat was gone. In fact, all the pain in her body was gone.
The priest then came to the back of the church, where she sat in her wheelchair, and gave her Communion. Colleen said that, at that time, there were no other people in the church for her. There was only her and God. Colleen then had an understanding of the depth of what Our Blessed Mother had been asking. She had been asking for complete surrender, a surrender such that our mind and our soul can focus only on God.
After Communion, she asked her husband to get her out of her wheelchair. After Mass, she did walk, on her own, out of her wheelchair. At dinner that evening, she spun around in excitement and was even able to bend down and touch the floor.
That evening, Colleen had a second extraordinary experience involving His Real Presence in the Eucharist. That, and the rest of Colleen’s story will wait until tomorrow.
Source: Eck, Larry and Mary Sue, Medjugorje Miracles of Physical Healings (Westmont, Illinois, Medjugorje Magazine, 2004), p. 1-18.
St. Gertrude and His Love for Communion
On another occasion, St. Gertrude saw Christ Himself as she a priest handle the Eucharist. It was before they received Communion that she first saw Him. He was in a state of severe weakness, as if on the point of death. Then, at the time of Communion, she saw the priest elevate a Body which was far larger than even his own.
She felt that she understood the meaning of what she saw, the expansive size of Christ and yet His extreme weakness. His love was large, so large and great that it physically drained Him. The love He had was His love for us to receive Him, to be united with Him in Holy Communion.
Source: St. Gertrude, and a religious of her monastery, The Life and Revelations of St. Gertrude the Great (Charlotte, North Carolina, Tan Books, 2010) p. 371.
St. Gertrude and the Vision at Communion
Once, when St. Gertrude observed members of her monastery receiving Holy Communion, she saw the Lord giving Himself to each person with His own hand. He made the sign of the Cross as He did so, in the same manner as the priest.
Source: St. Gertrude, and a religious of her monastery, The Life and Revelations of St. Gertrude the Great (Charlotte, North Carolina, Tan Books, 2010) p. 209.
St. Gertrude’s Fellow Traveler
At the time of her death, St. Gertrude was the abbess of a monastery of Benedictine nuns. Twelve days after her death, another nun in the same monastery also died. She was young and innocent, and her death stuck the convent rather hard. Another member of that community, probably the nun who helped to write The Life and Revelations of St. Gertrude the Great, prayed for her soul at a Mass following her death.
At the elevation of the Host, this sister made a prayerful offering of the His Real Presence for her young colleague. Then this sister saw the deceased young nun, elevated to a high degree of glory. Her clothes shone brilliantly and she was being honored by blessed spirits.
Afterwards, whenever this sister made this same prayer, she also experienced the same amazing sight.
Source: St. Gertrude, and a religious of her monastery, The Life and Revelations of St. Gertrude the Great (Charlotte, North Carolina, Tan Books, 2010) p. 52.