Novena to St. Gertrude

O blessed St. Gertrude! permit us to choose thee as a perfect model of those virtues which God requires, especially from all religious, that assisted by thy prayers, we may correspond with the grace of our vocation. O seraphic spouse of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, thou didst early select that adorable sanctuary for thy dwelling and refuge. There thy angelic soul was purified, and raised by sublime contemplation to an intimate union with thy Divine Spouse. In that furnace of Eternal Love, where thy heart was consumed, and all thy sacrifices rewarded, thou didst enjoy a foretaste of Paradise, and such sweet consolations as seemed rather the portion of the blessed in Heaven, than the elect on Earth! O favourite of Heaven! well didst thou feel how sweet it is to serve God, despising the World! O teach us, what thou didst so perfectly practise, that holy poverty of spirit, that perfect obedience, and that ardent devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, which sanctified thee on Earth, and now glorifies thee in Heaven. Present us now, dear saint, and our earnest petition to Jesus, and ask him to unite us in life and death to His Adorable Heart. Who with the Father, etc.