The glorious Feast of the Annunciation falls on March 25th, when we celebrate the occasion the Archangel Gabriel appearing to the Virgin Mary and announcing that she was with Child. This Feast occurs a full nine months before Christmas to signify the duration of Mary's pregnancy.
Over 700 years ago, on the Feast of the Annunciation St Gertrude the Great was given extraordinary revelations as to the gifts Our Lady bestows on those who honor and pray to her. This was sometime during the life of St Gertrude, she lived to be 46, from 1256 to 1302.
On the Vigil of the Annunciation St Gertrude strode into the chapel in her convent, her long black habit sweeping the floor. She saw an awesome sight: Our Lord and His Blessed Mother were sitting in the place of Mother Superior.
When Gertrude and her sisters started praying in honor of the Annunciation, she saw Our Lord incline ever more closer and lovingly towards His Mother and He "saluted her with such goodness and condescension as to renew in her that sweet and inestimable joy which she had felt when His Divinity took flesh in her womb."
Then Gertrude and the flock of nuns surrounding her began to offer the Miserere, "Lamb of God, you who take away the sins of the world, have mercy upon us..."
Gertrude saw that for every word of the prayer they prayed, Our Lord took a pearl in his hand and deposited it into the hands of His Mother. Each word of this prayer was like a pearl of mercy that was entrusted to Our Lady's hands. The pearls were different colors; they were the many shades of mercy. But what's more, Our Lady rubbed the pearl in perfumes. Gertrude was given a divine insight that these perfumes symbolized the crosses which she and her sisters had suffered recently, and when she wondered why these crosses were symbolically perfumes, Our Lord spoke to her, "As a delicate person is more pleased with perfumes than with than any other present, so do I delight in the hearts of those who suffer their trials with humility, patience and thanksgiving, abandoning themselves entirely to My paternal goodness, which converts both prosperity and adversity to their good."
If you are such a soul, who offers up the pain of your crosses with admirable humility and at the same time pray for mercy, many perfumed pearls may be stored in Heaven for you. As we are advised in the Gospel of Matthew, "lay up to yourselves treasures in Heaven."
It came time for Gertrude and her sisters to chant the Hail Mary and she was shown a spectacular vision of three streams issuing from God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Ghost - these streams flowed into the heart of the Blessed Virgin - and then flowed back from her heart to the Three Persons of the Trinity. This revealed to Gertrude that the Virgin Mary is most powerful after the Father, most prudent after the Son and most gentle after the Holy Spirit. Next Gertrude was given the insight that anyone who prays the Hail Mary with love will receive from the three streams that flow into Our Lady, little streams of joy and salvation which will restore to them all the benefits of the Incarnation of the Son of God.
If you are given to praying the Hail Mary with love, you too, will receive streams of joy and salvation.
Gertrude beheld the Heavenly Court, the Saints and Angels in joyous celebrations for the Feast of the Annunciation; Archangel Gabriel glowed more and more every time the Annunciation was mentioned; which was his great moment when he had the honor to telling Our Lady she was the Mother of the Messiah. When St Joseph was mentioned, all the Saints bowed to him. But most wonderfully, every time Our Lady's chaste purity was mentioned, all the Saints stood up, venerated her as the Queen and gave thanksgiving to God for all the blessings which He had gave mankind through her.
Gertrude paid homage to the Virgin Mary by reminding her of the tremendous joy she had felt when she said yes to God's will and to be the Mother of His Son and our Redeemer. The Virgin Mary then confided in Gertrude that when anyone reminds her devoutly of this, she will tell Our Lord about their troubles, be their advocate with her Son, succor them and help them in the compassionate way possible.
You may well remind Our Lady of her joyful submission to the Will of God, and she will delight in presenting your difficulties to her Son, petition Him on your behalf, and support and help you with tenderness.
St Gertrude was moved to ask Our Lady as to whether there was a special devotion that she could offer. Our Lady replied that anyone who offered the Hail Mary 45 times in view of the time Our Lord was a Baby in her womb (5 Hail Marys for each month of Mary's 9 month pregnancy), they would give her the same honor as though they had cared for her everyday of her pregnancy. And she assured Gertrude she would answer all prayer requests that a person made who offered these 45 Hail Marys.
On this Feast of the Annunciation, you may offer these 45 Hail Marys in honor of the time Our Lord was a Babe in the Virgin Mary's womb for an intention that is very dear to your heart.
May I wish you and yours a very happy Feast of the Annunciation. I hope your prayers for mercy gain you many perfumed pearls, and may your Hail Marys mean many streams of joy and salvation fall upon you.
This post was based on the visions given St Gertrude that are recorded in The Life and Revelations of St Gertrude which is available in the Spirit Daily Store.
Picture Credits:
St Gertrude the Great, unknown artist, early 18th century
The Annunciation, Francesco Salviati, 1534