St. Gertrude of Helfta: The Herald of Divine Love,
III.51: The Heartbeats of the Lord
When she saw the others assembling for the sermon,
she complained within herself and said to the Lord: "You Know, my dearest,
how gladly I would now hear the sermon with all my heart, were I not held back
by sickness. " To which the Lord answered: "Would you like me to
preach to you, my dearest?"? She answered: "I would, very much.
" Then the Lord made her lean against his heart, with the heart of her
soul close to his divine heart. When her soul had sweetly rested there a while,
she heard in the Lord's heart two wondrous and very sweet pulsations.
The Lord said to her: "Each of these two
pulsations brings about man's salvation in three ways. The first pulsation
effects the salvation of sinners; the second, that of the just. With the first
pulsation, first, I address God the Father, ceaselessly appeasing him and
leading him to have mercy upon sinners. Second, I invoke all my saints,
excusing the sinner with fraternal fidelity, and urging them to pray for him.
Third, I address the sinner himself, calling upon him to repent, and awaiting
his conversion with ineffable longing.
"With the second pulsation, first, I address
God the Father, inviting him to rejoice with me for having shed my precious
blood to such good purpose for the redemption of the just, in whose hearts I
now find so many delights. Second, I address all the heavenly hosts, inviting
them to praise the lives of the just, and to thank me for the benefits I have
already bestowed upon them, and for those I will bestow in the future. Third, I
address the just themselves, lavishing various favors on them for their salvation
and admonishing them to progress from day to day and from hour to hour. And
just as the pulsations of the human heart are not impeded by seeing or hearing
or by any manual work, but always maintain their regular motion, so the
government and disposition of heaven and earth and the whole universe can never
affect in the very least these twofold pulsations of my divine heart, still
them, modify them, or in any way hinder them, till the end of time."
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