Mechtilde was one of those people with a magnetic personality. Everyone loved her, sought out her conversation, and asked for her prayers and advice.
She was born around 1240, so frail that her parents feared she would die at any moment. However, after her hasty baptism, the priest prophesied that she would be a saint, a religious, and a miraculous instrument in God’s hands. This prophecy quickly proved true.
At age seven, little Mechtilde visited her older sister—a Benedictine abbess—and fell in love with monastic life. Her parents permitted her to live and learn at the monastery, and she entered the order 10 years later.
She was placed in charge of the girls who, like herself, were sent to the monastery for education and spiritual formation. She also directed the choir, having a beautiful voice. She frequently suffered unidentifiable illnesses, which she united to Our Lord’s sufferings.
When she was about 20 years old, St. Gertrude the Great—aged five—was given into her care.
Eventually, Mechtilde began confiding to Gertrude that Our Lord often appeared to her and gave her revelations. He called her His “nightingale,” showing how pleasing her songs were to Him.
Gertrude recorded everything Mechtilde told her. When Mechtilde discovered this—at the age of 50—she was troubled and turned to Our Lord for direction.
He appeared to her, holding the book of visions over His Heart, and told her that all her revelations flowed from the Sacred Heart and would return to it. He desired that the book be published, because through it, many souls would be drawn to His Heart.
After Mechtilde’s passing, the book was duly published and spread like wildfire through the Church, paving the way for future devotion to the Sacred Heart.
Like St. Mechtilde, you too can spread this important devotion. Show your love for Our Lord through our Radiant Sacred Heart Wall Plaque. An elegant, meaningful Christmas gift for anyone devoted to the Sacred Heart. Available today at The Catholic Company!
