Flower of Devotion

On one occasion, St. Gertrude, after listening to a long sermon on the justice of God, noticed that she was afraid to approach the Lord’s Table. Then she was encouraged by God’s justice in these words:
“If you neglect your inner eyes, turn your inner eyes to my goodness, which I show you in so many ways; then at least look at Me with the eyes of your body. And look at the little vessel in which I am coming to meet you. And know that such severity of My justice is entirely surrounded by the gentleness of My mercy, which I deign to show to the human race in the administration of this Sacrament.”
In like manner, God’s goodness moved her the next day at the same hour to taste the sweetness of His love with these words:
“Look at the little form of bread in which I give you My whole divinity and humanity. Compare this greatness to the size of a man’s body, and judge what your appreciation of My goodness should be. Just as the human body is far more than My Body, i.e., it surpasses the greatness of this form of bread, so in this Sacrament My love and My mercy compels Me to allow the loving soul to overcome and surpass Me as it were, just as the human body far surpasses My body in greatness.”