St. Margaret’s compassion for the poor was legendary. Known for her boundless generosity, Margaret ensured that no beggar left her presence empty-handed. A famous legend describes how, despite her royal duties, she would often leave the palace with food and alms, personally distributing them to those in need.
One of her biographers, Turgot, the Bishop of St. Andrews, wrote that “she was the mother of orphans, the treasure of the poor, and the source of peace to her people.” Her acts of mercy were so frequent that she was often seen as the embodiment of Christian charity in Scotland.
St. Gertrude had the privilege of seeing Our Lord’s Sacred Heart. During one vision, St. John the Beloved Apostle came to her on his feast day and brought her to rest on the heart of Jesus. She heard His Sacred Heart beating, pounding with love for souls. On another occasion, Jesus allowed her to see His Most Sacred Heart as graces flowed from it like a stream of the purest water imaginable. She watched these graces as they flowed into the hearts of those for whom she prayed, and out onto the whole world.