The Catholic Defender: "Eternal Father, I offer You the most precious blood of Thy Divine Son, Jesus, in union with the Masses said throughout the world today, for all the Holy Souls in Purgatory

"Eternal Father, I offer You the most precious blood of Thy Divine Son, Jesus, in union with the Masses said throughout the world today, for all the Holy Souls in Purgatory, for sinners everywhere, for sinners in the universal Church, for those in my own home, and in my family. Amen."

This text is the beginning of the Prayer of St. Gertrude the Great, a traditional Catholic prayer dedicated to releasing souls from purgatory.

The Origin: St. Gertrude the Great was a 13th-century German Benedictine nun and mystic. According to Catholic tradition, Jesus appeared to her and promised that each time this prayer is piously recited, it would release 1,000 souls from purgatory.

The prayer centers on offering the infinite merits of Christ's sacrifice (His Precious Blood), specifically uniting the person's private prayer with the spiritual power of every Catholic Mass being celebrated globally that day.

 While famously used to aid the faithful departed, the full text expands its scope to pray for the living—asking for the conversion of sinners globally, inside the Church, and within one's immediate family.