Posted on 07/22/2002 8:05:43 PM PDT by Lady In Blue
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Spiritual Bouquet: I overflow with joy in all my troubles. II Cor. 7:4
"Saint Bridget"
SAINT BRIDGET of SWEDEN
Widow
(1302-1373)
Saint Bridget was born into the Swedish royal family in the year 1302, the daughter of very virtuous Christian parents. More than one prophetic episode attended the birth of Bridget,whose voice would be heard with admiration by the entire world, according to a bishop of her country. Curiously, for three years she said not a word, then began to speak with facility and clarity, like persons of mature years. At the age of seven, after her mother had died, she beheld the Mother of God, who presented her with a beautiful crown. She became sober, modest, candid, humble, and peaceful. At ten years old she saw Our Lord as He was on the Cross, and she began to meditate constantly on the mysteries of the Passion, while occupying herself exteriorly with needlework.
In obedience to her father, she was married to Prince Ulpho of Sweden. Saint Bridget became the mother of eight children, four boys and four girls, one of whom, Saint Catherine of Sweden, is honored as a Saint. Their four sons died young, two during one of the crusades. After some years she and her husband separated by mutual consent; he entered the Cistercian Order, where he died thirty years before his holy spouse. After his death, her life became still more austere; for her guide she had a celebrated Doctor of Theology, a Canon of the cathedral of Linkoeping. Severe for herself, Saint Bridget remained gentle for the poor and nourished twelve persons every day, serving them herself; she established hospices for the sick and the convalescent. She founded the Order of the Holy Saviour for sixty nuns, at the Abbey of Wastein or Wadstena in Sweden.
Saint Bridget received a series of sublime revelations, all of which she scrupulously submitted to the judgment of her confessor. During a famous pilgrimage which she made to Rome at the command of her Lord, He dictated to her the Fifteen Prayers of Saint Bridget, in honor of His Passion. Saint Bridget also went on pilgrimage to the Holy Land with her daughter, Saint Catherine, and amid the very scenes of the Passion was further instructed in the sacred mysteries. She died in Rome, during her return from this pilgrimage, in 1373.
Reflection: Saint Bridget appreciated in an extraordinary way the grace of the Sacrament of Penance.Is confession a matter of much time or expense? asks Saint John Chrysostom Is it a difficult and painful remedy? Without cost or hurt, this medicine is ever ready to restore you to perfect health.
Sources: Les Petits Bollandistes: Vies des Saints, by Msgr. Paul Guérin (Bloud et Barral: Paris, 1882), Vol. 12; Little Pictorial Lives of the Saints, a compilation based on Butler’s Lives of the Saints and other sources by John Gilmary Shea (Benziger Brothers: New York, 1894).
Today!
TO SAINT BRIDGET OF SWEDEN
St. Bridget of Sweden, holy Patroness of Europe, pray to the Father of lights for the reconversion of all Europe and all Russia that those who are in the darkness of unbelief and sin may themselves become living lights of faith in Jesus Christ the only Saviour of the world. Amen.
YOU ARE THE SALT OF THE EARTH, THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD
Siobhan's prayer for all of our young people in Toronto at World Youth Day:
Holy and Eternal Father of Our Lord Jesus Christ,
we pray to you
for all of the youth of the world and especially in Toronto
that through their worship, fellowship, and prayer
a new hope may be brought to the world
through a new vanguard of young believers
who will be the saints of an age to come.
You know how we love our children and our youth.
Give them your Holy Spirit that where we have failed, they may succeed for Christ,
and that they may build upon all that we have done
to reveal your Kingdom in the world.
Let our youth be the Salt of the earth and the Light of the world in the Holy Name, Precious Blood, Sacred Heart, and Mighty Power of Jesus Christ Our Living Lord and Saviour. Amen.
We pray to Abba, the Eternal Father, in and subject to His will, in the name, the heart and the blood of Jesus, by the power of the Holy Spirit, Lord and giver of life, and through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, as our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament, and as Mediatrix of all graces, that Pope John Paul II, will be cured and healed of all illness and, that his earthly life shall extend, free from any harm, so that the Pope will continue to serve as Vicar of Christ for many years to come. Amen.
I frequently make use of the Universalis website -- and have been very grateful for it.
| St. Bridget of Sweden |
 Feastday: July 23 Patron of Sweden |
St. Bridget was the daughter of the royal Prince of Sweden, named Birger, and of Ingeburdis, a descendent of the Gothic kings. From these pious parents she inherited a great love for the Passion of Our Lord. Her father consecrated all Fridays to special acts of penance, and from her childhood St. Bridget loved to meditate upon the Passion of Christ. In obedience to her father, at the age of fourteen she married Ulfo, Prince of Nericia in Sweden, by whom she had eight children, the last of whom, Catherine, is now honored among the saints. Later, the holy couple bound themselves by a vow of chastity and made a pilgrimage to Compostela in Galicia. On their return to Sweden, Ulfo, with his wife's consent, entered a Cistercian monastery, where he died soon after, in the odor of sanctity. After his death St. Bridget renounced her rank of Princess and changed her habit. In 1344, she built the great monastery of Wastein, which became the motherhouse of a new Order, that of the Brigittines. She next undertook a pilgrimage to Rome and to Palestine. Having satisfied her devotion at the holy places sanctified by the life and Passion of Our Redeemer, she returned to Rome, where she lived a year longer. During this time, she was sorely afflicted by sickness, but endured it with heroic patience and resignation. Her son, Birger, and her daughter, Catherine, were with her in her last moments. Having giving them her final instructions, she received the Last Sacraments and died in 1373. She is the patroness of Sweden. Her feast day is July 23.
Acts of the Holy See
Congregation of the Holy Office
Warning In some places, a certain little work has been disseminated called the "Secret of Happiness: 15 Prayers Revealed by the Lord to St. Bridget in the Church of St. Paul at Rome", published at Nice and various other places in several languages. Since it is asserted in this pamphlet that God made to St. Bridget certain promises, whose supernatural origin in no way stands up, let local ordinaries take care not to grant permission for publishing or reprinting pamphlets or other writings which contain these aforementioned promises.
Given at Rome, from the offices of the Holy Office, 28 , January 1954
Marius Crovini, Notary of the Supreme Holy, Congregation of the Holy Office
Some recent publications of the promises have made various claims about past popes approving their publication, however, such claims are quite false. No authentic records of such approvals of the promises themselves exist.
I always look for approval from the church on any apparitions.Thanks again for your post.
Thanks, Sock.
These are wonderful prayers. They may seem difficult and long at first, but you grow to love them. And they really do make a REAL difference in your life. In times like these, they provide a needed blessing. Every day.
Bumping on St. Bridget of Sweden Feast Day -- July 23, 2004
Please notify me via FReepmail if you would like to be added to or taken off the Saint of the Day Ping List.
is that thread powerful or what?
On a recent episode of The Journey Home, Marcus Grodi's guest was a former Nazarene minister, Doug Gonzales. Doug attributes his conversion, in part, to St. Bridget of Sweden, who appeared to him in a dream. She led him up a hill to a small church. Inside was the Holy Father. As Doug made his way up the hill, a tremendous weight kept pulling him back. He asked St. Bridget for her assistance, and she immediately came to his aid. Once inside the church, he approached the Holy Father and said: "Father, I have sinned." And then he woke up. The rest of his story is even more fantastic. You can listen to Doug tell his story in Real Audio, at the following link. Just scroll down to April 12, 2004. It is well worth the effort!
In fact, ALL of the Real Audio recordings are worth hearing. I especially enjoyed Marcus Grodi with Fr. Terry Kraychuk, a revert who is now a Ukrainian priest.
It sure is!
I wish they had a choice on listening to these things in something else other than Real Audio!
Holy and Eternal Father of Our Lord Jesus Christ,
we pray to you
for all of the youth of the world
and especially those in Scandinavia and all of Europe
that through their worship, fellowship, and prayer
a new hope may be brought to the world
through a new vanguard of young believers
who will be the saints of an age to come.
You know how we love our children and our youth.
Give them your Holy Spirit
that where we have failed,
they may succeed for Christ,
and that they may build upon all that we have done
to reveal your Kingdom in the world.
Let our youth be the Salt of the earth and the Light of the world
in the Holy Name, Precious Blood, Sacred Heart, and Mighty Power
of Jesus Christ Our Living Lord and Saviour. Amen.
The young lady who has been my respite care provider twice a week was named after St. Bridget she'll love this.
I will print it out for her.
Do you have a link to the 15 prayers?
Click on the "Wounds of Christ" link in post 32, all the prayers are listed on that thread.
Thanks!
BTTT on the Optional Memorial of St. Bridget of Sweden, July 23, 2005!
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July 23, 2005
 St. Bridget
(1303?-1373)
From age seven on, Bridget had visions of Christ crucified. Her visions formed the basis for her activity—always with the emphasis on charity rather than spiritual favors. She lived her married life in the court of the Swedish king Magnus II. Mother of eight children (the second eldest was St. Catherine of Sweden), she lived the strict life of a penitent after her husband’s death. Bridget constantly strove to exert her good influence over Magnus; while never fully reforming, he did give her land and buildings to found a monastery for men and women. This group eventually expanded into an Order known as the Bridgetines (still in existence). In 1350, a year of jubilee, Bridget braved a plague-stricken Europe to make a pilgrimage to Rome. Although she never returned to Sweden, her years in Rome were far from happy, being hounded by debts and by opposition to her work against Church abuses. A final pilgrimage to the Holy Land, marred by shipwreck and the death of her son, Charles, eventually led to her death in 1373. In 1999, she, Saints Catherine of Siena and Edith Stein were named co-patronesses of Europe. Quote:
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BTTT on the Optional Memorial of St. Bridget of Sweden, July 23, 2007!
I love that site, too. And the Liturgy of the Hours. What a treasure. I especially love learning about the Saints and reading the homilies of the Church Fathers.
Saint Bridget of Sweden, Religious
Optional Memorial
July 23rd
St. Bridget of Sweden, Revelationes. Ghotan: Lübeck, 1492
History
St. Bridget of Sweden was born June 14, 1303 to Birger Persson, a governor, judge and wealthy land owner and Ingeborg Bengtsdotter, a deeply pious woman.
She married Prince Ulf Gudmarsson a noble and pious man. They had eight children including St. Catherine of Sweden. When her husband died in 1344 she devoted herself to religious life. In 1346 she founded the Order of the Most Holy Savior.
St. Bridget is known for the revelations she received on the wounds and passion of Jesus, known as the 15 Prayers of St. Bridget.
She died July 23, 1373 and was canonized on October 7, 1391.Collect:
Lord our God,
you revealed the secrets of heaven to St. Bridget
as she meditated on the suffering and death of your Son.
May your people rejoice in the revelation of your glory.
Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
First Reading: Galatians 2: 19-20
For I through the law died to the law, that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me; and the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.Gospel Reading: John 15:1-8
"I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch of mine that bears no fruit, he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. You are already made clean by the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me, and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If a man does not abide in me, he is cast forth as a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be my disciples.
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