7/23 feast of St Bridget of Sweden: Prayers & Promises

Introduction. St. Bridget of Sweden (1303-1372) was a mystic, seer, mother, widow, tertiary Franciscan; and founder of the Bridgettine order. She was canonized in 1391 by Pope Boniface IX as a patron saint of Europe, Sweden, widows and of holy deaths. She is associated with 2 devotions based on Heavenly revelations. Catholics are not required to believe in private revelations, protecting our God-gifted free will. Meanwhile, the purpose of this article is:

• To describe the supernatural science behind meditation for prayer maximization and
• To contrast both meditations to ensure the best match with soul's desire for prayer. 

In 1862, both sets of prayers and promises were approved by Pope Pius IX. In my opinion, most laity can manage the concise prayers. The longer and deeper devotion attracts the vocationally-advanced or those hungering for a richer return on investment. I have witnessed subway commuters and relatives, soul-binging on the marathon-clerical prayers while radiating an aura of holiness. He invites all to the eternal banquet. 

Background. St Bridget was the daughter of a fearless, royal knight who earned a fertile and well-endowed kingdom. At age 14, she married the devout lawyer and nobleman, Herre Ulf Gudsson. Over time, they created 8 souls: 4 girls and 4 boys. Six survived into adulthood of which, one is canonized: St. Catherine of Sweden. After Herre Ulf's death in 1344, St Bridget was adopted into the the 3rd Order of Saint Francis.  Her divinely-aided compassion and charisma elevated her to a Swedish pop star-level of fame, for her spirit-infused mercy. During the latter 7-popes of the Avignon Papacy, she and her daughter Catherine moved to Rome to promote ecclesiastical reform. Her Papal letters evidenced damning details of Roman clergy abandoning the deposit of faith. Examples were "erotic deviations, extravagance, and murderous plots." Christ's bride, the church, was dying at the undisciplined pope's blood-stained hands. This was the bride they had sworn to protect; for which He suffered away every drop of His blood. As a defender of the faith, St Bridget's relentless courage, vicarious law & debating skills, fame, influence, connections, and royal nobility chipped away the pope's pride. As other influencers joined her crusade, Pope Gregory XI's heart began to soften. After St Bridget's death in 1372, St Catherine of Siena (1347-1380) stuck the landing with verbal-gymnatics. In 1377, the beaten and pruned pope hoisted a white flag and left to retake the Vatican. With her polished resume and mercy charism, St Bridget emerges as a well-bred, respected, prudently-devout Swedish-grandmother with an assertive, poised, and mama bearlike-bedside manner. In hindsight, God brilliantly crafted St Bridget's personality to lovingly rescue the faith and firmly recultivate His falling clergy. Her accomplishments should have been impossible, except she was Christ's spouse. While St Joan of Arc defended French Catholicism, God's plan for Bridget was the world's stage. Bridget's final act was a graceful handoff which is humorously-plagiarized by Tolkien. God put in His closer, St Catherine of Siena. 

Meditation. While poorly said prayers are better than no prayers, exactly what is meditation? While long repetitive prayers such as the rosary, various chaplets and litanies appear boring, that is somewhat the point. Heaven asks us to set our busiest brain lobes to autopilot. This exact sweet spot allows for productive meditation: a virtual Jesus-guided tour in His Holy Land. To illustrate awkwardly, polygraphs detect "lies" by transposing vital data into waves: blood pressure, pulse, respirations and perspiration readings. If chaotic waves appear spiked, high, and tight; we assume stress or "lying." A loose comparison is brain wave activity on an EEG. An electro-encephalograph tracing is a crude measure of a brain's bandwidth consumption. Limiting our bandwidth is how we hear the voice of God. If our brain activity is thick and chaotic, we produce high and tight beta waves. These spikes represent intensity, which overwrite all attempts at meaningful meditation. Moreover, stimulants will extend this brain state. Conversely, flat delta waves reflect sleep. Our goal is a calm detached, in-between state: an open mind without artifact. For quality meditation, we seek smooth alpha waves or "the zone" where God lives while the Holy Spirit works in our souls. Therein lies the rub with new age or non-Catholic meditation. God is a gentleman who seeks an invitation. If we aren't seeking God, who is creeping into our souls?      

Laity Prayers. Why laity? -- because no one has time. For my laity prayers, I use a cell phone/audio recording while chopping vegetables, assembling dinner or during short drives since repetitive, boring activity is already in play. My lulled parietal lobes are floating in a pre-meditation state. As a bonus, I use a foreign brogued narrator that places me next to St. Bridget, who asks Christ about His bloody sufferings. What is the daily time investment? It is piously believed that among St. Bridget's post-mortem published-revelations is the daily, 8–10-minute, 12-Year devotion. This meditation follows the 7-Gospel accounts where Jesus' blood was shed to purchase our salvation. Promises to these devout souls are that they will: suffer no purgatory, be accepted among the martyrs as though spilling blood for the faith, choose 3 others to receive sufficient graces to make them holy, and be alerted 1-month prior of their upcoming death. There is no way to confirm or deny these promises, however 3 things are true. More time spent in prayer, means less time is spent in sin. Second, it puts our burdens into perspective which elevates love of God and puts our neighbor first. Lastly, either we will stop sinning or stop praying. 

Clerical Prayers. In a vision, St. Bridget asked Jesus the number of blows He received during His passion. He said, "I received 5,480 blows on My Body. If you wish to honor them, pray 15 Our Fathers and 15 Hail Mary's daily with meditations for 1-year. When the year is up, you will have honored each one of My Wounds."  Below are the promises which are followed by the prayer meditations. NOTE: If we can't space the prayers over the day, we can group them as needed.

15 Promises (approved by Pope Pius IX in 1862)

I will deliver 15 souls of his lineage from Purgatory.
15 souls of his lineage will be confirmed and preserved in grace.
15 sinners of his lineage will be converted.
Whoever recites these Prayers will attain the first degree of perfection.
15 days before death I will give him My Precious Body to escape his eternal starvation; I will give him My Precious Blood to drink lest he thirst eternally.
15 days before his death he will feel a deep contrition for all his sins & will have a perfect knowledge of them.
I will place before him the sign of My Victorious Cross for his help and defense against the attacks of his enemies.
Before his death I shall come with My Dearest Beloved Mother.
I shall graciously receive his soul and will lead it into eternal joys.
And having led it there I shall give him a special draught from the fountain of My Deity, something I will not for those who have not recited My Prayers.
Those living in a state of mortal sin for 30 years, but who will recite devoutly, or have the intention to recite these Prayers, the Lord will forgive him all his sins.
I shall protect him from strong temptations.
I shall preserve and guard his 5 senses.
I shall preserve him from a sudden death.
His soul will be delivered from eternal death.
He will obtain all he asks for from God and the Blessed Virgin.
If he has lived all his life doing his own will and he is to die the next day, his life will be prolonged.
Every time one recites these Prayers he gains 100 days indulgence.
He is assured of being joined to the supreme Choir of Angels.
Whoever teaches these Prayers to another, will have continuous joy and merit which will endure eternally.
There where these Prayers are being said or will be said in the future God is present with His grace.”

15-Prayer Meditations

The Morning Prayer – Seeks wisdom, knowledge of God’s will & the grace to reject sin.
The Midday Prayer – Implores love for God & neighbors selflessly.
The Afternoon Prayer: Asks for patience, fortitude & consolation amidst suffering.
The Evening Prayer: Seeks prudence & discernment to understand & resist temptation.
The Prayer Before a Crucifix: Meditates on Christ’s passion, hailing His sacrifice.
The Prayer Before the Holy Sacrament: Adores Christ’s presence & seeks union.
The Prayer for Holy Spirit's 7 gifts: Seeks wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety & holy fear.
The Prayer for Victory over Temptation: Asks God’s grace to resist sin.
The Prayer Before Work: Requests blessings upon our duties & service all day.
The Prayer Before Meals: Offers gratitude for God’s provision and nourishment.
The Prayer After Meals: Expresses thanksgiving for God’s gifts which sustain us.
The Prayer at Bedtime: Asks for forgiveness for sins committed that day.
The Prayer at Midnight: Implores light against evil and protection in darkness.
The Prayer in Times of Affliction: Pleads for mercy & comfort when beset by trials.
The Prayer to the Holy Spirit: Petitions the Spirit for perseverance and fortitude.

In conclusion, those completing either devotion admit they see extra graces in their lives. I chose to start small with the laity version, procrastinating the 15-prayer devotion. However, the eternal St. Bridget is prodding me toward a soul-cleansing plunge into the clerical version. Already, I know she will win, since there is a wilted-pope in her wake. Part of her charm is, there is no Swedish word for "please." Don't say you weren't warned--proof is your being here. Her bold methods will steer you straight into Jesus's arms. St. Bridget, bride of Christ, pray for us!

Sources 

15 Prayers of St. Bridget x1 year www.mostsacredheart.com 

Audio (6-7 minutes) 7 Prayers of St. Bridget Prayers x 12 years

Audio (6-7 minutes) Exploring brain states: This is your brain on meditation (Pearce, 2019)

Printable Versions for both St. Bridget Prayers www.workofgod.com

St Bridget of Sweden (Wikipedia, 2025)