15 prayers to St. Bridget

[Epsilon_Omega]

Yesterday, I went to the pray the rosary and the Chaplet of Devine Mercy at church during adoration. On the way in I noticed one of those blue pieta prayerbooks, and as I was thumbing through it I came upon The Fifteen Prayers of St. Bridget. Also with those 15 prayers come certain promises.

Quoted from cfht.hawaii.edu/~lwells/happiness.html

Saint Bridget prayed for a long time to know how many blows Our Lord suffered during His terrible Passion. Rewarding her patience, one day He appeared to her and said: "I received 5475 blows upon My Body. If you wish to honor them in some way, recite fifteen Our Fathers and fifteen Hail Marys with the following Prayers, which I Myself shall teach you, for an entire year. When the year is finished, you will have honored each of My Wounds.

"Our Lord grants these promises to all who devoutly recite the 15 Saint Bridget Prayers every day for a year:

1. I will deliver 15 souls of his lineage from Purgatory.

1. 15 souls of his lineage will be confirmed and preserved in grace.

1. 15 sinners of his lineage will be converted.

1. Whoever recites these Prayers will attain the first degree of perfection.

1. 15 days before his death I will give him My Precious Body in order that he may escape eternal starvation; I will give him My Precious Blood to drink lest he thirst eternally.

1. 15 days before his death he will feel a deep contrition for all his sins and will have a perfect knowledge of them.

1. I will place before him the sign of My Victorious Cross for his help and defense against the attacks of his enemies.

1. Before his death I shall come with My Dearest Beloved Mother.

1. I shall graciously receive his soul, and will lead it into eternal joys.

1. 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.

1. Let it be known that whoever may have been 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.

1. I shall protect him from strong temptations.

1. I shall preserve and guard his 5 senses.

1. I shall preserve him from a sudden death.

1. His soul will be delivered from eternal death.

1. He will obtain all he asks for from God and the Blessed Virgin.

1. If he has lived all his life doing his own will and he is to die the next day, his life will be prolonged.

1. Every time one recites these Prayers he gains 100 days indulgence.

1. He is assured of being joined to the supreme Choir of Angels.

1. Whoever teaches these Prayers to another, will have continuous joy and merit which will endure eternally.

1. There where these Prayers are being said or will be said in the future God is present with His grace.

I am not sure if i am in the right forum… its been forever since I posted on my account, but I have some questions. First of all, to me, even saying these prayers sincerly, give me the impression of working towards gaining favor to be received into heaven. Not that the prayers are bad, but its almost like do this, and you automatically gain the promises and worthiness to be received into heaven, no questioned asked. I am pretty sure its the Grace of god alone that lets us into heaven.

Second, looking at the first 3 and number 15:

1. I will deliver 15 souls of his lineage from Purgatory.
2. 15 souls of his lineage will be confirmed and preserved in grace.
3. 15 sinners of his lineage will be converted.
4. His soul will be delivered from eternal death.

Wouldn’t it require the persons of lineage to actually accept his grace, I mean by the way it sounds like above, its automatic. Like, how could one person, pray and get favor with god and then save 15 souls, when its up to each of the 15 people in their hearts to save their own souls.

Third, when looking at number 19, I didn’t know humans could join the choir of angels, is this true?

I know you have to be sincere about it, but this just seems to easy. According to Matthew 19:24, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God ?”

Are these prayer promises for real? It almost sounds too good to be true.

Thank you

 

[LilyM]

I’m not sure about numbers 2, 3 and 15, but 1 is fine.
Someone in purgatory is already in a state of grace, guaranteed salvation and that they will eventually get to heaven after a shorter or longer time in purgatory. They are simply being made completely perfect and cured of all the minor sins and imperfections that all humans have.

And we know that we can apply the merits of our prayers to the souls in purgatory, to deliver them from it the sooner. Nothing has to be done on the part of the soul in purgatory by way of accepting the aid we offer.

As I said, they’re already heaven-bound and beyond the stage where they can sin further, including sinning by rejecting any proffered grace.

 

[InLight247]

1. I will deliver 15 souls of his lineage from Purgatory.

People in Purgatory cannot help themselves. They are totally depending on others’ prayer and God’s grace.

1. 15 souls of his lineage will be confirmed and preserved in grace.
2. 15 sinners of his lineage will be converted.

Wouldn’t it require the persons of lineage to actually accept his grace, I mean by the way it sounds like above, its automatic. Like, how could one person, pray and get favor with god and then save 15 souls, when its up to each of the 15 people in their hearts to save their own souls.

When we give devotions or offer up sufferings, God alone has the right to allocate grace to whoever he wants. Man cannot save his own soul unless through God’s grace.

Third, when looking at number 19, I didn’t know humans could join the choir of angels, is this true?

When human die and go to heaven, they praise the Lord all the time. If the Lord says to join the choirs,then they can join the choirs.

St, Bridgette’s prayer is very powerful. The 15 prayers literally re-live the Passion with Christ. It transforms our hearts and souls.
I have been doing it daily more than five years and plan to continue to do so. Saying the prayers is a blessing itself. I seldom think about the promises, but it is good to be reminded.

 

[CatholicSam]

Are these prayer promises for real? It almost sounds too good to be true.

Thank you

The fact that God would send His only Son down to become a man and die for our sins also sounds way too good to be true.

In praying the 15 St. Bridget prayers, we are meditating on the suffering and death of Jesus. Jesus also told St. Faustina that there is more merit in one hour of meditation on His Passion than in a whole year of flagellation which draws blood. I think that Jesus wants to get the idea across to us how much it means to Him when we meditate on the ultimate sacrifice He made for us

 

[Epsilon_Omega]

Thanks :tiphat:

 

[Joe_Monahan]

See also this thread on the Revelations of Saint Brigitta.

Joe Monahan

 

[NoPlaceLikeRome]

Dear Epsilon Omega,
I too found those prayers a while ago and thought the promises were pretty amazing.

However, I came to find out that the promises are not, in fact, approved as legitimate.

There is some discussion of them greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg.tcl?msg_id=00C4d3 there and also here: preces-latinae.org/thesaurus/Filius/StBrigid.html

Peace.

 

[CatholicSam]

Dear Epsilon Omega,
I too found those prayers a while ago and thought the promises were pretty amazing.

However, I came to find out that the promises are not, in fact, approved as legitimate.

There is some discussion of them greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg.tcl?msg_id=00C4d3 there and also here: preces-latinae.org/thesaurus/Filius/StBrigid.html

Peace.

Nope, they’re approved There was a time of confusion about them and they were “recalled” so to speak. But currently, in the present moment, they are approved. Those websites are operating with outdated information. There was a discussion about this topic a while back. Sorry I don’t have time to go surfing around for it right now, maybe someone else could?

 

[SAEED777]

St. Bridget was honored by Jesus as being “the bride of Christ” because of her continual devotion to the passion and salvation the Lord won for us through his death on the cross, a death which is so sorrowfully described so as to move the American Catholic to percieve that no one on earth suffered as much as our Lord Jesus. Amen! :bowdown2:

 

[Soldier_of_Mary]

I know this thread ended quite a while ago, but I was wondering about what CatholicSam said about the promises being approved. I’ve searched, and the only thing that I can find is the declaration in 1954 that the promises are not approved. You mentioned that they were “recalled” briefly, so this is what I’m assuming you were referring to (since, I guess, they were originally approved in 1864 by Pope Pius IX).

I found something else (this statement: "These prayers are published under sanction of the Decree of November 18, 1986, published in the Acts Apostolicae Sedis, Vol. 58, No. 16 of December 29, 1966."), but I doubt that that is what you were referring to as stating the promises to be approved, since this statement only mentions the prayers being approved (not the promises).

Does anyone know anything else? I know that more recently other Catholic apologists have mentioned the same thing - the promises are not approved, quoting the supposedly “old” information from 1954.

Thanks in advance for any help! Hopefully this hasn’t already been answered elsewhere!

 

[InLight247]

catholicprayerdiary.com/promises.htm
Looks like 1954 is the latest one:
“Magnificent prayers, Yes, Promises, No”

St. Bridget prayers by all means is a great devotion.

Devotions and prayers bring us closer to Christ. We don’t do them because of the promises; therefore, it does not matter if the promises are approved or true, the bottom line is they bring us closer to Christ and benefit our hearts and souls.

 

[Soldier_of_Mary]

Thanks! Yes, that is one of the things that I found in my search. Mainly now I just want to help other people with this kind of thing, since at one time I got a little too caught up in promises. You’re right, sometimes it’s easy to focus on “reaping the benefits” rather than on the devotion itself, and then the heart and mind are in the wrong place.

 

[water]

yah, I pray to have deeper devotion to the Passion of Christ by using this devotion. I really don’t remember all the promises, but I surely ask for a happy death.

 

[numealinesimpet]

Yesterday, I went to the pray the rosary and the Chaplet of Devine Mercy at church during adoration. On the way in I noticed one of those blue pieta prayerbooks, and as I was thumbing through it I came upon The Fifteen Prayers of St. Bridget. Also with those 15 prayers come certain promises.

Quoted from cfht.hawaii.edu/~lwells/happiness.html

I am not sure if i am in the right forum… its been forever since I posted on my account, but I have some questions. First of all, to me, even saying these prayers sincerly, give me the impression of working towards gaining favor to be received into heaven. Not that the prayers are bad, but its almost like do this, and you automatically gain the promises and worthiness to be received into heaven, no questioned asked. I am pretty sure its the Grace of god alone that lets us into heaven.

Second, looking at the first 3 and number 15:

1. I will deliver 15 souls of his lineage from Purgatory.
2. 15 souls of his lineage will be confirmed and preserved in grace.
3. 15 sinners of his lineage will be converted.
4. His soul will be delivered from eternal death.

Wouldn’t it require the persons of lineage to actually accept his grace, I mean by the way it sounds like above, its automatic. Like, how could one person, pray and get favor with god and then save 15 souls, when its up to each of the 15 people in their hearts to save their own souls.

Third, when looking at number 19, I didn’t know humans could join the choir of angels, is this true?

I know you have to be sincere about it, but this just seems to easy. According to Matthew 19:24, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God ?”

Are these prayer promises for real? It almost sounds too good to be true.

Thank you

Hello, Epsilon Omega. My advice is, be of good cheer.

This spiritual exercise, and similar prayers and promises, confront us with the Mystery of** ‘Predestination, Grace and Free Will.’** The Church’s Tradition is full of instances where somebody is ‘inspired’ to pray for another person. Why that one and not another? these things are hidden in the secret designs of God.
At Fatima, Our Lady said, ‘Many go to hell bacause they have nobody to pray for them’. Hence my prayers can tip the balance is saving another soul from hell. Is it any wonder that some join a convent or monastery just to pray for this very intention?
As for the promises being excessive, consider the Nine First Fridays. It must be that those who are ‘inspired’ to make the Nine first Fridays are ‘predestined’ in the Catholic sense - ie in God’s foreknowledge, but not in a way to negate Free will - for Salvation. This Exercise gives human assurance, confirming the acts of Faith & hope. Consider the children of Fatima, S. Bernadette - not to mention the Good Thief - and others.
As for ‘praying with an ulterior motive’ - spiritual writers have said that God in His gentleness knows that we are spurred along by a concrete promise. In the Middle Ages and later, there was no shame in wanting to join a monastery to save one’s soul. the modern difficulty with this is perhaps too pedantic. It does get people on their knees. No human has 100% unmixed motives. I have prayed these 15 prayers, & I very seldom actually thought of the intentions, let alone the promises. I was spending 20 minutes a day with Our Lord in His Passion.

If I may, I will add the following. Many years I prayed these 15 prayers with the intention that two people of my acquaintance would return to the Faith. towards the end of the year they did so, & one of them informed me (after the year was up) that he knew it was my prayers that had steered them back to the Faith. We lived in separate towns, seldom met, and I certainly had not told them I was praying for them.

There is also the 12-year prayer of S. Bridget, with similar promises. the following is added to one leaflet containing this prayer:

But aren’t such stupendous promises too good to be true?
Remember when Elias the prophet sent a messenger to Naaman the leper, saying, Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and thou shalt be clean. But Naaman was angry, saying, Behold, I thought, He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the LORD his God, and strike his hand over the place, and cure the leprosy. Are not the rivers of Damascus better than all the waters of Israel? May I not wash in them, and be clean? But his servants said, My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldst thou not have done it? How much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean? Then he went down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God: and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean. (cf. 2Kg5:10)

 

[numealinesimpet]

p.s. As for promises being ‘approved’, I don’t know that the Church is ever in a position to do this: would it not be “Adding to the Deposit of Revelation?” - which is impossible. The most, as far as I know, that is said, is that the following “May piously be believed by the Faithful”. Therefore the fact that certain promises are not ‘approved’ is not the same as saying they have been repudiated - something that certainly has been done in certain instances.
And for completeness, I agree that it is dangerous to go too far down the line of ‘promises’. I always steer right clear of the kind of statement attached to a prayer : “Never known to fail”. The prayer is a request, not a magic charm that ‘works’.
But I do say S. Bridget’s prayers, in ‘Good Christian Hope’ that the promises are real. After all, unless they were forged, Saints like S. Bridget are worth listening to. If we believe she got the prayers from her colloquies with Our Lord, why not the promises?

 

[Miserissima]

I just had to throw in my :twocents: : I found the Pieta Prayer Book Online. I remember having one in my teens.

catholicdevotion.net/pietahome.aspx

When you get to about where The Angelus is, the link doesn’t seem to be working, but most of the booklet is there.

 

[eli1118]

Friends,
I am very confused. I wanted to pray these prayers for the souls in purgatory but also for my mom who passed away 8 years ago. Now, I thought it was one a day– How do you do this?
I didn’t have time to read the entire thread:blush:
Blessings,
Eli

 

[LilyM]

Friends,
I am very confused. I wanted to pray these prayers for the souls in purgatory but also for my mom who passed away 8 years ago. Now, I thought it was one a day– How do you do this?
I didn’t have time to read the entire thread:blush:
Blessings,
Eli

No - in case you hadn’t noticed, 15 doesn’t exactly go evenly into a year!

You pray ALL fifteen prayers, with the introductory and closing prayers, each day for a year. Takes about twenty minutes - the same length of time or a bit less as saying five decades of the Rosary.

 

[eli1118]

Thanks for the clarification. Is this the only way you can pray to st. Bridgett? Just wondering?
Is it like the rosary where if you don’t finish you can pick up later in the day?

 

[LilyM]

Thanks for the clarification. Is this the only way you can pray to st. Bridgett? Just wondering?
Is it like the rosary where if you don’t finish you can pick up later in the day?

I’m sure it isn’t the only way you can pray to her.

And I don’t know of any reason why you can’t divide the prayers up over the course of your day.