Promises of St Bridget 15 Prayers

[Nienete]

Are all 21 promises attached to praying the 15 Prayers to Jesus Crucified all made by Jesus or were some composed by others? I have prayed them for more than 14 years and many of the 21 promises especially #2, #16, & #19 were never granted yet but perhaps someday some will be.

 

[Tis_Bearself]

The promises associated with the St. Bridget Prayers did not come from Jesus and are not approved by the Church. They are generally thought to have been made up/ added on to the original prayers by people who were publishing or promulgating the prayers. From a theological standpoint, there are issues with several of them. There is one case of a popular prayer book that was withdrawn from publication because it contained the promises.

The prayers themselves are fine to say and are accepted as being to some degree an approved private revelation to a saint. It’s likely that people added things to the prayers too as they were recopied and passed around over the centuries, so the prayers in their current form might not be exactly what St. Bridget first wrote down as being the words of Christ, but the prayers are basically just a meditation on the crucifixion and Seven Last Words of Christ.

One should say them with the intention of meditating on Christ crucified, similar to how one makes the Stations of the Cross. One should NOT say them in order to get the benefits of the alleged Promises, which are not approved.

If you have been saying these for 14 years then congratulations, you have no doubt received many wonderful spiritual benefits in bringing yourself closer to Jesus through prayerful meditation on His Passion.

 

[Nienete]

Thank you for the clarification. Are you a Religious or belong to a Religious Order? How did you learn about the reality of the 15 St Bridget Prayers?

Thank you and God Bless you!

Michael P May

 

[Tis_Bearself]

I’m not a religious or in a religious order. At some future point I would like to join a third order, but right now I don’t feel able to do that for various reasons.

I say the St. Bridget Prayers regularly, on and off, for the last few years and am trying to do the St. Bridget Prayers for 1 year every day since this past January.

The St. Bridget Prayer Promises controversy has been discussed on this forum in the past many times. EWTN has on its website a Vatican document addressing them.

Warning of the Holy Office concerning the Promises of St. Bridget | EWTN

I am also a fan of the Pieta Prayer Book which as I mentioned had to be removed from publication and republished because of its original inclusion of the promises, which I think were taken out of the republished edition. It is possible that some other publishing company is still publishing the old edition as being “traditional”. There are many traditional prayers in the book and a copy is in one of the Adoration chapels I visit so when I went to buy my own copy I discovered all this republishing mess.

 

[CarolAnnSFO]

The newest version of the Pieta Prayer Book that I have is copyrighted 2006. It does contain the 21 promises, but says this about them:

“(The 21 St. Bridget Promises, while traditionally associated with the St. Bridget Prayers, are not covered by an imprimatur.)
In Jan. of 1954, the Holy Office issued a warning that the supernatural origin of these promises has not been proven.”

 

[Nienete]

Thank you.

I started praying the 15 St Bridget Prayers in 1975 until 1980 when my first born died minutes after birth. That made me question the 16th Promise = “He will obtain all that he ask for from God and the Blessed Virgin Mary.” Several tragedies have made me question the validity of the 21 Promises. I have said these prayers from 1975 to 1980, 1991 to 1996, and from 2016 until now = 14+ years.

I am discourage to continue since getting so many negative responses to the validity of the 15 Prayers that were supposedly taught by Jesus to St. Brigitte of Sweden at the Basilica of St. Paul outside the Wall in Rome.

The Blessed Virgin Mary supposedly said “Pray to us with sincerity and we will grant your requests.” So I ask what does she mean by “sincerity”?

Now I ask God and the Blessed Mother what prayers and promises are of God and which are not? Since God and the Blessed Virgin Mary always keep their promises, but if not then which revelations are real and of God and which are not?

Thanks for your response and God Bless you.

Michael

 

[Weave]

The prayers in themselves are a beautiful way to meditate on the Passion. I have a booklet with the promises in them and I was always confused by them. I don’t pray because I’m looking for supernatural promises, I pray because I love the Lord and want to better understand His will.

 

[Tis_Bearself]

Prayer is about building a relationship with God. Sometimes God’s will is different from what we want. I know that is very hard sometimes when dealing with a death in the family, a serious illness or some other crisis. One has to accept that God’ knows what he is doing.

The 15 St. Bridget prayers are a meditation on Christ’s passion. They contain specific requests in the prayers themselves, such as to continue to receive Holy Eucharist, to have final perseverance (persevere in our faith and be in a state of grace till the end), and for Christ to please help us at the hour of our death. They are meant to bring us cloesr to Christ and to help us grow in faith and in our relationship with God. It is not a case of “say these prayers for a year and God will grant your wish like a genie in a bottle.”

I would very gently suggest that you please re-examine your prayer life and why you are praying…it should be like talking to God and Mother Mary and the saints, not always expecting a wish to be granted, or relying on “promises” of dubious origin. You can trust in Jesus, Mary and the saints that if you pray sincerely, you will definitely benefit in some way, though it may not be by getting the request you asked for. You might get something better right now, or something better down the line, perhaps even after death.

Even Jesus himself did not have all of his prayers granted by the Father. He prayed in the Garden to let this cup pass from him, if it be God the Father’s will. God the Father’s will was different, so Jesus accepted that and went forth to be tortured and crucified. If Jesus can accept that sometimes God’s will is different from his own personal human will, then we need to also accept that.