Wounds of Christ -- 5,480 [The Fifteen Prayers of St. Bridget of Sweden}

Monks of Adoration.org ^ | March 29, 1992 | Brother John Raymond

[Salvation]

The Fifteen Prayers of St. Bridget of Sweden

March 29, 1992
Brother John Raymond

St. Bridget as a child lived in a castle in Sweden. The castle had a chapel where Holy Mass was said daily. At the age of 10 she heard a sermon preached on the sufferings of Christ. When she went to bed that night she lay awake crying over the sufferings of Jesus. Before dawn she had a vision of Christ Crucified, His Wounds bleeding as if freshly inflicted. He said to her, "See how I have been wounded." She asked, "Who has done this to You?" Jesus answered, "Those who despise Me and forget My Love." She remembered this lesson for the rest of her life. And it was a very special life. St. Bridget, a dedicated wife and mother, advised the Pope, founded an Order of Nuns and one of Monks. She was a great mystic whose revelations are inspiring reading. The following fifteen prayers were taught by Jesus to St. Bridget. He said to her, "I received 5,480 wounds on My Body during My Passion. If you wish to honor each of them in some way pray the following prayers each day for a whole year. When the year is over, you will have honored each one of My Wounds." Our Lord gave many promises to those who recite these prayers. Many people have done this and benefited greatly - including myself.

Prayers

Recite one Our Father and Hail Mary before each of the following:

1. O Jesus! You have proved that You have no greater desire than to be among men, even assuming human nature at the fullness of time for the love of men. I recall all the sufferings of Your life especially Your Passion. I remember, O Lord, that during the Last Supper with Your disciples, having washed their feet, You gave them Your Most Precious Body and Blood, and, while consoling them, You foretold Your coming Passion. I remember the sadness and bitterness which You experienced in Your Soul as You said, "My Soul is sorrowful even unto death." I remember all the fear, anguish and pain that You did suffer in Your delicate Body before the torment of the Crucifixion, when, after having prayed three times, bathed in a sweat of blood, You were betrayed by Judas, arrested by the people of a nation You had chosen and elevated, accused by false witnesses and unjustly judged by three judges. I remember that You were despoiled of Your garments and clothed in those of derision, that Your Face and Eyes were covered, that You were beaten, crowned with thorns, a reed placed in Your Hands, that You were crushed with blows and overwhelmed with insults and outrages. In memory of all these pains and sufferings which You endured before Your Passion on the Cross, grant me before my death a true contrition, a sincere and entire confession, worthy satisfaction and the remission of all my sins. Amen.

2. O Jesus! I remember the horror and sadness which You endured when Your enemies surrounded You, and by thousands of insults, spits, blows, lacerations and other unheard-of cruelties tormented You. In consideration of these torments and insulting words, I beg You to deliver me from all my enemies, visible and invisible, and to bring me, under Your protection, to the perfection of eternal salvation. Amen.

3. O Jesus! I remember the very bitter pain You did suffer when the executioners nailed Your Sacred Hands and Feet to the Cross by blow after blow with big blunt nails, and, not finding You in a sad enough state, to satisfy their cruelty they enlarged Your Wounds, and added pain to pain, stretching Your Body on the Cross and dislocated Your Bones by pulling Them on all sides. I beg of You by the memory of this most loving suffering of the Cross to grant me the grace to love You. Amen.

4. O Jesus! I Remember the bruises You suffered and the weakness of Your Body, which was distended to such a degree that never was there pain like Yours. From the crown of Your Head to the soles of Your Feet there was not one spot on Your Body which was not in torment. Yet, for getting all Your sufferings, You did not cease to pray to Your Heavenly Father for Your enemies, saying: "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." Through this great mercy and in memory of this suffering, grant that the remembrance of Your most bitter Passion may effect in us a perfect contrition and the remission of all our sins. Amen.

5. O Jesus! I remember the sadness which You experienced when, foreseeing those who would be damned for their sins, You suffered bitterly over these hopeless, lost and unfortunate sinners. Through this abyss of compassion and pity and especially through the goodness which You displayed to the good thief when You said to him, "This day you will be with Me in Paradise," I beg of You that at the hour of my death to show me mercy. Amen.

6. O Jesus! I remember the grief which You suffered when, like a common criminal, You were raised and fastened to the Cross, when all Your relatives and friends abandoned You, except Your Beloved Mother who remained close to You during Your agony and Whom You entrusted to Your faithful disciple when You said, "Woman, behold Your son. Son behold your Mother." I beg You by the sword of sorrow which pierced the soul of Your Holy Mother, to have compassion on me in all my afflictions and tribulations, both of body and spirit, and to assist me in all my trials and especially at the hour of my death. Amen.

7. O Jesus! I remember Your profound gesture of love from the Cross when You said,"I thirst," and Your suffering from the thirst for the salvation of the human race. I beg You to inflame in our hearts the desire to tend toward perfection in all our actions and to extinguish in us all wordly desires. Amen.

8. O Jesus! I remember the bitterness of the gall and vinegar which You tasted on the Cross for love of us. Grant us the grace to receive worthily Your Precious Body and Blood during our life and at the hour of our death that It may be a remedy of consolation for our souls. Amen.

9. O Jesus! I remember the pain You endured when, immersed in an ocean of bitterness at the approach of death, insulted, outraged by the people, You cried out in a loud voice that You were abandoned by Your Father, saying: "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" Through this anguish I beg You not to abandon me in the terrors and pains of my death. Amen.

10. O Jesus! I remember that for our sakes You were immersed into an abyss of suffering. In consideration of the enormity of Your Wounds, teach me to keep, through pure love, Your Commandments, which are a wide and easy path for those who love You. Amen.

11. O Jesus! I remember Your Wounds which penetrated to the very marrow of Your Bones and to the depth of Your Being. Draw me away from sin and hide me in Your Wounds. Amen.

12. O Jesus! I remember the multitude of Wounds which afflicted You from Head to Foot, torn and reddened by the spilling of Your Precious Blood. O great and universal pain which You suffered in Your Flesh for love of us! What is there You could have done for us which You have not done? May the fruit of Your sufferings be renewed in my soul by the faithful remembrance of Your Passion and may Your love increase in my heart each day until I see You in eternity, You Who are the treasury of every real good and joy, which I beg You to grant me in Heaven. Amen.

13. O Jesus! I remember the pain You endured when all Your strength, both moral and physical, was entirely exhausted; You bowed Your Head, saying: "It is consummated." Through this anguish and grief, I beg You to have mercy on me at the hour of my death, when my mind will be greatly troubled and my soul will be in anguish. Amen.

14. O Jesus! I remember the simple and humble recommendation You made of Your Soul to Your Eternal Father, saying, "Father, into Your Hands I commend My Spirit," and when, Your Body all torn and Your Heart broken, You expired. By this precious death, I beg You to comfort me and give me help to resist the devil, the flesh and the world, so that, being dead to the world, I may live for You alone. I beg of You at the hour of my death to receive me. Amen.

15. O Jesus! I remember the abundant outpouring of Blood which You shed. From Your Side, pierced with a lance by a soldier, Blood and Water poured forth until there was not left in Your Body a single Drop; and finally the very substance of Your Body withered and the marrow of Your Bones dried up. Through this bitter Passion and through the outpouring of Your Precious Blood, I beg You to pierce my heart so that my tears of penance and love may be my bread day and night. May I be entirely converted to You; may my heart be Your perpetual resting place; may my conversation be pleasing to You; and may the end of my life be so praiseworthy that I may merit Heaven and there with Your saints praise You forever. Amen.

[Desdemona]

You know, I used to look down on those "grisly" crucifixes. You know the ones I'm talking about. They seem pretty sanitized now, don't they?

Yes. All of it seems sanitized. So many of the churches that have been wreckovated took down their Stations because they were "too brutal". Stations, Palm Sunday and the Triduum will never be the same.

I think we who live in this comfortable world of ours needed this film.

[HiTech RedNeck]

I didn't know the number was restricted to the whipping. I thought everything was supposed to have counted, including the thorn pricks, the whacks with the staffs, the abrasions from the cross, etc. 5400 whip wounds would leave no intact skin at all; they'd be putting a piece of hamburger on the cross if it was even living.

[Aquinasfan]

I didn't know the number was restricted to the whipping. I thought everything was supposed to have counted, including the thorn pricks, the whacks with the staffs, the abrasions from the cross, etc.

You're probably right. I don't know. But at least that helps to explain how so many lash strokes could have been inflicted in such a short period of time.

[dansangel]

Thank you, thank you, thank you for this.....

[Salvation]

Thanks for your input. We need all kinds of input. In the movie, a soldier (I think) enters the scene and has the torturers stop saying , (paraphrasing here) "'Punish Him, don't kill him,'" was the order."

[Salvation]

And already posted on FR:

The Passion of the Christ & Anne Catherine Emmerich, Mary of Agreda

[Salvation]

Oh, those pictures in #11 make me shudder!

[Salvation]

Thanks, AF!

[Salvation]

I think you are jesting (parroting what the left would say.), but I've been led to believe that there are no such things as coincidences.

[Salvation]

You're welcome!

Have a blessed week.

[Viva Christo Rey]

Thanks for posting the prayers.

Just a small note, the prayers have been edited by whomever compiled them to make them "politically correct".

It just "frosts" me to have the person pass them off as the words of Our Lord, when the person refuses to let them stand as He revealed them.

[Salvation]

**Just a small note, the prayers have been edited by whomever compiled them to make them "politically correct".**

Thanks for the "heads up"!

Can you post a link to the unedited words?

[Coleus]

Thanks for posting this, I used to pray those prayers and never finished a full year.

[Salvation]

**I used to pray those prayers and never finished a full year.**

That would take a lot of dedication. I'm afraid I would be constantly starting over. LOL!

[Salvation]

**I thought everything was supposed to have counted, including the thorn pricks, the whacks with the staffs, the abrasions from the cross, etc. 5400 whip wounds would leave no intact skin at all; they'd be putting a piece of hamburger on the cross if it was even living.**

Exactly!

[TotusTuus]

This is a quote from another posted article, The Passion of The Christ and Anne Catherine Emmerich and Mary of Agreda , (NYer) which 'Aquinasfan' though important to note over there, and I think is germaine here as well for the purpose of good Catholic sobriety:

"As St. Thomas Aquinas and St. John of the Cross make clear, however, although God can give new lights, most private revelation is "constructed" from the building materials of the memory and knowledge of the person. This means that the mystic's own religious, cultural and educational influences help determine how the visions are presented to them. This accounts, for example, for the variety in the details of the same events among different mystics. Some details may have been supplied by God, others taken from the presuppositions of the mystic. Since God's purpose is not to improve upon Scripture but to inflame the will with love, the source of the details are ultimately irrelevant to that purpose. In the end, the Church judges the authenticity of such writings not by these details but whether anything is contrary to faith and morals. It does not, therefore, guarantee that every detail is true, only that it is theologically safe."

It is in no way, shape, or form, meant to be construed as an attack on St. Bridget by me ;-)

[Salvation]

Speaking for myself, I did not take it that way.

These two threads are on the circumference of The Passion of The Christ. They are not the story in and of themselves, but they are something that compliments the neverending circle. (In my opinion.)

[Mr. Thorne]

I call it sarcasm. It's probably the wrong term. Regardless, that was why I stuck a smile on.

Allow me to be blunt: I find it fascinating that we keep on finding out things that make previously disputed claims far more likely.

How many other things, I wonder, taken on faith, disputed by wisdom, will be proven true?

[Salvation]

I was thinking about these ironies earler today too.

First the media went after Gibson for doing a religious movie. That didn't work.

Then the media attacked his movie on the grounds that it was anti-Simitic. Again that didn't work.

Then there have been attacks on Mel Gibson's Catholicity. It won't work either. (Even Mahoney is wrong, despite that Gibson has built his own church -- and I'm not condoning that.)

Now the media is after Gibson because of all the money he is raking in. That won't work either, because I expect Gibson to give generously to the charities of his choice. And keep some as a down payment on a future movie -- maybe the Resurrection to Pentecost part of Christ's story.

Next attack -- what will it be? Very ironic, isn't it?

[Salvation]

Insert above for the second item.

The media attacked this movie on the idea that it was too violent. Then we all pointed out much more violent movies that no one ever spoke out about, so that excuse didn't work.