08 October 2026
Leo Launches Amoris Laetitia Synod and Bishops Immediately Reject His Orders
Don't bring up old arguments, Leo said. Some bishops didn't care, knowing that Amoris Laetitia is heretical.
Summa Contra Gentiles, Book III: VII That Evil Is Not an Essence
From Contemplating History
Saint Thomas Aquinas (1225 – 7 March 1274), was a Doctor of the Church, Philosopher, Theologian, Jurist, Dominican Friar, and Priest. Known as Doctor Angelicus "Angelic Doctor," and the Doctor Communis "Universal Doctor" his writings serve as a defense and proof of the validity of Christ's authority over all. The Summa contra Gentiles (also known as Liber de veritate catholicae fidei contra errores infidelium, "Book on the truth of the Catholic faith against the errors of the unbelievers"). The Summa contra Gentiles consists of four books. The structure of Saint Thomas's work is designed to proceed from general philosophical arguments for monotheism, to which Muslims and Jews are likely to consent even within their own respective religious traditions, before progressing to the discussion of specifically Christian doctrine.
Book III discusses providence and the human condition, that is good and evil acts, human fate and intellect and the relation of created beings to the creator.
Whether you are a history enthusiast, a student of religion, or simply curious about the impact of the Roman Catholic Church on the world, this playlist is designed to provide an informative and engaging journey through its captivating past. Subscribe to the Contemplating History channel for more educational content and immerse yourself in the rich tapestry of history.
The Physical Limits of AI Consciousness | Philip Kurian, PhD
From Closer to Truth, a secular source.
Philip Kurian argues that finite computational systems cannot capture all the physical and quantum degrees of freedom involved in living systems, making any attempted digital reconstruction necessarily coarse-grained. 0:00 AI Consciousness and the Limits of Physical Law 1:27 Quantum Computing Changes the Problem Space 3:25 AI, Trust, and the Possibility of Consciousness 6:07 Fundamental Limits of AI and Digital Reconstruction Dr Philip Kurian is a theoretical physicist, research scientist, and essayist, serving as principal investigator and founding director of the Quantum Biology Laboratory at Howard University.
Philip Kurian argues that finite computational systems cannot capture all the physical and quantum degrees of freedom involved in living systems, making any attempted digital reconstruction necessarily coarse-grained. 0:00 AI Consciousness and the Limits of Physical Law 1:27 Quantum Computing Changes the Problem Space 3:25 AI, Trust, and the Possibility of Consciousness 6:07 Fundamental Limits of AI and Digital Reconstruction Dr Philip Kurian is a theoretical physicist, research scientist, and essayist, serving as principal investigator and founding director of the Quantum Biology Laboratory at Howard University.
The Icky Things Found Inside Edward IV’s Coffin | The Bones of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville
From History Calling
What was found inside the TOMB OF EDWARD IV and Elizabeth Woodville in St George’s Chapel, Windsor in 1789? In this English royal history documentary from History Calling we start with the death of Edward IV in 1483, the death of Elizabeth Woodville in 1492 and the burials of this royal couple, who are well known as the parents of the Princes in the Tower and of Elizabeth of York, mother of Henry VIII. We then look at the condition of the skeleton of Edward IV after 306 years in his coffin and the skeleton of Elizabeth Woodville (what was left of it).
I’ll discuss why the royal grave was opened during the reign of George III, what this famous Plantagenet King’s coffin looked like, why there was only one coffin found, despite there being the remains of two people, what clothes Edward IV was buried in, what condition his remains were in (including the presence of coffin goop and the stomach churning experiments which the doctors of the day ran on it), what Edward’s hair looked like, how tall he was and how the remains of Edward IV were desecrated by those who opened the tomb, with pieces of him taken and later sold at auction. I’ll even you a picture of Edward IV’s remains in his coffin. I’ll consider why Edward and Elizabeth’s remains were in such a different state of preservation and why items which should have been left with her grave were taken as well. Throughout I’ll use primary sources, including the first-hand account of Henry Emlyn, clerk of the works, who opened the royal grave and a letter by Henry W. Legee who was also allowed repeated access to the King’s remains and who stole numerous pieces of Edward IV’s hair.
Discover the Secret to Happiness With the 15 Prayers of St Bridget
St Bridget founded the Order of the Most Holy Saviour, known as the Brigittines, with their distinctive veil, which looks like iron but is actually linen.
From Aleteia
By Philip Kosloski
The "15 Prayers of St. Bridget" have been a popular devotion since the Middle Ages and were called the "secret to happiness."
St Bridget of Sweden was a 14th-century mystic and visionary, who received numerous private revelations during her life. In particular, she had many visions of Jesus' Passion and death and it became a central point of her personal devotion.
In the years following her death, there began to circulate "15 Prayers of St. Bridget," dubbed the "secret to happiness." Historians debate whether or not she actually composed them, but regardless of who the author was, the prayers have been tied to St. Bridget ever since.
Promise of joy
The prayers became extremely popular and were approved by the Church for private devotion. Attached to the prayers were several extraordinary "promises," such as, "Whoever teaches these Prayers to another, will have continual joy and merit which will last throughout eternity." However, the authenticity of these promises have never been officially approved by the Church.
Nevertheless, these prayers are a powerful meditation on the Passion of Christ and provide an abundance of spiritual material to meditate on. They focus on the great pain Jesus endured, revealing the beautiful love that God has for all of humanity.
For example, the fourth prayer highlights some of the reasons for Jesus' pain, invoking God's mercy on us all.
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.
The 15th prayer is especially beautiful, meditating on the blood and water that flowed from Jesus' side.
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.
Follow this link for the all of the "15 Prayers of St. Bridget."
While it may seem strange to label these prayers the "secret to happiness," it does reflect a profound spiritual reality. The path to Heaven was opened up for us only through the suffering and Passion of Jesus. It was only through this outpouring of divine love that made eternal happiness possible.
Consequently, if we want to know the "secret to happiness," we must look to the cross and adore the abundance of love that God has for us and how he willingly endured the most excruciating pain for our salvation.
In this way, God provides for us the blueprint to a happiness that endures for all eternity.
07 October 2026
Medieval Hoods: A Funny Thing About Medieval Hoods and an Amazing Discovery!
From Modern History TV
Testing late medieval kit in freezing conditions reveals practical methods for adjusting a woollen hood to manage peripheral vision and warmth. Modern History TV, with Jason Kingsley, CBE, demonstrates how modifying the way this functional garment is worn may have led to the evolution of the fashionable 15th-century chaperon hat.
A look at medieval hoods, how they're used, how they're worn and something you probably didn't know about them that will make you think about medieval people differently.
Traditional Catholic Morning Prayers in English | October
7 "Small" Sins That Are Secretly Mortal (Most Catholics Ignore #7)
From Totus Catholica
Name a mortal sin and you would probably say murder, adultery, apostasy, the big ones. But what if some of the most dangerous sins in your life right now are the ones that feel the smallest? The Catechism does not measure gravity by how shocking a sin looks to us. It measures by the Ten Commandments, by what we know, and by what we freely choose. Apply that standard honestly, and some very ordinary habits start to look very different. Gossip. A second look. Sleeping through Sunday Mass. Here are seven sins many Catholics treat as minor scratches that can, under the right conditions, be mortal. The last one happens at the altar rail.
The distinction is far older and far more Jewish than the critics think. In Leviticus, God provides sacrifices for shegagah, the inadvertent stumble. In Numbers 15, the person who sins be-yad ramah, with a high hand, defiantly despising the word of the Lord, is cut off. The stumble and the raised fist: Israel already knew the difference between weakness and defiance, and the apostles inherited it. If any one of the three conditions is missing, the sin is not mortal, and mercy is always open: if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just. So tonight, do a real examination of conscience, not by your feelings but by the commandments. And if you find any of these seven, get to confession this week. That is not a sentence of shame. It is the doorway back to life.
In this video:
• The three conditions that must all be present, and why nobody falls into mortal sin by accident
• Shegagah and be-yad ramah: the stumble and the raised fist in the Torah
• Gossip as detraction, the merchant of other people's stories (CCC 2477)
• Why Aquinas calls deliberate drunkenness a mortal sin, and what Paul says it costs
• The altar rail problem: the confession line is short, the communion line is long
⏱ CHAPTERS
0:00 The Sins That Feel Smallest
0:46 What Makes a Sin Mortal (CCC 1857)
3:43 Gossip and the Careless Word
5:43 Drunkenness and Galatians 5
6:30 Lust, Pornography, and Matthew 5;28
8:03 Skipping Sunday Mass (CCC 2181)
8:57 Communion in a State of Mortal Sin
đź“– SCRIPTURE REFERENCED
• Leviticus 4,5 with Numbers 15:30,31: sacrifices for shegagah, the inadvertent stumble, but the sin with a high hand is cut off.
• 1 John 5:16,17: there is sin which is mortal and there is sin which is not mortal.
• Leviticus 19:16: you shall not go up and down as a talebearer among your people. The Hebrew is rakil, a talebearer.
• Galatians 5: drunkenness listed beside idolatry, and those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
• Matthew 5:28: everyone who looks lustfully has already committed adultery in his heart.
• 1 Corinthians 11:27-29: whoever eats or drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment upon himself.
⛪ FROM THE CHURCH FATHERS & THE CATECHISM
• CCC 1857 and 1858: mortal sin takes grave matter, full knowledge, and deliberate consent together, and grave matter is measured by the Ten Commandments, not our feelings.
• CCC 2477 and 2479: detraction is disclosing another's faults without a valid reason, destroying a neighbor's reputation and honor.
• St. Augustine, Confessions 8: grant me chastity and continence, but not yet, the divided heart from the inside.
• St. Ignatius of Antioch (around 107) and the Didache (1st century): living for the Lord's day, confessing first so your sacrifice may be pure.
đź“ś SOURCES & FURTHER READING
• The Council of Trent, decree on justification: defended the mortal-venial distinction against the claim that the only deadly sin is unbelief.
• St. John Chrysostom (4th century): preached whole homilies against casual swearing in the streets of Antioch.
• St. Thomas Aquinas: knowingly and freely choosing to become drunk is in itself a mortal sin.
• CCC 2148, 2290, 2302-2303, 2181: blasphemy, drunkenness, deliberate hatred, and the Sunday obligation, each named grave.
• CCC 1385 and 2352: conscious of grave sin, receive reconciliation first; habit, anxiety, and immaturity can reduce culpability, sometimes to a minimum.
• Sirach 28 (about 180 years before the Incarnation): the blow of the tongue crushes the bones.
đź”— EXPLORE MORE
🌍 Website: https://totuscatholica.org/
Rosary Guide: https://totuscatholica.org/rosary
✉️ Contact: https://totuscatholica.org/contact
🔍 Examination of Conscience: https://catholicexaminationofconscien...
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Why St Bridget of Sweden Was Named a Patron Saint of Europe
Today is her Feast Day. She died in Rome, but her relics eventually ended up in Sweden, where they are enshrined in Vadstena Abbey, stolen from us at the Deformation.
From Aleteia
By Philip Kosloski
John Paul II named St. Bridget of Sweden one of the patron saints of Europe, dedicating the northern part of Europe to her intercession.
Among them was St. Bridget of Sweden, a popular saint in the Catholic Church for the "15 Prayers of St. Bridget" that are frequently attributed to her.
St. Bridget is well known in the northern countries of Europe and is highly regarded by both Catholics and Protestants alike.
John Paul II wrote in his apostolic letter that "St. Bridget brings us to the extreme north of Europe, where the Continent in some way stretches out to unity with the other parts of the world; from there she departed to make Rome her destination."
Open to the Holy Spirit
He further commented on her life of holiness, explaining that the Church recognized her faithfulness to Christ, while not pronouncing any judgment regarding her private revelations.
Yet there is no doubt that the Church, which recognized Bridget's holiness without ever pronouncing on her individual revelations, has accepted the overall authenticity of her interior experience. She stands as an important witness to the place reserved in the Church for a charism lived in complete docility to the Spirit of God and in full accord with the demands of ecclesial communion.
Furthermore, Pope John Paul II explained why he chose her as a co-patron of Europe.
In a special way, too, because the Scandinavian countries from which Bridget came were separated from full communion with the See of Rome during the tragic events of the 16th century, the figure of this Swedish saint remains a precious ecumenical “bridge,” strengthened by the ecumenical commitment of her Order.
St. Bridget remains a powerful intercessor for all of Europe, but in particular those countries in the North. She is often invoked as a patron saint of Christian unity, with the hope that some day all the churches in Northern European countries will be one.
Understanding Protestants in 20ish Minutes
From Breaking in the Habit, with Fr Casey Cole, OFM. Warning: He's a modernist!
The Rosary Sounds the Trumpet of the New Israel
Yesterday was the Feast of the Holy Rosary. The Left considers it a weapon of the "Right", with articles concerning how it has been "weaponised".
From One Peter Five
By Peter Kwasniewski, PhD
...for those who come to see the need to be little.
The following essay first appeared at OnePeterFive some years ago; in this revised form it is now a chapter in our contributing editor Dr. Kwasniewski’s latest book, Mystic Rose in God’s Fair Garden Growing: Our Lady on Prayer, the Mass, and Union with Christ (Arouca Press, 2026). We encourage readers to pick up a copy of this wonderful and edifying collection of rich Marian meditations. —Editor
“When in your own land you go to war against an enemy that is attacking you, you shall sound the alarm on the trumpets, and the Lord, your God, will remember you and save you from your foes” (Num 10:9).
In Jewish tradition, the trumpet or the shofar was blown to announce the new moon, month and year; to announce the coming of the Lord (recall how the Feast of Trumpets is celebrated before the Day of Atonement); to assemble the people for the Lord (the Jews even believed this would be the mechanism that summoned the dead to come to the final judgement); and to sound the alarm and begin the attack (recall the stories about the walls of Jericho and the other Old Testament battles where the Ark of the Covenant was carried into the field).
The Book of Revelation gives us a clue regarding the trumpet. In two particular verses, John identifies the trumpet as the words of an angel: “I was caught up in spirit on the Lord’s day and heard behind me a voice like a trumpet saying, ‘Write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches….’” (Rev. 1:10). And again: “After this I looked, and behold in heaven an open door! And the first voice, which I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, ‘Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this’” (Rev 4:1).
St. John the Apostle, who would himself have celebrated the Feast of Trumpets (Rosh Hashanah), understood that this feast could not be simply abolished, but rather had to be fulfilled by the Lord, in keeping with the principle “Do not think that I have come to abolish Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them” (Mt 5:17). The feasts will somehow continue in the Christian dispensation. But what would correspond to this feast in the New Testament, and in the Catholic Church today?
One convincing answer to this question has been given by Alisa Kunitz-Dick, who demonstrates how every one of the Jewish holidays finds its parallel in the traditional Roman Rite.[1] She does not make the observation, but I will, that many of these parallels are decisively absent in the Novus Ordo, suggesting that its rupture is not only with the venerable Roman Rite or immemorial custom, but also with the divinely-revealed worship of the Old Covenant: a case of abolition rather than fulfillment. Just as the reformers of the 1960s retained intact only 13% of the orations of the old missal,[2] so too did they retain but a small portion of the Jewish heritage that was and is present in ancient Eastern and Western rites. The authentic Roman Rite’s Ember Wednesday of September makes a threefold allusion to Rosh Hashanah: the Introit makes reference to the blowing of the shofar; the Gradual honors God as King, which is a major theme of the Jewish feast; and the Communion antiphon refers to the custom of eating sweet things for a sweet New Year.
However, I would like to suggest a more subtle and at the same time more pervasive way in which the Feast of Trumpets and the role of the shofar have been assumed into Catholicism.
The words of the Archangel Gabriel to the Blessed Virgin Mary at the Annunciation are the most powerful of trumpets, as they announced the Lord’s coming in the flesh.[3] The Virgin is the finest flower of Israel; she is the Bride of Yahweh; she is the one whom the Lord “remembers” above all others and saves from the ancient Foe.
With this in mind, consider praying the Hail Mary as if you are blowing the Great Shofar. To repeat Numbers 10:9: “When in your own land you go to war against an enemy that is attacking you, you shall sound the alarm on the trumpets, and the Lord, your God, will remember you and save you from your foes.” Perceive the power of the Angelic Salutation in the midst of battle as well as in the midst of rejoicing; perceive the power of the Rosary that sounds the trumpet of Gabriel again and again. When you pray the Rosary, you blow the heavenly shofar and call upon the power of God to fight your battle, our battle. It doesn’t matter so much how emotionally “connected” you feel in your prayer, as feelings come and go; the simple act of reciting the Hail Mary has tremendous power, in and of itself.
Could one not speak, then, of “a sort of siege of Jericho, not with seven trumpets made of ram’s horns sounded by priests, but with the Hail Marys of the little ones and the innocent to bring down the walls of the deep state and of the deep church”?[4]
Another “word of an angel” which is like the sound of a trumpet is the name Jesus. It is Joseph who received the name of Jesus from the words of an angel. Thus the message to Mary and the message to Joseph combine to form a powerful trumpet, an invincible weapon backed by heaven’s might.
In the Magnificat, the Blessed Virgin Mary makes a prophecy which is a clue to one of the ways we are supposed to spend our time while on earth: “From this day all generations shall call me ‘blessed’ . . .” (Lk 1:48). From the Holy Spirit speaking in and through Our Lady, we discover how important it is to repeat the Hail Mary, which includes the words of her cousin Elizabeth: “Blessed art thou among women…” (Lk 1:42). The “little ones” who are in the Kingdom of God (Mt 19:14), the ones who will dwell in His everlasting kingdom, will be calling her blessed for ever and ever.
Within the Rosary, we are asked to meditate on the mysteries. This is not meant to be something elaborate, like the meticulous “methods for mental prayer” found in some old Jesuit manuals that can make us feel inadequate at praying, much as reading about how to achieve fluency in a foreign language might be discouraging to the linguistically average. The Rosary is given for the little ones, or for those who come to see the need to be little. Many an ardent young man who takes pride in following the multistep methods turns into a mild old man who fingers his beads before the Blessed Sacrament.
Like a small child, we can go to the Blessed Mother, our Queen, hold her hand and let her lead us through the garden of the Gospel. We can ask her to show us the wonders of her life and the life of her Son. She will embrace us as the children of God we are. There is such freedom in this simplicity. As children we can face the Queen and feel her smiling upon us because she loves all children, even as her divine Child loved them and bid them come to Him.
When the Mother brings me to her Son, great gratitude flowers in my heart, because I do feel loved, never afraid, like a little bird resting in His hand. I try not to worry about what I am going to eat or wear, or what tomorrow may bring (cf. Mt 6:25–34). He will provide everything, when and as it is needed. I may go about my work— or my suffering— with confidence that He is making use of me right now to build His kingdom in souls, beginning in my own, and that His kingdom, which is not of this world, will have no end.
The Mishna states that the rabbis kept on waiting for the day when the Lord would “leave His seat of judgment and take His seat of mercy.” Mary is that Seat of Mercy: this is what we behold in every image where the infant Jesus is seated on her lap. To reach the Lord of mercy we have to go through Mary, even as He came to us through Mary. Let us not be remiss in taking up this angelic trumpet and bright weapon, the Catholic shofar: Ave Maria, gratia plena, Dominus tecum.
[1] See Alisa Kunitz-Dick, “AUDI, ISRAĂ‹L: Jewish Feasts in the Propers of the Traditional Roman Rite,” Rorate Caeli, August 31, 2021; see also Fr. Mark Wojdelski, “The Hebrew Calendar and the Traditional Roman Liturgy,” The Missive, September 22, 2025, https://fssp.com/the-hebrew-calendar-and-the-traditional-roman-liturgy/, with this index: https://fssp.com/index-to-hebrew-lunar-calendar-article-series/.
[2] See Matthew Hazell, “‘All the Elements of the Roman Rite’? Mythbusting, Part II,” New Liturgical Movement, October 1, 2021.
[3] Even as music is composed of intelligible ratios like 1:2, 2:3, 3:4 translated into physical sounds by means of vibrating objects or columns of air, so is the Incarnation the invisible Word assuming visible, tangible, audible nature.
[4] See “Scapegoating Francis: How the Revolution of Vatican II serves the New World Order,” Address to the Catholic Identity Conference 2020, October 24, 2020.
St Bridget of Sweden, Widow
From Dom Prosper Guéranger's Liturgical Year:
“Who, O Lord, has treated Thee thus?” “They that despise Me and forget My love.” This was the first revelation of the Son of God to Bridget of Sweden. Francis of Assisi, raising before the world the standard of the cross, had announced that Christ was about to recommence the dolorous way; not now in His own Person, but in the Church, who is flesh of His flesh. The truth of this declaration Bridget experienced from the very opening of that fatal fourteenth century, during which such innumerable disasters, the results of crime, fell at once upon the west.
Born in the year when Sciarra Colonna, a new Pilate’s servant, dared to strike the Vicar of Christ, Bridget’s childhood was contemporaneous with those sad falls, which caused the Church to be despised by her enemies. There were no saints in Christendom comparable to the great ones of old; in the preceding age the Latin races had exhausted their vitality in producing flowers; but where were the promised fruits? Ancient Europe had nought but affronts for the Word of God; this feast, this apparition of Jesus in cold Scandinavia, seems to point to His flight from the habitual center of His predilection. Bridget was ten years old, when the Man of sorrows sought a resting place in her heart: and at that very time, the death of Clement V and the election of John XXII in a foreign land, fixed the papacy in its seventy years’ exile.
Rome meanwhile, widowed of her Pontiff, appeared the most miserable of cities: “The ways of Sion mourn, because there are none that come to the solemn feast.” (Lamentations 1:4) Sacked by her own sons, she was daily losing some remnant of her ancient glory; her public roads were scenes of bloodshed; solitude reigned amid the ruins of her crumbling basilicas; sheep grazed in St. Peter’s and the Lateran. From the seven hills anarchy had spread throughout Italy, transforming the towns into haunts of brigands, and the country parts into deserts. France was doomed to expiate, in the horrors of a hundred years’ war, the captivity of the sovereign Pontiff.
Unfortunately, the captivity was loved; the court of Avignon did not mourn like the Hebrews by the rivers in Babylon; richer in gold than in virtues, it were well, had they not, for a long time, shaken the influence of the Holy See over the nations. The German empire and Louis of Bavaria could easily refuse obedience to the ward of the Valois; the Fratricelli accused the Pope of heresy; while, countenanced by the doctors of the law, Marsillus of Padua attacked the very principle of the papacy. Benedict XII discouraged by the troubles of Italy, abandoned his design of returning to Rome; and built upon the rock of Dome the famous castle, and once fortress and palace, which seemed to fix the residence of the Popes forever on the banks of the Rhone. The misery of Rome, and the splendor of Avignon, reached their height under Clement VI who entered into a contract with Jane of Naples, Countess of Provence, securing to the Church a definitive possession of Avignon. At that time the papal court surpassed all others in luxury and worldliness. God in His justice visited the nations with the scourge of the black death; while in His mercy He sent warnings from heaven to Pope Clement:
“Arise; make peace between the kings of France and England; and go into Italy to preach the year of salvation, and to visit the places watered by the blood of saints. Consider how, in the past, thou hast provoked My anger, doing thy own will and not thy duty; and I have held My peace. But now my time is at hand. If thou wilt not obey, I shall require of thee an account of the unworthiness wherewith thou hast passed through all the degrees by which I permitted thee to be exalted in glory. Thou wilt be answerable for all the avarices and ambition that have been rife in the Church in thy days. Thou couldst have done much towards a reformation, but being carnal-minded thou wouldst not. Repair the past by zeal during the rest of thy life. Had not My patience preserved thee, thou wouldst have fallen lower than any of thy predecessors. Question thy conscience, and thou wilt see that I speak the truth.” (Birgett. Revelat. lib. vi. cap. lxiii.)
This severe message, dictated by the Son of God to the prophetess Bridget of Sweden, came form that northern land where sanctity seemed to have taken refuge during the past half century. Though incurring such reproaches, the Pope still had great faith, and he accordingly received with generous courtesy the messengers from the princess of Nericia. But, though he promulgated the celebrated Jubilee of the half-century, Clement VI allowed the holy year to pass away without getting himself to prostrate at the tombs of the apostles, to which he convoked the entire world. The patience of God was at an end. The judgment of that soul was revealed to Bridget; she saw its terrible chastisement, which however was not eternal, and was tempered by hope. (Birgett. Revelat. lib. iv. cap. cxliv.)
Hitherto wholly engaged with the supernatural interests of her own country, Bridget suddenly found her mission embrace the whole world. In vain, by her prayers to God, by her warnings to princes, had the saint striven to avert from Sweden the trials that were to end in the Union of Calmar. Neither Magnus IV nor his consort Blanche of Dampierre, took to heart the menaces of their noble relative: “I saw the sun and the moon shining together in the heavens, until both having given their power to the dragon, the sky grew pale, reptiles filled the earth, the sun sank into the abyss, and the moon disappeared, leaving no trace behind.” (Birgett. Revelat. lib. viii. cap. xxxi.)
The criminal coldness of the south had been the occasion of grace for the north; but the latter in its turn did not profit by the time of its visitation: and Bridget quitted it forever. She herself was a city of refuge to our Lord. Taking up her abode in Rome, she there, by her holiness, prepared the way for the return of Christ’s vicar. There for twenty years she, as it were, personified the eternal city, enduring all its bitter sufferings, knowing all its moral miseries, presenting its tears and prayers to our Lord; continually visiting the tombs of the apostles and martyrs throughout the peninsula; and at the same time never ceasing to transmit to Pontiffs and kings the messages dictated to her by God.
At length the horizon appeared to be brightening; while the just and inflexible Innocent VI reformed the papal court, Albornoz was restoring peace in Italy. In 1367 Bridget had the great joy of receiving in the Vatican the blessing of Urban V. Unhappily, in three short years Urban quitted the threshold of the apostles to return to his native land; but, as Bridget foretold, he re-entered Avignon only to die. He was succeeded by the nephew of Clement VI, Roger de Beaufort, under the name of Gregory XI, who was destined to put an end to the exile and break the chains of the Roman Pontiffs.
But Bridget’s hour had come. Another was to reap in joy what she had sown in tears; Catharine of Siena was to bring back to the holy city the vicar of our Lord. As to the valiant Scandinavian, who had never lost courage or faltered in faith through the failure of her missions, she was inspired by her divine Spouse to visit the holy places, the scenes of His Passion. It was on her return from this last pilgrimage that, far from her native land, in that desolate Rome whose widowhood she had striven in vain to terminate, she was called to her heavenly reward. Her body was carried back to Scandinavia by her daughter St. Catharine of Sweden. It was laid in the yet unfinished monastery of Vadstena, mother-house of that projected Order of our Savior, the foundations of which, like all the undertakings imposed by God upon Bridget, was not to be completed until after her death. Twenty-five years before, she had received almost simultaneously the command to found, and the command to quit, this holy retreat; as though the Lord would give her a glimpse of its blessed peace, only to crucify her the more in the very different path into which He immediately led her. Such is God’s severity towards His dear ones, and such His sovereign independence with regard to His gifts. In the same manner, He had allowed the saint, in her early years, to be attracted by the beautiful lily of virginity, and had then signified His will that the flower should not be here. “When I cry,” said the prophet, in a captivity figurative of that whereof Bridget felt all the bitterness, “when I cry and entreat, He hath shut out my prayer. He hath shut up my ways with square stones, He hath turned my paths upside down.” (Lamentations 3:8-9)
Before reading the liturgical legend, let us call to mind that St. Bridget died on July 23, 1373; October 8 is the anniversary of the first Mass celebrated in her honor by Pope Boniface IX on the day following her canonization. (October 7 and 8, 1391) Martin V confirmed the Acts of Boniface IX in her honor; and approved her Revelations, which had been violently attacked in the Councils of Constance and Basle, only to come forth with a higher recommendation to the piety of the faithful. Many Indulgences are attached to the rosary which bears the saint’s name. These are now, by the favor of the apostolic See, frequently applied to ordinary rosaries; but it must be remembered that the true rosary of St. Bridget is composed of the Ave Maria recited sixty-three times, the Pater noster seven times, and the Credo seven times, in honor of the supposed number of our Lady’s years on earth, and of her joys and sorrows. It was also from a desire of honoring our Lady, that the saint vested in the abbess the superiority over the double monasteries in the Order of our Savior.
Bridget was born in Sweden of noble and pious parents, and led a most holy life. While she was yet unborn, her mother was saved from shipwreck for her sake. At ten years of age, Bridget heard a sermon on the Passion of our Lord; and the next night she saw Jesus on the cross, covered with fresh blood, and speaking to her about his Passion. Thenceforward meditation on that subject affected her to such a degree, that she could never think of our Lord’s sufferings without tears.
She was given in marriage to Ulfo prince of Nericia; and won him, by example and persuasion, to a life of piety. She devoted herself with maternal love to the education of her children. She was most zealous in serving the poor, especially the sick; and set apart a house for their reception, where she would often wash and kiss their feet. Together with her husband, she went on pilgrimage to Compostella, to visit the tomb of the apostle St. James. On their return journey, Ulfo fell dangerously ill at Arras; but St. Dionysius, appearing to Bridget at night, foretold the restoration of her husband’s health, and other future events.
Ulfo became a Cistercian monk, but died soon afterwards. Whereupon Bridget, having heard the voice of Christ calling her in a dream, embraced a more austere manner of life. Many secrets were then revealed to her by God. She founded the monastery of Vadstena under the rule of our Savior, which was given her by our Lord himself. At his command, she went to Rome, where she kindled the love of God in very many hearts. She made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem; but on her return to Rome she was attacked by fever, and suffered severely from sickness during a whole year. On the day she had foretold, she passed to heaven, laden with merits. Her body was translated to her monastery of Vadstena; and becoming illustrious for miracles, she was enrolled among the saints by Boniface IX.
O valiant woman! support of the Church in most unhappy times, mayst thou now be blest by all nations! When the earth, grown poor in virtue, no longer paid its debts to the Lord, thou wast the treasure discovered and brought from the uttermost coasts to supply for the indigence of many. Thou didst earn the goodwill of heaven for the hitherto despised north. Then the Holy Spirit was moved by the prayers of apostles and martyrs to lead thee to the land which their blood had not sufficed to render fruitful for the Spouse; thou didst appear as the merchant’s ship bringing bread from afar to countries wasted and barren. At thy voice, Rome took heart again; after thy example, she expiated the faults which had wrought her ruin; thy prayers and hers won back to her the heart of her Spouse and of His vicar.
Thine own portion was one of suffering and labor. When, to the joy of all, thy work was consummated, thou hadst already quitted this world. Thou didst resemble the heroes of the Old Testament, saluting from afar the promises that others were to see fulfilled, and acknowledging themselves to be strangers and pilgrims on the earth. Like them thou didst seek, not the fatherland thou hadst abandoned and whither thou couldst have returned, but the only true home which is heaven. Moreover God made it a glory to be called thy God.
From the eternal city where thine exile is at an end, preserve in us the fruit of thy example and teachings. Thy Order of our Savior perpetuates them in the countries where it still exists though so much diminished; may it revive at Vadstena in its primitive splendor! By it and its rivals in holiness, bring back Scandinavia to the faith, now so unhappily lost, to its apostle Anscharius, and of Eric and Olaf its martyr kings. Lastly, protect Rome, whose interests were so specially confided to thee by our Lord; may she never again experience the terrible trial which cost thee a lifetime of labor and suffering!
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