Fifteen Prayers of Saint Bridget
[Prior to each prayer, Recite one Our Father and One Hail Mary.]
1st Prayer
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. I
n 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.
2nd Prayer
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.
3rd Prayer
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.
4th Prayer
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.
5th Prayer
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.
6th Prayer
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.
7th Prayer
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 worldly desires.
Amen.
8th Prayer
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.
9th Prayer
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.
10th Prayer
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.
11th Prayer
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.
12th Prayer
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.
13th Prayer
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.
14th Prayer
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.
15th Prayer
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.
(Approved by Pope Pius IX)
