The Catholic Prayer Book and Manual of Meditations/Six Prayers of St. Bridget

The Catholic Prayer Book and Manual of Meditations (1883)
by Patrick Francis Moran
Six Prayers of St. Bridget
3829233The Catholic Prayer Book and Manual of Meditations — Six Prayers of St. Bridget1883Patrick Francis Moran

Six Prayers of St. Bridget;

To be said in honor of the Sacred Wounds of our Blessed Saviour.

O MOST sweet Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal sweetness of those who love thee; the joy, desire, and firm hope of the hopeless; solace of the sorrowful, and most merciful lover of all penitent sinners; who hast said thy delight is to be with the sons of men. for the love of whom thou didst assume human nature in the fulness of time; remember, O most sweet Lord Jesus, all those sharp sorrows which did pierce thy sacred soul, from the first instant of thy incarnation, until the time of thy sorrowful passion, pre-ordained from all eternity: remember, O most amiable Saviour, all that bitter anguish thou didst suffer, when at thy last supper thou didst wash the feet of thy disciples, didst feed them with the sacred banquet of thy precious body and blood, and most sweetly comforting them, didst foretell them thy ensuing passion; after which, going to Mount Olivet, thou saidst, My soul is sorrowful unto death. Remember, I beseech thee, O most sweet Saviour, that bitter grief and anguish which thy sacred soul did suffer when, praying three several times to thy heavenly Father, thou didst sweat water and blood; thou wast betrayed by thy own disciple, apprehended by thy chosen people, accused by false witnesses, unjustly arraigned before three judges, and in thy chosen city, in the Paschal solemnity, in the flourishing age of thy youth, wrongfully condemned, bound, beaten, spurned, spit upon, despoiled of thy garments, and clothed with others in scorn; wast blindfolded, buffeted, spit upon again, bound naked to a pillar, most cruelly scourged, crowned with thorns, struck with a reed, and afflicted with innumerable other torments, pains, and injuries. O my Lord Jesus, by the memory and merit of all that bitter pain and anguish, before thou breathedst thy last upon the cross, vouchsafe to grant me, before my death, true contrition, entire confession, a flowing fountain of tears, full satisfaction, and plenary remission of all my sins. Amen.

O most gracious Lord Jesus, be propitious to me a sinner.

Our Father, etc. Hail Mary, etc.

O MOST sweet Lord Jesus, ever flowing fountain of heavenly delights, remember, I beseech thee, that grief and sorrow which thou didst suffer when thy cruel enemies, like fierce lions, with furious and dreadful looks, compassing thee round about, did tear off thy hair, spit upon thy sacred face, smite, buffet thee, and with all manner of unheard-of injuries, outrages, and torments, did most cruelly and basely blaspheme, scorn, and affront thee. O most sweet Lord Jesus, by all those most barbarous and inhuman outrages which thou didst suffer, vouchsafe to deliver me from all my enemies, visible and invisible, that, protected under the shadow of thy wings, I may safely arrive at the port of eternal glory. Amen.

O most gracious Lord Jesus, etc.

Our Father, etc. Hail Mary, etc.

O MOST sweet Lord Jesus, omnipotent creator and preserver of the world, and redeemer of mankind, who containest both heaven and earth in thy hand, and whose immensity no bounds can limit: remember, I beseech thee, that bitter pain and anguish which thou didst endure, when the perfidious Jews pierced thy delicate and tender hands and feet with most rough and blunt nails, stretching them forth violently with cords to the holes they had made in the cross. Thus they heaped dolors upon dolors, most cruelly disjointing all thy bones, breaking all thy veins, and renewing all thy sacred wounds. O most sweet Jesus, by the memory of all these pains and torments on the Cross, vouchsafe to give me thy fear and love, with perfect charity towards my neighbour. Amen.

O most pious Lord Jesus, etc.

Our Father, etc. Hail Mary, etc.

O MOST sweet Lord Jesus, heavenly physician of human nature, and eternal king; remember, I beseech thee, all those bitter pains which thou didst endure in thy sacred members, being raised up upon the cross, with all thy precious body rent and torn, all thy bones being so disjointed, that not one remained in its right place; not having, from the crown of thy head to the soles of thy feet, any part left whole, so that no dolor could be compared to thine; at which time being unmindful of thine own torments, thou didst mercifully pray to thy heavenly Father for thy cruel enemies, saying: Father forgive them, for they know not what they do. O most meek and merciful Lord Jesus, by this thy admirable benignity, goodness, love, and mercy, and by all thy bitter pains and torments, grant that the memory of thy dolorous passion may be to me a most powerful protection of my soul and body, against all the deceits, temptations, and molestations of the devil, my cruel enemy. Amen.

O most merciful Lord Jesus, etc.

Our Father, etc. Hail Mary, etc.

O MOST sweet Lord Jesus Christ, mirror of eternal brightness, and wisdom of the omnipotent Father, remember the bitter grief and sorrow thy sacred soul did feel, when beholding in the clear mirror of thy divine presence the predestination of the elect, who through the merits of thy most wholesome passion were to be saved, and the reprobation of the wicked, who for their ingratitude were to be damned, and the abyss of thy immense mercy, by which thou didst commiserate and shed tears for us, miserable, lost, forlorn sinners; and chiefly by that mercy thou didst show to the thief upon the cross, saying to him, This day thou shalt be with me in Paradise, I beseech thee, O most sweet Lord Jesus, my Lord and my God, to show the like mercy to me, now and at the hour of my death. Amen.

O most sweet Lord Jesus, etc.

Our Father, etc. Hail Mary, etc.

O MOST sweet Lord Jesus, omnipotent king and most amiable friend, remember the bitter grief and sorrow thy sacred soul did suffer, when, being forsaken by all thy friends and disciples, thou didst hang naked, rent, and torn, upon the cross, not having any to comfort or compassionate thee, but the Blessed Virgin Mary, thy mother, who, standing under the cross, in the bitterness of her soul, accompanied thee in all thy torments, unto whom thou didst commend thy beloved disciple St. John in thy place, saying unto her, Woman, behold thy Son! and after to that disciple, Behold thy Mother! O most sweet Lord Jesus, by that sword which did then transpierce her sacred soul, and by the tender love and compassion wherewith thou didst behold the sad distress of thy sorrowful mother, have pity and compassion on me, I beseech thee, my dearest Lord, and mercifully help, comfort, succour, and assist me in all my tribulations, adversities, necessities, sorrows, and sufferings, both spiritual and corporal. Amen.

O most blessed Lord Jesus, etc.

Our Father, &c. Hail Mary, etc.

PRAYER.

I BESEECH thee, O Lord Jesus Christ, that thy passion may be my strength, by which I may be fortified, protected, and defended; thy wounds be to me food and drink, by which I may be fed, inebriated and delighted; the sprinkling of thy blood be the washing away of all my sins; thy death be to me everlasting glory. In these be to me refreshment, exultation, health, study, joy, desire of soul and body, now and for ever. Amen.

O Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the living God, put thy passion, thy cross and thy death, between thy judgment and my soul, now and in the hour of my death. Mayst thou vouchsafe to extend to me grace and mercy, pardon to the living, rest to the dead, peace to thy Church, and life and eternal glory to all sinners, who livest and reignest with God the Father, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, for ever and ever. Amen.

O Holy Mary, most sorrowful Mother, by the sword of grief which pierced thy soul, obtain for us the fruit of the blood of thy Son Jesus Christ, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.