16th Week of Ordinary Time C – Wednesday – Saint Bridget, Saint and Mystic – Optional Memorial

Saint Bridget was born in 1303 into Swedish nobility, but she did not allow her status to blind her to the sufferings of others or distract her from the call of God. Married at a young age, she bore eight children—including Saint Catherine of Sweden—and fulfilled her duties as wife and mother with devotion. Yet even during her years in the royal court, her heart was captivated not by privilege, but by Christ crucified.

After her husband’s death, Bridget entered a new phase of her life. She renounced her titles, founded the Order of the Most Holy Saviour—commonly known as the Bridgettines—and devoted herself entirely to prayer, penance, and the reform of the Church. But what sets her apart most strikingly are her mystical visions, in which the Lord Jesus, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the saints revealed to her the mysteries of salvation.

These were not fleeting or vague interior experiences. Bridget’s revelations were rich in theological depth and vivid imagery. She became a spiritual voice for reform in a Church struggling with division and corruption. Her famous pilgrimage to Rome, and her later appeals to the Pope to return from Avignon, were bold acts of love for the Church and trust in God’s will.

Among her mystical treasures are the Fifteen Prayers of Saint Bridget, which she received in a vision from Christ Himself. These prayers, meditated upon daily for a year, honour the wounds of Christ and His Passion. They are not merely devotions; they are doorways into a living encounter with the crucified and risen Lord. For Bridget, Christ crucified was not only the Redeemer of the world—He was her constant companion.

In light of this, today’s Gospel from John 15 resonates profoundly: “Remain in me, as I remain in you… Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit.” Saint Bridget remained in Christ through constant prayer, penance, and obedience, and in return, Christ bore abundant fruit through her: visions, reform, and sainthood.

She is a living testimony of the psalm we just prayed: “Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.” Her mystical encounters were not escapes from reality; they were encounters with ultimate reality—God’s love poured out on the Cross and made present in the Church and the Eucharist.

So what does this mean for us? Like Bridget, we are invited to let Christ live in us. That requires surrender. It requires pruning. It means letting go of our need for control, our habits of sin, and the distractions that choke our intimacy with Jesus. But when we do, Christ takes over—not as a tyrant, but as a Bridegroom who offers us joy, peace, and eternal fruitfulness.

Let us pray today that we might have hearts like Saint Bridget: a heart open to the voice of God, a heart willing to be pruned, a heart fixed on Christ crucified, and a heart that bears fruit in love for the Church and the world.

Saint Bridget of Sweden, mystic, reformer, and daughter of Christ—pray for us, that we too may say with Saint Paul: “It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.” Amen.