Fr. Scott Haynes
Saint Bridget of Sweden, who received revelations from heaven, informs us that a noble nobleman had fallen into dreadful depths due to his sinful habits. The man had plummeted to such an extent that he had engaged into a contract with Satan, rendering him a slave for sixty years. He never approached the sacraments of the Church, and you can only imagine the kind of life he led.
Now, as this nobleman was on the brink of death, Our Lord, in His compassion, instructed Saint Bridget to inform a priest to visit him and encourage him to make his confession. Subsequently, the confessor visited the sick man. But the man protested that he did not need a confessor. He made up a story and claimed that he had attended confession frequently. The confessor returned to visit him a second time, and the man remained resolute in his refusal to give his confession.
Jesus once again instructed Saint Bridget to direct the confessor to visit the Satanist. Following the Lord's command, the priest returned once more and explained to the man the reason why he continued to visit him so frequently: the Lord wished to extend mercy to his soul. The ailing man was deeply moved and began to mourn upon hearing this. He exclaimed,
"How can I be forgiven when I have served the devil for sixty years, made myself his slave, and burdened my soul with so many sins?"
The good priest replied,
"Son, do not doubt; if you repent of your sins, in the name of God, I promise you pardon."
With these encouraging words, the sinner decided felt more confidence, so he decided to put his trust in God and make his confession. He started,
"Father, I believed myself lost and despaired of salvation; but now I feel a sorrow for my sins, which encourages me to trust; and as God has not yet abandoned me, I wish to make my confession."
In truth, the man confessed four times with profound anguish on that day, as the Holy Spirit prompted him to repent of his sins; the following day, he received communion, and on the sixth, he passed away in complete contrition and submission to God's will.
Saint Bridget was further informed by Jesus Christ that this penitent was saved and was in purgatory after his death. He was given the grace of a death-bed conversion through the intercession of Our Lady. The man, despite having committed innumerable abominations, had maintained a single devotion: Our Lady's Dolors. Whenever he saw an image of the Virgin Mother or thought of her, he remembered the seven sorrows Mary had suffered. For this simple reason, she intervened on his behalf. Therefore, as we are all sinners, let us keep solemn devotion to Our Lady of Sorrows.
The foundation of our devotion to Our Lady of Sorrows is found in Simeon's prophecy, given on the day of Christ's Presentation in the Temple, which foretold that a sword would penetrate Our Lady. The Virgin Mother was well aware that she would be required to endure perhaps the most dreadful torment that a mother could endure: the crucifixion and death of her Divine Son.
The Benedictine Abbot Prosper Guéranger teaches us that God must regard suffering as an immense blessing, given that He provided so much suffering to His Son, whom He adores so much. Furthermore, as the Lord loves Our Lady so much, He allowed her to share in the intimate suffering of His Passion.
The presence of sorrow in our lives enables us to demonstrate our devotion to God, as our love is evaluated by the extent to which we are willing to endure it. As Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira elucidates,
"Our suffering only has value to the degree that we accept these sufferings with a supernatural spirit instead of complaining about them. We must accept these trials as soldiers moving forward in the fight."
We must embrace our crosses and accept the trials that come our way as soldiers of Christ following Him bravely onto the spiritual battlefield. Therefore, it is imperative that we never waste our sufferings. Offer them as a form of reparation for your wrongdoing and to aid in the conversion of sinners.
Notes:
There is a beautiful devotion to Mary's Seven Sorrows. Learn more by reading this article and offering the powerful prayers given to St. Bridget of Sweden: Seven Prayers to Our Lady of Seven Sorrows, Pope Pius VII
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