In the Catholic Church we have several different ways of honoring the saints…there are the big ones, the solemnities, then there are the feast days followed by memorials and finally the “optional” memorials. In the practice of the Church we don’t have to celebrate the optional memorial but we can if we wish. This past week we had two great examples of this with the Memorial of St. Mary Magdeline follows by the optional memorial of St. Bridget of Sweden. In the prayer of the Church, the Divine Office each saint has a special reading attached to their day and early on in my priesthood I made it a practice of seeking to celebrate the optional memorials on the even numbered years. I know this sounds a little strange but it was a way of remembering these special saints by hearing their stories, prayers and reflections. It is an even numbered year so I once more prayed with St. Bridget on the 23rd of July and read in the Divine Office a prayer she composed. (if you want to know more about St. Bridget there is a link below)

I bring this up because her prayer moves me to see her love of Jesus as a model of how I must continue to grow in love of Our Lord. (I have attached a copy of the prayer below) St. Bridget in reflecting of the passion and death of Jesus lifts a song of praise and thanksgiving for the gift of our redemption. She begins each of the petitions with lifting up her voice, as we should lift up our voice, in joy. She writes
“Blessed are you”: Have you ever lifted a prayer up to Jesus that begins with this salutation? What would that look like? Often times we forget the thanksgiving prayers of the greater gifts God shares with us. Blessed are you, Lord Jesus Christ for the abundant blessings you pour out upon our parish each day in allowing us to serve you in our brothers and sisters.
“Honor be to you”: To honor God is too do his Divine will. To know the will of God is to be in conversation with him and knowing all he has shared with us, especially through Jesus’ suffering and death on the cross for our sins. Honor be to you Lord Jesus Christ, for you desire and lead us to a life of reconciliation and peace through the blood of the cross. Help us to live this love.
“Glory be to you”: Each Sunday Mass will sing out in joy “Glory to God in the highest!” Where does this callus to be? Glory does not call us to seek the grandeur of worldly honor rather it is a call to the humble service of the poor, the neglected, the most vulnerable of society. Glory be to you Lord Jesus Christ who invites us to serve and not to be served; to become like sheep among the wolves, to be childlike in faith and love even when they world mocks us and hates us for loving you.
“Praise be to you”: To say, “thank you” is one of the most powerful and impactful phrases any one can utter. It is the acknowledgement of a blessing, a gift of love offered and shared. How often we forget the gift these two simple words return when given in gratitude. Praise be to you Lord Jesus Christ, thank you! I love you!
“Rejoicing and eternal praise be to you”: Pope Francis reminds us often how the Gospel is a joyous action of life. It is not static and frozen words on a piece of paper, rather it is the living encounter with Jesus Christ. “Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven.” (Mt 5:12) Jesus ends the Beatitudes with this reminder of our true destination. Rejoicing and eternal praise be to you Lord Jesus Christ.
God Bless
Fr. Mark

https://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=264

From the prayers attributed to St. Bridget of Sweden

A prayer to Christ our Savior

Blessed are you, my Lord Jesus Christ.  You foretold your death and at the Last Supper you marvelously consecrated bread which became your precious body.  And then you gave it to your apostles out of love as a memorial of your most holy passion.  By washing their feet with your holy hands, you gave them a supreme example of your deep humility.

Honor be to you, my Lord Jesus Christ.  Fearing your passion and death, you poured forth blood from your innocent body like sweat, and still you accomplished our redemption as you desired and gave us the clearest proof of your love for all men.
Blessed may you be, my Lord Jesus Christ.  After you had been led to Caiaphas, you, the judge of all men, humbly allowed yourself to be handed over to the judgment of Pilate.
Glory be to you, my Lord Jesus Christ, for the mockery you endured when you stood clothed in purple and wearing a crown of sharp thorns.  With utmost endurance you allowed vicious men to spit upon your glorious face, blindfold you and beat your cheek and neck with cruelest blows. Praise be to you, my Lord Jesus Christ.  For with the greatest patience you allowed yourself like an innocent lamb to be bound to a pillar and mercilessly scourged, and then to be brought, covered with blood, before the judgment seat of  Pilate to be gazed upon by all.
Honor be to you, my Lord Jesus Christ.  For after your glorious body was covered with blood, you were condemned to death on the cross, you endured the pain of carrying the cross on your sacred shoulders, and you were led with curses to the place where you were to suffer.  Then stripped of your garments, you allowed yourself to be nailed to the wood of the cross.

Everlasting honor be to you, Lord Jesus Christ.  You allowed your most holy mother to suffer so much, even though she had never sinned nor ever even consented to the smallest sin.  Humbly you looked down upon her with your gentle loving eyes, and to comfort her you entrusted her to the faithful care of your disciple.
Eternal blessing be yours, my Lord Jesus Christ, because in your last agony you held out to all sinners the hope of pardon, when in your mercy you promised the glory of paradise to the penitent thief.
Eternal praise be to you, my Lord Jesus Christ, for the time you endured on the cross the greatest torments and sufferings for us sinners.  The sharp pain of your wounds fiercely penetrated even to your blessed soul and cruelly pierced your most sacred heart till finally you sent forth your spirit in peace, bowed your head, and humbly commended yourself into the hands of God your Father, and your whole body remained cold in death.
Blessed may you be, my Lord Jesus Christ.  You redeemed our souls with your precious blood and most holy death, and in your mercy you led them form exile back to eternal life.
Blessed may you be, my Lord Jesus Christ.  For our salvation you allowed your side and heart to be pierced with a lance; and from that side water and your precious blood flowed out abundantly for our redemption.
Glory be to you, my Lord Jesus Christ.  You allowed your blessed body to be taken down from the cross by your friends and laid in the arms of your most sorrowing mother, and you let her wrap your body in a shroud and bury it in a tomb to be guarded by soldiers.    Unending honor be to you, my Lord Jesus Christ.  On the third day you rose from the dead and appeared to those you had chosen.  And after forty days you ascended into heaven before the eyes of man witnesses, and there in heaven you gathered together in glory those you love, whom you had freed from hell.
Rejoicing and eternal praise be to you, my Lord Jesus Christ, who sent the Holy Spirit into the hearts of your disciples and increased the boundless love of God in their spirits.
Blessed are you and praiseworthy and glorious for ever, my Lord Jesus.  You sit upon your throne in your kingdom of heaven, in the glory of your divinity, living in the most holy body you took from a virgin’s flesh.  So will you appear on that last day to judge the souls of all the living and the dead; you who live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit for ever and ever.  Amen