Life and Selected Revelations

Saint Bridget (of Sweden)

Jan. 1990 · Paulist Press

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...a milestone in American religious publishing. The Catholic World. In one series, the original writings of the universally acknowledged teachers of the Catholic, Protestant, Eastern Orthodox, Jewish and Islamic traditions have been critically selected, translated and introduced by internationally recognized scholars and spiritual leaders. Birgitta of Sweden-Life and Selected writings edited, with a preface by Marguerite Tjader Harris translation and notes by Albert Ryle Kezel introduction by Tore Nyberg I am a sinner unworthy to say such things; nevertheless, know that Jesus Christ appeared to me at prayer. Birgitta of Sweden (c. 1303-1373) The Catholic history of Scandinavia is rich in its legacy of saints and blesseds: Canute, Eric, Hallvard, Henry, Olaf, Sigfrid, Thorlac and many others. One Swedish saint has achieved worldwide fame: Birgitta Birgersdotter, born into wealth and aristocracy, a happily married mother, a religious foundress, a mystical visionary and the fines Scandinavian writer of the Middle Ages. Like Joan of Arc, Birgitta experienced a repeated and insistent visionary call to public action. Her task was to reawaken the Church's attention to the essential things of God; and, in her vividly colorful writings, she has left to the world an exemplary record of her own perseverance in prayer. Knut Westman, a major authority on St. Birgitta, says of her: "Birgitta is of another kind of religion: personal, vocational, mystical, recognized by its strong ethical attitude, its visions of God's work through history, and the consciousness of being called to task...Such a life cannot be explained as a product of known factors." Contained in this volume are four key documents of Birgittine literature: the eyewitness Life of Blessed Birgitta, the complete Fifth and Seventh books of her Revelations, and her Four Prayers. Of the present volume, Birger Bergh, prominent Birgittine textual critic, writes: "This translation, done by a translator with a sensitivity of style and with genuine understanding of the Birgittine world, gives a perfect picture of the Latin original and its fluent diction." +