Ave Maria Meditations
O Jesus! Only Son of the eternal Father! Splendor and Figure of His Substance! Remember the simple and humble commitment Thou didst make of Thy Soul to Thine Eternal Father, saying, “Father, into Thy Hands I commend My Spirit!” Then, with Thy Body rent and Thy Sacred Heart broken, and the bowels of Thy mercy open to redeem us, Thou didst expire. [Pause here and genuflect or bow.]
By this precious death, I entreat Thee, O King of All Saints, comfort me and help me to resist the world, the flesh and the devil, so that, being dead to this world, I may live unto Thee alone. I beseech Thee that, at the hour of my death, Thou wilt receive me into Thy Kingdom as a pilgrim and an exile who hast returned to Thee. Amen.
O Jesus, true and fruitful Vine! Remember the abundant gushing forth of Blood which Thou didst so generously shed from Thy Sacred Body, flowing, as it did, like juice from a winepress. When a soldier pierced Thy Sacred Side with a lance, blood and water issued forth until there was not left a single drop in Thy virginal Body; and, finally, as if Thy delicate Body were a bundle of myrrh which had arisen to the top of the Cross, it was destroyed, its very substance having withered, and the marrow of its bones having dried up. Through this bitter Passion, and through the outpouring of Thy Precious Blood, I beseech Thee, O sweet Jesus, to receive me when I am in death’s agony.
O sweet Jesus! Pierce my heart, so that my tears of penitence and love may be my bread day and night. May I be converted entirely to Thee; may my heart become Thy perpetual habitation; may my conversation be pleasing in Thy sight; and may the end of my life be so praiseworthy that I may merit Heaven and, abiding there with Thy saints, may I praise Thee forever. Amen.
St. Bridget of Sweden
