Birgitta began to live a more ascetic life. Her dreams and visions grew more frequent and vivid, and became more and more the focus of her life. She devoted her life to prayer, to assisting the poor and needy, and to speaking plainly to those in power. She mediated between warring rulers, and warned the Pope at Avignon that it was his duty to return to Rome.
In 1351 she founded an order of both monks and nuns, to be governed by an abbess. The order, the Order of the Holy Savior, popularly called the Brigittines, spread through Europe, and was an important educational influence. Today, the Society of St. Birgitta in Sweden is a laypersons' society that seeks to carry on her work.
She is known for her Revelations, which are largely meditations on the Passion of Our Lord. An extract follows:
Blessed are you, my Lord Jesus Christ. Fearing your passion and death, you poured forth blood from your innocent body like sweat, and still you accomplished your redemption as you desired and gave us the clearest proof of your love for all men.Eternal blessing be yours, my Lord Jesus Christ, because in your last agony you held out to sinners the hope of pardon, when in your mercy you promised the glory of paradise to the penitent thief.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 from exile back to eternal life.
LinK: http://elvis.rowan.edu/~kilroy/JEK/home.html
The biographies were written by James Kiefer.
