July
Newsletter
Abbaye Saint-Joseph de Clairval, France
July 23, 2001
Saint Bridget of Sweden
Dear Friend of Saint Joseph Abbey,
³Where is Christ¹s true flock?² This was the question that came from the mind of a young Swedish woman, Mary Elizabeth Hesselblad, when she realized that her classmates belonged to different Christian denominations. Did Jesus Christ not express His ardent desire to lead all the sheep into the only fold, under the watch of just one shepherd? (cf. Jn. 10:16). In the solitude of the great pine forests she dearly loved, the young woman prayed to her heavenly Father to show her which fold He would like all to be gathered in. One day, while a wonderful peace spread in her soul, she perceived these words: ³Yes, my daughter, one day I will show it to you.²
³With the help of God,everything can be overcome²
Elizabeth Hesselblad was born in the village of Faglavik, in the Västergötland
province of southwest Sweden, on June 4, 1870. Members of the Lutheran
denomination, the majority in Sweden, her parents had her baptized at
the church a few weeks later. Coming from the rural lower middle class,
the Hesselblads operated a grocer¹s shop that did not fair well,
which obliged them to set up shop in 1871 as booksellers and stationers
in Falun, in central Sweden. Elizabeth¹s father, Auguste Robert,
was a good and sensible man, with an artist¹s temperament. Karin,
her mother, a practical, clever, and hardworking woman, gave birth to
thirteen children, nine boys and four girls; three children would die
in their early years. Elizabeth was the tenth. Family life helped to enrich
her sociable and particularly balanced temperament. The Hesselblads were
devout, and went to church every Sunday. From her youth, Elizabeth understood
that all human life must be dedicated to knowing God and serving Him.
Seriously ill with diphtheria and scarlet fever when she was seven, Elizabeth
recovered; but at the age of twelve, a new illness caused stomach ulcers
and internal hemorrhages which would cause her to suffer relapses for
the rest of her life. She later wrote, ³God gave me early on the
grace to understand that difficulties are sent to be conquered. With God¹s
help, everything can be overcome, but, without His support, all effort
is useless.²
In 1886, the family¹s poverty obliged Elizabeth to look for work.
Two years later, having come up against difficulties in Sweden, she decided
to leave for America, in order to help her family financially. Arriving
in New York on July 9, 1888, she entered a school for nurses at Roosevelt
Hospital. She often took care of workers injured on the building site
of the future Saint Patrick¹s Cathedral. One day, she heard an injured
Irishman repeat in his sufferings: ³Mary, Mother of God, pray for
us!² This invocation seemed improper to her. She wrote, ³He
shouldn¹t speak like that; it¹s not ChristianŠ Catholics
have strange expressions.² One night, she ventured out alone in a
terrible storm to call a priest to see a dying Catholic who wished to
be reconciled with God. ³May God bless you, dear little sister, for
your attention and zeal,² said the priest to Elizabeth. ³Unfortunately,
you cannot yet understand what a marvelous service you render to so many
peopleŠ One day, you will understand; you will find the way.²
In her search for the Church of Christ, Elizabeth visited many sanctuaries
of all creeds. She loved the silence of the Catholic churches‹but
why do the faithful there genuflect so often, why do they make so many
signs of the cross? Is it really necessary to express one¹s faith
exteriorly? In keeping with her convictions at that time, she thought
that faith, in order to be pure, must be kept secret.
³I am the One you seek²
In 1894, Elizabeth returned to her native land for a month of vacation.
Shortly after her return to America, she wrote, ³To leave one¹s
country a second time is more difficult than anything one can imagine.²
At this time, she met the Cisneros family, who welcomed her into their
home, and to whose service she would devote herself from then on.
To usher in the twentieth century, the Cisneros went to Sweden, to the
Hesselblad home. Elizabeth and the Cisneros sisters then organized a trip
to Europe. In Brussels, Elizabeth accompanied her friends, fervent Catholics,
to the Corpus Christi procession of the Blessed Sacrament, which was held
at Saint Gudule Cathedral. In her personal notes, she wrote, ³I didn¹t
know that the bishop was carrying somethingŠ Seeing my two friends
and many other people kneel, I moved back behind the large portal so as
not to offend those around me by staying standing. I thought, ŒBefore
You alone, Lord, I kneel; not here!¹ At this moment, the bishop who
was carrying the monstrance reached the portal. My anxious soul was suddenly
filled with gentleness and I heard a voice, which seemed to come at the
same time from outside and from the bottom of my heart, tell me, ŒI
am the One you seek.¹ I fell to my kneesŠ There, behind the
church door, I made my first adoration before our Divine Lord present
in the Blessed Sacrament.²
After the ceremony, Elizabeth hastened to tell her friends about the grace received. From this day on, although suffering sometimes serious doubts and marked by interior struggles, she became ever closer to the Catholic Church.
On the way to full communion
One of the practices that held Elizabeth back is Catholics¹ devotion
to Mary, the Mother of Jesus, and the saints. She held from her Protestant
upbringing an exclusive attachment to the mystery of Christ, the only
Savior. ³How could I believe in the intercessory power of the Blessed
Virgin Mary or the saints? Doesn¹t this lessen the merits of the
Passion and the Death of Christ? Isn¹t this a blow to the glory and
honor we owe God alone?²
Little by little, Elizabeth was reconciled with the doctrines of the Catholic
Church‹the Blessed Virgin was united with the work of the Divine
Redeemer, to which she provided unequaled cooperation though her obedience,
her faith, her hope, her ardent charity, so that supernatural life might
be given to souls. She thus became, in the order of grace, the Mother
of us all. After her Assumption into Heaven, Mary¹s role in salvation
did not end. Her maternal love renders her attentive to her Son¹s
brothers whose pilgrimage is not complete, until they reach the blessed
homeland. For this reason, she is invoked in the Church by the titles
of Advocate, Helper, Benefactress, Mediatrix, without taking away from
the dignity and efficacy of Christ, the sole Mediator. The Church professes
without hesitation the subordinate role of MaryŠ It recommends Mary
to the hearts of the faithful, so that this support and maternal help
might help them to cling more closely to the Mediator and Savior.
When she passed by a Catholic church, Elizabeth would enter to adore the
Blessed Sacrament, but she still hesitated to make the decisive step of
conversion. At this time, one of her two Cisneros friends entered the
Visitation Convent in Washington. Outraged in her affection at the thought
of permanently losing such a dear friend, Elizabeth asked herself, ³How
is it possible that a religion that asks for such heartrending sacrifices
can be true?² And yet, Jesus Himself was the first to call His apostles
and disciples to leave everything to follow Him, not without promising
them a marvelous reward: If you seek perfection, go, sell your possessions,
and give to the poor. You will then have treasure in heaven. Afterward,
come back and follow meŠ Moreover, everyone who has given up home,
brothers or sisters, father or mother, wife or children or property for
my sake will receive many times as much and inherit everlasting life (Mt.
19:21, 29).
The wheat and the chaff
Elizabeth, who wished to convert to a Church all of whose members were
saints, was astonished at the shortcomings she noticed in Catholics. The
teachings of the Gospels shed light on this reality, for Our Lord spoke
of the wheat and the chaff mixed together in the field of the father of
the family, as well as of the net cast into the sea which draws in all
sorts of fish (cf. Mt. 13:24-51). The Church, Christ¹s holy and immaculate
Spouse, is made up here on earth of both righteous souls and sinners.
Only in Heaven will all its members be perfect. Elizabeth understood that
the Catholic Church is the true ³fold² established by Christ.
She was convinced from that point on that each day spent outside this
fold was wasted time.
In the declaration Dominus Jesus, of August 6, 2000, the Congregation
for the Doctrine of the Faith recalls that, ³Just as there is one
Christ, so there exists a single Body of Christ, a single Bride of Christ:
a single Catholic and Apostolic Church² (no. 16), which conforms
to the teaching of the Second Vatican Council: ³This is the sole
Church of ChristŠ which our Savior, after His Resurrection, entrusted
to Peter¹s pastoral care (cf. Jn. 21:17), commissioning him and the
other apostles to extend and rule it (cf. Mt. 28:18 and ff.), and which
He raised up for all ages as the pillar and mainstay of the truth (1 Tim.
3:15). This Church, constituted and organized as a society in the present
world, subsists in the Catholic Church, which is governed by the successor
of Peter and by the Bishops in communion with him² (Lumen Gentium,
no. 8). The faithful likewise must not imagine that the Church of Christ
is simply a group of Churches and ecclesial Communities; nor do they have
the right to believe that this Church of Christ no longer remains anywhere
today, in such a way that it is only a common goal to be sought after
by all the Churches.
Nevertheless, ³the separated Churches and Communities as such, though we believe them to be deficient in some respects, have been by no means deprived of significance and importance in the mystery of salvation² (Vatican II, Unitatis Redintegratio, no. 3). In addition, the members of these communities are not responsible for the separation which dates back many centuries. The example of Elizabeth Hesselblad and her family, where true Christian virtues were practiced, shows that ³many elements can be found of sanctification and truth, that is, in those Churches and Ecclesial Communities which are not yet in full communion with the Catholic Church² (Dominus Jesus, no. 16).
The great grace of August 15, 1902
Having finally become certain that the fullness of grace and truth are
found in the Catholic Church, Elizabeth waited no longer to enter. She
spoke to Father J.G. Hagen, a Jesuit, who would become her spiritual Father,
and asked him to receive her immediately into the Catholic Church before
she was to leave shortly for Europe. ³My dear daughter, how could
I do that?² the priest replied. ³I have just met youŠ ²‹³My
Father, forgive me, but I have fought in darkness for twenty years; for
many years I have studied the Catholic faith and have prayed for a strong
faithŠ I now possess this faith, and I am ready to submit to an examination
on all the points of doctrine.² The priest thus questioned the ardent
neophyte. Finally, he told her, ³I see no reason not to receive you
into the Church. Today is August 12, and the 15th will be the Feast of
the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. That day, I will receive you
into the Catholic Church; the following Sunday, the 17th, you will be
able to receive Holy Communion. Spend these few days in retreat and come
to see me twice a day for lessons.²
During the ceremony of admission into the Catholic Church, Elizabeth received
a particular grace that she translated in these terms: ³I returned
to kneel in my place, and the entire world seemed to me to disappear.
It would be impossible to describe this impression. The only reality that
I saw, that I felt, was God; my sole desire from then on was to see Him
as we will see Him face to face, on the eternal morning.²
At the end of 1902, Elizabeth left on pilgrimage for Rome. She visited
there the Piazza Farnese, the house where Saint Bridget of Sweden lived
for 19 years, and which was at that time home to a Carmelite community.
Upon Father Hagen¹s advice, she returned to the Eternal City in March
1904, to dedicate herself entirely to God and to try to continue there
the work of Saint Bridget. That year, her brother, Thur, also converted
to Catholicism.
Elizabeth applied to the Carmelite Convent that attracted her in this
former home of Saint Bridget. The Prioress, Mother Hedwig, hesitated to
accept her because of her weak health, and offered to take her for a period
of probation. Soon Elizabeth fell seriously ill and even received Extreme
Unction. Slowly, she recovered and could lead the regular life. She held
out against her family¹s pleas urging her to return to Sweden. Her
heart was consumed with a twofold desire: to promote the return of her
country to Catholicism with a view to Christian unity, and to spread devotion
to Saint Bridget and Saint Catherine of Sweden. With her Superior¹s
consent, she received at that time the gray habit of the Brigittines and
made her profession, in the hands of Father Hagen, on June 22, 1906, the
Feast of the Sacred Heart. Mother Hedwig blessed her, saying, ³I
return you to Saint Bridget and Saint Catherine (Saint Bridget¹s
daughter), who sent you to me.²
In the footsteps of Saint Bridget
Born in 1303 to an aristocratic Swedish family, Saint Bridget was wed
to a devout Christian with whom she had eight children, and with whom
she had an intense prayer life. After her husband¹s death, her intimate
union with Christ was accompanied by particular charisms, under whose
inspiration she founded the new monastic Order of the Most Holy Savior,
devoted to contemplation of the Passion. This Order spread in northern
Europe. As Scandinavian countries were separated from Catholic unity over
the course of the sixteenth century, the Swedish monks and nuns were dispersed.
At the beginning of the twentieth century, only a few isolated monasteries
of Brigittines remained in Europe.
All of Sister Elizabeth¹s efforts would be aimed at establishing
a foundation of Brigittines. In 1911, English postulants arrived in Rome
and, with Sister Elizabeth, moved into a property loaned by the Carmelites.
On March 4, 1920, she became Abbess of the Order of the Holy Savior, which
was canonically established. During 16 years of struggle, Mother Elizabeth,
who referred to herself as a ³useless piece of wood,² laid the
foundation for an edifice destined to work continuously for the glory
of God. She assigned her religious three goals: ³Contemplation, adoration
and reparation.²
In May 1923, Mother Elizabeth went to Sweden for the 550th anniversary
of Saint Bridget¹s death, in Vadstena, where she had founded her
first monastery in 1343. The saint¹s relics had been brought from
Rome; the ceremonies were marked by the participation of numerous Protestants.
A crown offered by Prince Eugene carried this dedication: ³To the
greatest woman of Sweden.² Mother Elizabeth wished to establish a
monastery in Sweden, but local Bishop Müller advised prudence, owing
to still lively prejudice against religious orders. A ³Saint Bridget
Rest Home² led by several sisters was then founded in Stockholm¹s
suburbs; there a few patients and guests seeking spiritual rest found
accommodation. For the first time since the sixteenth century, to the
great surprise of the population, religious sisters wearing the habit
could be seen in Sweden.
On her way back to Rome, the foundress stopped in Lugano, in the south
of Switzerland, to establish a Brigittine convent there. Yet another was
soon founded in England. In October 1928, the Carmelites left Saint Bridget¹s
house in Rome, and the following April, Mother Elizabeth and her religious
moved in, realizing a thirty-year dream. In 1935, the permanent founding
of a Brigittine convent took place in Vadstena, in spite of some Swedes¹
displeasure. Then, in April 1937, twelve Brigittines took to the seas
to establish a foundation in southern India. Today the Brigittines have
several dozen houses in Europe, Asia, and America.
During the Second World War, Mother Elizabeth¹s charity was deployed in all areas: first towards her own religious sisters in war-torn countries, then towards the suffering of Rome (as many as 60 people were given refuge at Piazza Farnese), especially the Jews. From Sweden, a country spared by the conflict, she had essential commodities rushed to the House of Saint Bridget. Her charity was considerate, supernatural, enthusiastic, sometimes heroic. She showed no partiality‹at the end of 1945, she equally helped Italian Communist refugees, Germans and Poles.
Good zeal for the cause of unity
In the Constitutions of the Order of the Holy Savior, Mother Elizabeth
called her religious to devote themselves in a permanent and fundamental
manner to the cause of Christian unity. She composed and had the sisters
recite an invocation to Saint Bridget: ³With confident hearts, we
turn to you, Saint Bridget, to ask, in this time of darkness and lack
of faith, your intercession for those who are separated from the Church
of Christ. By the clear knowledge you had of the cruel sufferings of our
Crucified Lord, sufferings that were the price of our redemption, we beg
you to obtain the grace of faith for those who are outside the One Flock,
so that the scattered sheep might thus return to the one true Father.²
Mother Elizabeth¹s apostolic zeal knew no bounds. She contributed
to the conversion of the Baptist Minister Piero Chiminelli, author of
a biography of Saint Bridget; she likewise had close ties to the former
Chief Rabbi of Rome, Israel (Eugenio) Zolli, who converted to Catholicism
in 1946. Yet her most important apostolate remained hidden: her life was
permeated with prayers and sufferings offered for the unity of Christians.
Her last months were marked by physical suffering due to a weakening
of the heart. Thanks to deep faith in the value of the redeeming Passion,
she wrote, ³Suffering is one of the greatest blessings that God can
give to a soul.² She never complained, but spoke joyfully of her
impending death: ³I am at the station, waiting for the train.²
She recited the Rosary continuously, confident in Mary, of whom she had
written, ³The Blessed Virgin is closer to me than my own body; I
feel that it would be easier to break my arm, my leg or my head than to
distance me from the Blessed Virgin; it¹s as if my soul were chained
to her.² Spontaneously from her lips came acts of acceptance of the
will of God and of offering of herself.
The day before her death, Mother Elizabeth gave her blessing to the sisters
and, holding her raised hands in a solemn gesture, looking to the heavens,
she murmured, ³Go to Heaven with hands full of love and virtues.²
She then received the sacraments; her last moments were calm and peaceful.
She died on Easter Wednesday, April 24, 1957.
After declaring Saint Bridget, as well as Saint Catherine of Sienna and
Saint Edith Stein Patronesses of Europe on October 1, 1999, Pope John
Paul II proclaimed Mother Mary Elizabeth Hesselblad Blessed on April 9,
2000. Let us make our own this beautiful prayer composed by the new Blessed:
³O my God, I thank You for everything You have given me, I thank
You for everything You refuse me, and for everything You take away from
me.²
With this thought, we pray for all your intentions, including your beloved
deceased.
Dom Antoine Marie osb
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Also available free of charge are: tract about the Truths of the
Catholic Religion; scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, with explanatory
notice; the promises of the Sacred Heart; the mysteries of the Rosary.
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The monks pray for your intentions.