To St. Bridget of Sweden (1303-1373), Our Lady directly reveals the amazing graces granted by her Son for all those who daily pray seven Hail Mary’s while meditating on her seven dolors and tears:

1. “I will grant peace to their families.”

2. “They will be enlightened about the Divine Mysteries.”

3. “I will console them in their pains and I will accompany them in their work.”

4. “I will give them as much as they ask for as long as it does not oppose the adorable will of my Divine Son or the sanctification of their souls.”

5. “I will defend them in their spiritual battles with the infernal enemy and I will protect them at every instant of their lives.”

6. “I will visibly help them at the moment of their death—they will see the face of their mother.”

7. “I have obtained this grace from my divine Son, that those who propagate this devotion to my tears and dolors will be taken directly from this earthly life to eternal happiness, since all their sins will be forgiven and my Son will be their eternal consolation and joy.”

Part of an excerpt from my journal January 5, 2018 **

Beloved Child,

All of these feelings you feel, I have felt.  I am human like you.  But I never let my feelings be used by Satan to give into the temptation to not trust God.  I always trusted.  That is the key.  I knew the Father loved me so there was no question but to trust Him.

Great trials lay ahead for God’s faithful.  But I am here because God wills it.  Through my sorrow you can see how to trust.

I was a refugee who had to flee my land and go to a foreign place knowing no one but Joseph, not even speaking the language.  But I trusted and God provided.  Knowing my baby Son’s life was in danger, but God was our protector so in the fullness of time He would be revealed.

When my Son was lost, I felt those feelings of anxiety, but I did not let it shake my trust in God.

Even walking the Way of the Cross, meeting Him at Calvary, standing at the foot of the Cross, and receiving His body in my arms.  I remembered the prophecy of Simeon, that a sword would pierce my soul, as I saw it pierce my Son’s side on the cross.

Oh the sorrow! But Simeon had foretold that my Son was a light to reveal God to all the nations, so even as I laid Him in the tomb, even in my intense sorrow, I trusted.  I trusted because I saw LOVE HIMSELF in my Son.  And I knew that love conquers all.  Love is a feeling and a choice.  Trust LOVE.  Love and Truth go hand in hand.

In the days, weeks, months and years ahead, you will face fierce tribulation.  Without my Son, it would seem unbearable.  But you have HIM.  Marked by your baptism, sealed with the Spirit at Confirmation, secured in your willful consent.  Your heart beating with His, beating with mine.  Sacred.  Immaculate. Beloved.

Remember to trust even if it feels like there is reason not to.  Don’t let your feelings be used by the devil.  The Father in heaven truly wants to prosper you and not harm you.  True Freedom rests in trusting…..

Be not afraid.

Isaiah 40:31

• The Immaculata – Your Mother

** Author’s note

I write what pops in my head as letters from God (and sometimes Mary if I am speaking to her.) I wrote this as a reflection of what I thought Mary was saying to me.  I was taught to journal this way by my Spiritual Director. He said as long as it doesn’t stray from Scripture and the magisterium of the Church, I can write what pops in my head while I am praying.