Devotion to the Blessed Mother

Do you have a devotion to the Blessed Mother? St Bridget of Sweden did, and because of her prayers and devotion to Mary, the Blessed Mother interceded for Bridget's son Charles at the moment of his death. The story goes like this:

In her old age, and at the command of Christ, Bridget made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land accompanied by her adult children, Charles and Birger. Charles had always been a high-spirited child, and Bridget had always prayed for his eternal salvation, entrusting him to the Mother of God. On a stopover in Naples, Charles fell in love with Queen Joanna of Naples, and proceeded to make a fool of himself. Both Charles and Joanna were married to other people, and Bridget was very distressed by her son's behaviour. She prayed that Charles would die rather than persist in mortal sin, and as though in answer to her prayers, Charles soon became ill and died shortly after.

The Blessed Mother appeared to Saint Bridget and told her: “I stood by your son, Charles, just before he died, that he might lose all memory of carnal love, might not speak or think anything contrary to God... I helped him in that strait passage when the soul leaves the body...and when his soul left his body, I took him under my protection and the devils fled...but just how Charles was judged after death I will tell you when it seems good to me.”

After Bridget and Birger arrived at the Holy Land, Mary again appeared to Bridget in a vision at the Shrine of the Holy Sepulchre. Bridget saw her son standing at the judgment seat of God. The devil accused him of his sins and the Virgin Mary pleaded for his soul. When the devil asked why he was being driven away from Charles at the moment of his death, Mary replied, “This I did because of the ardent love he had for me and because of the joy he always felt that I am the Mother of God.” The devil replied that Charles was lacking in virtue. His angel answered that Bridget's prayers and works of piety had knocked at the door of mercy for more than thirty years, and therefore, God had granted him the grace of final perseverance, and therefore had saved him from eternal damnation.