Saint Bridget of Sweden, Religious, Patron of Europe

1And the Lord spoke all these words: 2“I am the Lord your God, who led you away from the land of Egypt, out of the house of servitude. 3You shall not have strange gods before me. 4You shall not make for yourself a graven image, nor a likeness of anything that is in heaven above or on earth below, nor of those things which are in the waters under the earth. 5You shall not adore them, nor shall you worship them. I am the Lord your God: strong, zealous, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the sons to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6and showing mercy to thousands of those who love me and keep my precepts. 7You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain. For the Lord will not hold harmless one who takes the name of the Lord his God falsely. 8Remember that you are to sanctify the day of the Sabbath. 9For six days, you will work and accomplish all your tasks. 10But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. You shall not do any work in it: you and your son and your daughter, your male servant and your female servant, your beast and the newcomer who is within your gates. 11For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and the sea, and all the things that are in them, and so he rested on the seventh day. For this reason, the Lord has blessed the day of the Sabbath and sanctified it. 12Honor your father and your mother, so that you may have a long life upon the land, which the Lord your God will give to you. 13You shall not murder. 14You shall not commit adultery. 15You shall not steal. 16You shall not speak false testimony against your neighbor. 17You shall not covet the house of your neighbor; neither shall you desire his wife, nor male servant, nor female servant, nor ox, nor donkey, nor anything that is his.”

8The law of the Lord is immaculate, converting souls. The testimony of the Lord is faithful, providing wisdom to little ones.

9The justice of the Lord is right, rejoicing hearts. The precepts of the Lord are brilliant, enlightening the eyes.

10The fear of the Lord is holy, enduring for all generations. The judgments of the Lord are true, justified in themselves:

11desirable beyond gold and many precious stones, and sweeter than honey and the honeycomb.

18Listen, then, to the parable of the sower. 19With anyone who hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, evil comes and carries away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received the seed by the side of the road. 20Then whoever has received the seed upon a rocky place, this is one who hears the word and promptly accepts it with joy. 21But he has no root in himself, so it is only for a time; then, when tribulation and persecution occur because of the word, he promptly stumbles. 22And whoever has received the seed among thorns, this is he who hears the word, but the cares of this age and the falseness of riches suffocate the word, and he is effectively without fruit. 23Yet truly, whoever has received the seed into good soil, this is he who hears the word, and understands it, and so he bears fruit, and he produces: some a hundred fold, and another sixty fold, and another thirty fold.”