The Knight: A Vocation on par with the Monk

St. Bridget of Sweden received revelations from Our Lord about chivalry and
the great virtue of the knights who fought for Christ and Christendom. In one
of her visions, He told her that a knight who keeps the laws of his order is
exceedingly dear to Him. For, if it is hard for a monk to wear his heavy habit,
it is harder still for a knight to wear his heavy armor.

Thus, we see the importance God gives to the fight against evil and error.

St. Bridget promoted the chivalric orders during her lifetime reminding them
of their noble vows and mission, although she also rebuked the knights who
had become worldly and career minded.

Our Lord to St. Bridget

There is no life more austere than the life of a knight, if he truly follows his
calling. While a monk is obliged to wear a cowl, a knight is obliged to wear
something heavier, namely, a coat of mail. While it is hard for a monk to fight
against the will of the flesh, it is harder for a knight to go forth among armed
enemies.

While a monk must sleep on a hard bed, it is harder still for the knight to sleep
with his weapons. While a monk finds abstinence a burden and trouble, it is
harder for the knight to be constantly burdened by fear for his life.

Christian knighthood was not established out of greed for worldly possessions
but in order to defend the truth and spread the True Faith. For this reason, the
knightly rank and the monastic rank should be thought to correspond to the
superlative or comparative rank.

However, those in every rank [religious, noble and bourgeois] who have
deserted their honorable calling, since the love for God has been perverted into
worldly greed. If but a single florin were offered them, most of them in all three
ranks would keep silent about the truth rather than lose the florin and speak the
truth.

Revelations of St. Bridget, book III, ch. 27