Resurrecting St. Patrick – His Breastplate Prayer

Resurrecting St. Patrick – His Breastplate Prayer. 

“I arise today through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity, through belief in the Threeness, through confession of the oneness of the Creator of Creation…” (the 1st verse of what is known as “St. Patrick’s Breastplate”).

The Deer’s Cry. This famous prayer of praise and protection is attributed to St. Patrick and is known by other names too… “Lorica” (Latin for breastplate), and “The Deer’s Cry” which points to a fascinating legend about St. Patrick. The story goes that Patrick and some of his followers were on their way to confront a local chieftain about the way he’d been harassing the Christians in his tribal territory. That king, though, was ready to pounce on Patrick to kill him for his fierce opposition to druidic paganism. On the way to confront the king, the king’s henchmen waited in the shadows, so that as Patrick and his men could be slaughtered as they came through the forest. But God had a thick mist rise in the woods which shrouded Patrick, and the armed soldiers had a vision of a deer calmly going through that forest. Because they saw only a deer, they didn’t kill it, and Patrick’s life was saved. This prayer was written in Old Irish language and may not have been composed by Patrick himself, but it certainly was written in the spirit of Patrick, what he believed in, and how he approached each day in the midst of his hostile opposition and pagan powers at work against him in his ministry. In fact, Patrick wrote his creed of the Christian faith in his “Confession” which is practically identical to this prayer. The earliest copy of “St. Patrick’s Breastplate” was dated to about 100 years after Patrick, but it could easily have been composed by him because of the focus on the powers of nature and nature’s God, the Trinity, the threatening challenges he faced daily by supernatural powers, and his yearning for Christ to be everywhere near him and in him and around him during his mission of evangelizing Ireland. All of us Christ-followers would do well to begin each day praying St. Patrick’s Breastplate:

“I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through belief in the Threeness,
Through confession of the Oneness
of the Creator of creation.

I arise today
Through the strength of Christ’s birth with His baptism,
Through the strength of His crucifixion with His burial,
Through the strength of His resurrection with His ascension,
Through the strength of His descent for the judgment of doom.

I arise today
Through the strength of the love of cherubim,
In the obedience of angels,
In the service of archangels,
In the hope of resurrection to meet with reward,
In the prayers of patriarchs,
In the predictions of prophets,
In the preaching of apostles,
In the faith of confessors,
In the innocence of holy virgins,
In the deeds of righteous men.

I arise today, through
The strength of heaven,
The light of the sun,
The radiance of the moon,
The splendor of fire,
The speed of lightning,
The swiftness of wind,
The depth of the sea,
The stability of the earth,
The firmness of rock.

I arise today, through
God’s strength to pilot me,
God’s might to uphold me,
God’s wisdom to guide me,
God’s eye to look before me,
God’s ear to hear me,
God’s word to speak for me,
God’s hand to guard me,
God’s shield to protect me,
God’s host to save me
From snares of devils,
From temptation of vices,
From everyone who shall wish me ill,
afar and near.

I summon today
All these powers between me and those evils,
Against every cruel and merciless power
that may oppose my body and soul,
Against incantations of false prophets,
Against black laws of pagandom,
Against false laws of heretics,
Against craft of idolatry,
Against spells of witches and smiths and wizards,
Against every knowledge that corrupts man’s body and soul;
Christ to shield me today
Against poison, against burning,
Against drowning, against wounding,
So that there may come to me an abundance of reward.

Christ with me,
Christ before me,
Christ behind me,
Christ in me,
Christ beneath me,
Christ above me,
Christ on my right,
Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down,
Christ when I sit down,
Christ when I arise,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.”