Newsletter - 12 March 2023
St Patrick’s Breastplate
As St Patrick’s Day draws near, it is a good time to recall the well-known poem and prayer which bears his name, St Patrick’s Breastplate.
It is a prayer for protection. The breastplate is an essential piece of the armour of God that St Paul urges Christians to put on to withstand the attacks of the evil one - “the breastplate of righteous” (Eph 6:14). The poem is also known as a lorica - from a Latin word for “armour.”
Patrick is said to have prayed the prayer when he and his companions were being tracked done by an Irish king who opposed the Christian faith. As the story goes, Patrick and his friends were hidden from the king’s soldiers, appearing to them as a herd of deer. Hence, the poem is also known as “Deer’s Cry”.
Many of us will know a shortened version of the prayer.
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.
This is only one section of the full poem. In each section the scope of Christ’s presence and protection is widened to include every imaginable area of life. Most sections begin with the phrase “I arise today” (or in some versions, “I bind unto myself today”). Thus, the poem begins: I arise today, gathering strength through invocation of the Trinity.
In the sections that follow we pray to arise each day and gain strength through the events of Christ’s life,
the realm of angels and saintly ancestors,
the created world - sun, moon, wind, rain (like St Francis’ Brother Sun, Sister Moon),
the qualities and attributes of God - power, wisdom, and word.
Another section calls for strength and protection against a list of evil forces that daily threaten us. Finally, the prayer invokes the presence of Christ in each person.
It is clearly a morning prayer – “I arise today” to call upon the protection and strength of Christ through the whole of the coming day. If you would like to try it out, you can find several slightly different versions of the prayer online.
Ted Wood, ccn
Focus of the Week
THE STATIONS OF THE CROSS
As in previous years The Stations of the Cross will be recited each Friday in Lent. Options are 10 am (followed by the 11am mass) and 6pm (followed by time of adoration).
GOD IN MY JOB
Explore Your Working Life
‘God and my job’ is a four day retreat for those who wish to find greater unity between their working and spiritual lives. It is based on the experience of the Spiritual Exercises of St Ignatius of Loyola, with a spiritual companion, workshops and talks led by members of Chemin Neuf Community.
Taking place between 21-25 April 2023 at Storrington Priory, West Sussex: Participants are invited to contribute to the cost within a range of £260-£350 per person for the retreat, according to personal circumstances. For more information, go to www.chemin-neuf.org.uk and look under ‘Retreats’.