Author: rejoiceandpraise

When I was in a spiritual battle (yes, I get them) Deacon Marco at St. Ignatius told me to pray to St. Patrick for his intercession. A prayer that helped me through my trials was St. Patrick’s Breastplate Prayer written in 433 AD.

Below is the long and short version of St. Patrick’s Breastplate (Christ Be With Me) Prayer:

About St. Patrick’s Breastplate

St. Patrick’s Breastplate is a prayer for protection and guidance. Christ is always with us providing us strength and wisdom. This is especially a good prayer for

• Those who are in the military
• People starting a new job in a new city
• College students leaving home for the first time
• Students in a new school
• Those facing a spiritual crisis
• Teens finding it difficult to live their faith due to peer pressure
• Anyone undergoing adversity

This prayer is also known as The Deer’s Cry or The Lorica of Saint Patrick or Saint Patrick’s Hymn. There are several versions of this prayer.  And different wordings are common. “I bind myself” or “I arise today” are both often seen as the beginning of each verse.  The shortened version (shown first below) is probably better for children.

St. Patrick’s Breastplate (Short Version)

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.

Breastplate of St. Patrick (Long Version)

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.

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.

Aside:

Teaching in an inner city daycare, every March early childhood activities centred around green shaped clover 🍀, little leprechaun with black top hat, along with a pot of gold at the end of a colourful rainbow. Children’s craft would adorn the classroom and hallways in anticipation for St. Patrick’s day.

Much of what most know about St. Patrick’s Day is just that – wearing green, going out for a pint of beer, and partying. We forget that Saint Patrick was an actual person and not a myth. He was a 5th-century Romano-British Christian missionary and Bishop in Ireland.

I share with all my readers this informative interview – The Chris Stefanick Show:

https://watch.formed.org/videos/learning-the-real-history-of-st-patrick-w-eddie-cotter-chris-stefanick-show

Happy St. Patrick’s day, and God Bless 🍀Let’s “live a life of gratitude to God.”

Please pray for me as I pray for you🙏💕