CREEDE HINSHAW: A true celebration of St. Patrick

As I write, I am listening to “The Deer’s Cry,” the most familiar segment of St. Patrick’s Breastplateprayer.  “The Cry,” arranged by Estonian Arvo Part, is performed by the British choral group Sixteen. These words from will be familiar to many readers: 

Christ be with me, Christ within me, 

Christ behind me, Christ before me, 

Christ beside me, Christ to win me, 

Christ to comfort and restore me. 

Christ beneath me, Christ above me, 

Christ in quiet, Christ in danger, 

Christ in hearts of all that love me, 

Christ in mouth of friend and stranger. 

Saint Patrick’s Day on Sunday affords the opportunity to reflect upon this spiritual classic. The prayer, titled in Latin “Lorica” (which means armor, or breastplate), may or may not have been written by Patrick, who lived in the 5th century. It can be traced to 690 A.D., when it was directed to be sung in all churches and monasteries in Ireland. Episcopalians and other U.S. churches, along with the Church of England and Church of Ireland, still sing and pray this song. 

There are many versions of the “Breastplate,” but the most prominent is Cecil Frances Alexander’s 1889 translation which begin:, 

I bind unto myself today 

The strong Name of the Trinity, 

By invocation of the same, 

The Three in One and One in Three 

“The Breastplate” is a rich, robust and restorative vow of faithfulness. The one who prays this prayer seeks protection from and binds self to the Trinitarian God fivefold by binding self to Jesus, to the apostles, prophets and faithful Christians of all time, to the virtues of God’s creation, to the power of God to protect against “all Satan’s spells and wiles” and ultimately to the strong name of the Trinity.   

This weekend will feature Saint Patrick’s festivities and revelry in places as diverse as New York City, Boston, Savannah and Dublin.  (St. Patrick’s Day is somewhat of a non-event in Dublin, Ireland.) Most participants will wear green, erroneously credit Patrick with driving snakes from Ireland and perhaps recall the trinitarian symbol of the shamrock.  

What is often overlooked is that Patrick was a 16-year-old English youth when he was abducted by raiders who enslaved him in Ireland for six years.  Escaping his captors, Patrick returned to England until God called this young adult to return to the very country where he had been enslaved and preach the gospel. 

Upon his return Patrick faced the entrenched power of the Irish chieftains who were supported and abetted by the druid priests of the day. Those rulers had no more inclination to relinquish their power and position than do today’s sacred and secular holders of power. Patrick’s prayer was a real prayer in a real situation of danger and distress. 

Patrick, in prayer, sought to protect himself from both worldly powers and the prince of the power of the air, to fortify himself against despair, cynicism, gloom and depression. We face the same challenges today, which makes it imperative to know, sing and pray the “Breastplate.”   

Find the prayer online and ponder it. Listen to a choral version. Make Patrick’s prayer your own.