Wednesday, March 14, 2012

St. Patrick's Lorica (Breastplate)

 The 1889 hymnic adaptation of "St. Patrick's Lorica (Breastplate)", by Cecil Frances Alexander, wife of Anglican primate for Ireland William Alexander. You can hear the tune for that hymn here. Though probably not from Patrick himself (it is more likely dated to the 8th than the 5th century)
Here is a great place to learn more about the real Patrick. 

Bells of Ireland
I bind unto myself today                                   
The strong name of the Trinity,                        
By invocation of the same
The Three in One and One in Three.               
                                                                          
I bind this day to me for ever,
By power of faith, Christ's Incarnation;
His baptism in the Jordan River;
His death on cross for my salvation;
His bursting from the spicèd tomb;
His riding up the heavenly way;
His coming at the day of doom;
I bind unto myself today.

I bind unto myself the power                                             
Of the great love of the Cherubim;
The sweet 'Well done' in judgment hour;
The service of the Seraphim,
Confessors' faith, Apostles' word,
The Patriarchs' prayers, the Prophets' scrolls,
All good deeds done unto the Lord,
And purity of virgin souls.

I bind unto myself today
The virtues of the starlit heaven,
The glorious sun's life-giving ray,
The whiteness of the moon at even,
The flashing of the lightning free,
The whirling wind's tempestuous shocks,
The stable earth, the deep salt sea,
Around the old eternal rocks.

I bind unto myself today
The power of God to hold and lead,
His eye to watch, His might to stay,
His ear to hearken to my need.
The wisdom of my God to teach,
His hand to guide, his shield to ward,
The word of God to give me speech,
His heavenly host to be my guard.

Against the demon snares of sin,
The vice that gives temptation force,
The natural lusts that war within,
The hostile men that mar my course;
Or few or many, far or nigh,
In every place and in all hours
Against their fierce hostility,
I bind to me these holy powers.

Against all Satan's spells and wiles,
Against false words of heresy,
Against the knowledge that defiles,
Against the heart's idolatry,
Against the wizard's evil craft,
Against the death-wound and the burning
The choking wave and the poisoned shaft,
Protect me, Christ, till thy returning.

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.

I bind unto myself the name,
The strong name of the Trinity;
By invocation of the same.
The Three in One, and One in Three,
Of whom all nature hath creation,
Eternal Father, Spirit, Word:
Praise to the Lord of my salvation,
salvation is of Christ the Lord.

Fourth Annual St. Patrick's Day Blog Crawl ~ March 13th

50 comments:

Sonia said...

What a lovely post..love learning about the hymn and breastplate! Also I adore Bells of Ireland..they always looks so great in an arrangement!
Thanks for your sweet visit!
Happy St. Patrick's Day,
Miss Bloomers

Sonia said...

P.S. I'm your newest follower.

Carol said...

Lovely post! Wishing you a very Happy St. Patrick's Day. The Bells of Ireland are very pretty.

Sue said...

How very inspirational! Hope you enjoy your St. Patrick's Day celebration. ~Sue

Priscilla said...

Thanks for visiting today and joining the fun.

Priscilla said...

Thanks, Sue. Glad you popped by, today.

Priscilla said...

Thanks Carol, glad you came by today.

Patsy said...

Priscilla...thank you for visiting me! This is a lovely posting. I am a new follower. Happy Saint Patrick's Day! Patsy

Priscilla said...

Welcome and thank you. Isn't blogging fun?

Kathleen said...

That was beautiful! Thank you for that prayer of St, Patrick, and taking part in the blog crawl! A blessed SPD!

Gina said...

Thank you for sharing this lovely prayer!

Priscilla said...

This is the first year I've participated and I want to thank you for all the fun! I've visited every one of the lovely ladies who have posted so far and I'm looking forward to seeing more as they post. It is a wonderful way to learn about new blogs. What a nice community of people.

Priscilla said...

Thanks for your visit and your comment. This is really is beautiful isn't it.

Micupoftea said...

I'd never read this before~ Appreciate the inspiration and history~

Scribbler said...

Your blog is so interesting! I don't know how I have missed you, but I will follow you now, and look in to see what you are writing about. Thank you for visiting and commenting.

Yvonne @ StoneGable said...

AMEN AND AMEN! Beautiful prayer! I am blessed for reading it!
Yvonne

Judy Biggerstaff said...

Beautiful prayer and thanks for sharing it. Also thanks for stopping by my blog and leaving a message. I am your newest follower, hope you can do the same.

Priscilla said...

Thanks for stopping by. I have been blogging for quite a while, but not everyday. Just when I feel inspired. BTW, I'm your newest follower.

Priscilla said...

Glad to have you here. I am following your blog, too.

Buttercup said...

Thanks so much for stopping by Buttercup's and feel free to post the cute "Carry on..." Please stop by often and happy St. Patrick's Day!

Debbie@Mountain Breaths said...

Thank you for sharing this wonderful prayer and for your visit!

Sarah said...

Priscilla, sorry I'm late to arrive, but I've been away from my computer. This is a beautiful prayer and post. I always learn something from my visits here. Happy St. Patrick's Day! ~ Sarah

Denise said...

Wonderful!I'm going back to read it once more.So glad you shared this lovely prayer with us

Priscilla said...

What a sweet thing to say. I'm just still just a teacher at heart. I love i trivia. My had is full of it, because I've always read so much. I can't help passing it on.

Bargain Decorating with Laurie said...

This is beautiful. Thank you for posting it. laurie

Priscilla said...

Thanks for stopping by. I am your newest follower and I;ve added your blog to my Google Reader. So many beautiful ideas.

Priscilla said...

Hi, Laurie, thanks for your visit, today.

Priscilla said...

Thanks Buttercup! I'll tell you a secret - when I was a little I was called Buttercup. My silver pattern is Gorham Buttercup. Even my husband called me the shortened form, Cuppy.

Priscilla said...

Thanks for your visit. Pleas feel free to come back often.

Priscilla said...

Thanks, Yvonne. You are always welcome, here.

Marlis said...

I always love reading this, especially knowing how relevant it is to St. Patrick's life. Happy St. Patrick's day, may your day be filled with many blessings. xo marlis

Priscilla said...

Blessings to you, too.

Yellow Rose Arbor said...

This is very beautiful, haven't heard it before. I've never seen the Bells of Ireland either! Looks so pretty!

Katherine

Chandy said...

Beautiful! Gotta get me some of those Bells of Ireland! Thanks for sharing!

Debbie said...

This was absolutely beautiful. I couldn't get my computer to play the music. I'm sure the problem was on my end with this lame computer of mine. The words by themselves were so beautiful.

I love the true story of St. Patrick. What a champion of the Trinity.

Priscilla said...

Thanks for letting me know about the link to the tune, Debbie. I've fixed it, and it should be available now.
Mrs. Alexander wrote some of my favorite hymns.

Anonymous said...

How lovely, a very nice way to sit quiet for a few minutes and enjoy the words. I bought bells of Ireland yesterday. I love their texture and that they last so long. Thanks for your visit. Do come again and I'll do the same.

Anonymous said...

Thanks so much for coming by my blog and leaving a message. I truly appreciate it. I'm also happy that it gave me the chance to find you. The poem was magnificent. Very beautiful. I'll be enjoying you now.

Gayle said...

Hi Priscilla, I am visiting from the blog crawl. I'm glad you stopped in Behind the Gate earlier for a visit. I have never seen this entire prayer. It is beautiful and I wonder if people often memorized it and prayed it years ago. We are both in the Northwest I noticed.
Irish Blessings,
Gayle

Priscilla said...

Glad you came. I'd love to have you come back anytime.
Yes, I'm in Portland.
cheers

GratefulPrayerThankfulHeart said...

Thanks for sharing this beautiful prayer and post for St Patrick's Day! Sweet stopping by to visit with you!

Anonymous said...

Beautiful post :)
Mary x

Foley said...

The lyrics to the hymn are beautiful..Thanks for sharing!

Entertaining Women said...

Thanks for sharing this magnificent hymn! Cherry Kay

Priscilla said...

Thank you, please come again.

Priscilla said...

The writer is one of my favorite writers of hymns. She wrote so many lovely ones.

Priscilla said...

You have called it "Magnificent". That is exactly the right word.

Kay Ellen said...

Bless you for sharing:)
Happy Saint Patricks Day!

Thank you for stopping by,
Kay Ellen

Reba and Eldarose, sisters, friends and co-bloggers said...

Lovely, beautiful prayer!

You left a kind note on my St. Patrick's Day table and I came by to reciprocate and visit your blog. So glad I did. Good things to think about.

My sister, Reba, and I share a blog and we are your newest followers. :D Looking forward to more of your posts.

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!!!

Eldarose from http://RE-inventedstyle.blogspot.com

SavoringTime in the Kitchen said...

I've learned so much about St. Patrick and St. Patrick's Day from the posts on Kathleen's blog party! What a lovely prayer. Thank you so much for your kind visit.

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