Saint Patrick’s Body Armor: Prayer

Saint Patrick’s day memorializes the traditional date of the death of Saint Patrick on March 17, 461 CE. This seems like an odd time for a celebration because it interrupts the sober atmosphere of the Lenten season. It’s especially odd in the USA, where people drink beer to excess in honor of the life of a Christian missionary. What?!

We’re told that Irish soldiers in the service of the British crown instituted Saint Patrick’s day parades in Boston in 1737 and New York City in 1762. In the nineteenth century downtrodden Irish immigrants viewed the day as an opportunity to stand up for their heritage. Currently, to outsiders like me (my ancestors came to the USA from Wales), St. Patrick’s Day seems to be just an excuse to hop off the wagon and resume the Fat Tuesday party that preceded Lent. People do strange things like dyeing the Chicago River green. Apparently that affront to ecology began in 1962. On top of that, what about dyeing beer green? That seems like a very bad idea, but those who guzzle the stuff are probably not worried about whether it tastes great or is less filling. Here’s a more appropriate way of having a beer on Saint Patrick’s Day.

All that nonsense about green beer, shamrocks, and leprechauns aside, we can honor the life and ministry of Saint Patrick best by pondering his “breastplate,” a prayer traditionally attributed to him. There’s a lot of biblical truth in this prayer, and it can revitalize the way we pray.

What do we really know about Saint Patrick?

The short answer is, sadly, very little. First of all, Patrick wasn’t Irish, and he didn’t banish the snakes from Ireland. He was never formally canonized as a Saint by the Roman Catholic Church, yet today he is revered by both Roman Catholics and Orthodox believers around the world. Anglicans and Lutherans also officially memorialize Saint Patrick

Apparently Patrick was born into a nominal Christian family on the west coast of England around 380 CE. As a young man he was captured by Irish marauders, taken to Ireland, and sold as a slave. During several years as a shepherd he experienced a spiritual awakening. He ran away from his master and managed to get on a ship back to England. After studying for the ministry, he felt called back to Ireland where he ministered to Christians and evangelized pagan followers of Celtic nature-worship (think Stonehenge). Patrick commonly adapted features of the Celtic culture and religion to teach Christianity, such as using bonfires to celebrate Easter and forming the Celtic cross by superimposing the sun on the cross. He may also have used the shamrock as a visualization of the doctrine of the Trinity. Patrick ministered in Ireland from around 433 to his death in 461.

Praying with Saint Patrick

It’s about time we rescue the memory of St. Patrick from the green beer-guzzlers! Let’s consider a prayer that is traditionally attributed to him, the Breastplate. I first learned of this prayer years ago from my friend, Rev. Dr. Michael A. Van Horn.

The Breastplate is a lorica, a prayer for protection from evil forces. Such prayers are rightly drawn from passages like Ephesians 6, where St. Paul’s warns us about our spiritual enemies and tells us to arm ourselves for battle. The term lorica comes from Ephesians 6:14, where the Latin Vulgate Bible (4th century CE), uses lorica to translate the Greek word θώραξ (thorax), commonly translated “breastplate” in English. I like the NLT’s more current reading “body armor.”

This lorica prayer is found in both Gaelic and Latin manuscripts dating back as far as the 8th Century CE. Traditionally it comes from Patrick’s need for divine protection against King Loégaire, who opposed his ministry. The Irish hymn-writer Cecil Frances Alexander (1818-1895) composed a metrical version in English in 1889. Charles Villiers Stanford provided music for the poem in 1902. The resulting hymn was published in the English Hymnal of 1906, edited by Ralph Vaughan Williams. Go here for a 1982 BBC recording of the hymn sung by the choir of Saint Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin.

Many translations of the prayer have been made, and parts of it are commonly found in calligraphy on tracts and plaques. One version of the complete prayer is below. As you read it and and consider using it in the future, remember Paul’s teaching on the Christian armor in Ephesians 6:10-18. Notice how the prayer instructs us on how we should pray:

• The prayer begins and ends by invoking the Trinity (Stanzas 1 and 8). Do we pray to the Father through Jesus the Son as we are prompted by the Holy Spirit?
• The prayer draws our attention to cruciformity: our participation with Christ in his life, death, resurrection, and reign, and his constant presence with us (Stanzas 2 and 7). Do we pray in a Christlike manner, remembering that Jesus is with us every day, and that our identity is linked to his?
• The prayer invokes the ministry of angels and the testimony of faithful Christians (cf. Heb 11) as strengthening believers for spiritual warfare (Stanzas 3 and 6). Do we appreciate the ministry of angels and the godly examples of those who have gone before us?
• The prayer is centered on the goodness of creation alongside the power of the Creator to protect his creatures (Stanzas 4 and 5). As the world seems to be falling apart around us, do we remember that God said his creation was very good, and that he promises to restore its shalom?

Saint Patrick’s Breastplate

1. 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.

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. 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.

5. 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.

6. 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.

7. 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.

8. 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 Whole Armor of God

A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.

Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere. (Ephesians 6:10-18 NLT)

• • • • • • •

Collect of the Day: Patrick, Bishop and Apostle to the Irish, 461

Almighty and everlasting God, you called your servant Patrick to preach the Gospel to the Irish people: Raise up in this and every land evangelists and heralds of your kingdom, that your Church may proclaim the unsearchable riches of our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.