St. Patrick's Breastplate Part Three

photo via creative commons by Ted

Christ, protect me today
Against every poison, against burning,
Against drowning, against death-wound,
That I may receive abundant reward.

Christ with me, Christ before me,
Christ behind me, Christ within me,
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ at my right, Christ at my left,
Christ in the fort, [at home]
Christ in the chariot seat, [traveling by land]
Christ in the poop. [traveling by water]

Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks to me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.

I bind to myself today
The strong virtue of an invocation of the Trinity,
I believe the Trinity in the Unity
The Creator of the Universe.

~~~
Continuing the prayer for protection, this section calls specifically on Christ and prays for Him to be everywhere: before me, within me, everywhere I go. And then the prayer acknowledges that Christ is in others. The last section calls on this power, the power of the Trinity, to be bound to the speaker. I know I'm repeating myself, but that's why this is a breastplate prayer, meant to be worn, kept close to the heart, and meant to shield you.

There are many English versions of this prayer. That's why what I have here might differ from what you might find elsewhere.

The ancient Celtic prayers were often (if not always) sung. I thought you might enjoy this version.

St. Patrick's Breastplate Part Two

photo via creative commons by Tony Hisgett

I bind to myself today
The power of Heaven,
The light of the sun,
The brightness of the moon,
The splendour of fire,
The flashing of lightning,
The swiftness of wind,
The depth of sea,
The stability of earth,
The compactness of rocks.

I bind to myself today
God's Power to guide me,
God's Might to uphold me,
God's Wisdom to teach me,
God's Eye to watch over me,
God's Ear to hear me,
God's Word to give me speech,
God's Hand to guide me,
God's Way to lie before me,
God's Shield to shelter me,
God's Host to secure me,
Against the snares of demons,
Against the seductions of vices,
Against the lusts of nature,
Against everyone who meditates injury to me,
Whether far or near,
Whether few or with many.

I invoke today all these virtues
Against every hostile merciless power
Which may assail my body and my soul,
Against the incantations of false prophets,
Against the black laws of heathenism,
Against the false laws of heresy,
Against the deceits of idolatry,
Against the spells of women, and smiths, and druids,
Against every knowledge that binds the soul of man.

~~~
This is truly the part invoking protection. The first part is acknowledging the wonders of the natural world, the world God created. Have you ever stood somewhere and gazed in utter wonder? I have felt the vastness of the creation while gazing at the Grand Canyon, while out on a boat on the ocean, while riding out a violent storm inside my house and watching the wind bend and even break the trees. Even quiet times can bring the wonder of God's touch into your life: a sunrise, a sunset, a soft rain shower. This power, God's power, is what this prayer seeks to bind the speaker to.

And then the prayer goes on to describe the perils that this breastplate is meant to protect oneself from, such things as the snare of demons and the lust of nature, false prophets, heresy, idolatry, and even women and smiths. The writer of this prayer might have had sexual sin in mind when he prayed for protection from women, but smiths? I don't know! Maybe someone can enlighten me on that one.

The last line of this section intrigues me:
Against every knowledge that binds the soul of man.
That seems to be a summation, but the idea that "knowledge" can bind the soul goes against what we're taught today about knowledge being good and powerful. But in thinking about that a little more, I realize that there are some things I'd be better off not knowing intimately, and those are things that can lead to addictions, which "bind souls."

Jesus, speaking to the Jews, said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." John 8: 31-32 NIV. So the kind of knowledge that sets me free is what I want to bind myself to.

Your thoughts???

A Closer Look at St. Patrick's Breastplate

photo via creative commons by madmrmox

This week I'm going to divide St. Patrick's Breastplate into three parts to examine it more closely.

A bit about the Breastplate:
It's a prayer found in the 9th century Book of Armagh. Most scholars agree that it wasn't actually written by St. Patrick because it was written in a later timeframe, but it was certainly penned by someone who had been influenced by the patron saint.

It's also called the Lorica or The Deer Cry. The title Breastplate comes from the ancient warrior battle gear. The prayer is meant to be worn, meaning you wrap yourself in it and take it on as a part of you. A breastplate is protection, and this is certainly a prayer for spiritual protection.

PART ONE

I bind to myself today
The strong virtue of the Invocation of the Trinity:
I believe the Trinity in the Unity
The Creator of the Universe.

I bind to myself today
The virtue of the Incarnation of Christ with His Baptism,
The virtue of His crucifixion with His burial,
The virtue of His Resurrection with His Ascension,
The virtue of His coming on the Judgment Day.

I bind to myself today
The virtue of the love of seraphim,
In the obedience of angels,
In the hope of resurrection unto reward,
In prayers of Patriarchs,
In predictions of Prophets,
In preaching of Apostles,
In faith of Confessors,
In purity of holy Virgins,
In deeds of righteous men.

~~~
This part of the prayer is a sort of statement of beliefs: The Trinity; Christ's baptism, crucifixion, resurrection, and second coming; the angels, the Biblical fathers, and modern day saints.

I wondered if this was anything like the creeds the church uses today, so I decided to take a look.
Here is the Apostle's Creed, believed to possibly predate St. Patrick's Breastplate by about four centuries.

I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth.
And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; he descended into hell; the third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Ghost; the holy catholic Church; the communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting. AMEN.

~~~
I don't want to get into church theology here, but while these two statements are not identical, there are some similarities. What the Breastplate has in common with this Creed is a belief in the Creator; the Trinity; Christ's crucifixion, resurrection, and coming again; and a belief in modern day saints. So, there are some things in common. However, one difference I see is between the words "bind" and "believe." You could argue that they say the same thing, but I think "bind" says it better. It speaks to the Celtic belief that the spiritual and the physical are intertwined.

So, not being a religious scholar, I'm wondering....what you do think? Please share.