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Please, Not “Danny Boy”

It’s St. Patrick’s Day, and I’m sure you’re already tired of seeing leprechauns and drinking green beer.

Patrick is not usually listed among the Fathers, though he fulfills all the criteria. I’d blame the Brits, except that he was one. Oh, well. The Ancient Christian Writers series has remedied the situation by including him in its august number: The Works of St. Patrick and St. Secundinus.

N.S. Gill has posted some good stuff about our man of the hour, plus links for still more.

But your best destination today is Maria Lectrix, who is celebrating the day by serving up delights of Celtic antiquity. This lady almost makes me wish I was Irish. At least I can pray with the words of his famous “Breastplate.” So can you…

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 Judgement 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.

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.

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,
Christ in the chariot seat,
Christ in the ship’s deck,
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.

5 thoughts on “Please, Not “Danny Boy”

  1. We love this prayer, too. Have you heard it set to music by Shaun Davey? His wife, Rita Connolly, sings it so beautifully you’ll think you’re already among the angels. Sublime.

  2. Was Patrick officially canonized by Rome?

  3. Canonization was, until the 12th century, mostly a local affair and not the formal process we know today. So I don’t think we can say that any of the ancient saints were “canonized by Rome,” except in the sense that they appear on the calendars. There’s a ponderous article on the subject here: http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02364b.htm.

  4. Thanks Mike for the St. Pat’s prayer posting. It is amusing to me how many protestant folks wax dreamy and nostalgic over Celtic Christianity as if it was separate from Catholicism. The penny whistles and bagpipes and Celtic artwork have been found on many contemporary christian CDs. Sadly, it is not recognized that these Celts believed in the sacraments, submitted to the Bishop of Rome and honored the Mother of God.
    Let’s pray for Ireland too, that they can return to their roots.

  5. Thanks for posting this, I like it very much and I keep misplacing my texts. Maybe this one I’ll manage to keep findable.

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