Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing.
Gen. 12: 1,2
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 forever
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 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 star lit 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,
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.
By Whom all nature hath creation,
Eternal Father, Spirit, Word:
Praise to the Lord of my salvation,
Salvation is of Christ the Lord.
I have loved St Patrick's Breastplate and made it my prayer ever since our parish organist, Mildred Andrews, pushed me out with the collection plate just after the first verse, bringing the congregation to their feet so that the power of the choir's singing would shake them to their very soul as it was shaking mine.
ReplyDeletePatrick is one of our great Anglican and British saints even if what we think of as Anglicanism might seem to some to lay centuries in the future. The unpopular truth is that the roots of classical Anglicanism have always been in the centuries past, in Holy Scripture as interpreted in the lives and writings of the Catholic fathers and ancient bishops, the Creeds and General Councils; in Antiquity, Consent and Universality. We can only give it a sacramental and real presence by praying and living the faith with the same intensity as the saints, known and unknown, have done before us.
Sucat deserves better of us than having his birthday into heaven turned into a national alcoholic orgy.
Wot? Nothing about wearing silly green plastic hats and going to so-called 'Irish' pubs and drinking till you can't stand?
ReplyDeleteHis day is always within Lent, which would seem to call for the kind of austerity I believe Patrick would have approved. He was most certainly not given to carousing.
ReplyDeleteed
The lives of all the great Celtic saints were very austere which is why the alcoholic binge to celebrate his feast seems very inappropriate. I have always wondered why those who claim him for their own feel this a proper way to honor his memory or his name. Worse, in modern times they have become those believe in the use of violence against their neighbors.
ReplyDeleteI must admit that I was also a bit put out by the green of the vestments on the blog since his proper liturgical colour would have been orange from the saffron dyed robes of those he brought to the Lord.