Power of Patrick's Breastplate It is the time of year that we turn our thoughts to the holy Apostle of Ireland and the marvelous conversion of Eire wrought by St. Patrick and his successors. His life and mission bore extraordinary fruit in the abundance of spiritual treasures that have come out of Ireland over the centuries, and in Ireland we see first hand what is possible when zealous men and women are willing to lay down everything for the Gospel - and when a people embraces it with their whole heart. Can the Church ever sufficiently express her gratitude for the blessings conferred upon her by her Irish sons and daughters? And it all goes back to the Holy Youth, St. Patrick, Apostle of Ireland.
The most famous thing ever penned by St. Patrick was his wonderful prayer, the "Breastplate of St. Patrick", in which the powers and attributes of God are invoked as protection against all of the powers of the enemy. This prayer has enjoyed a broad popularity over the years; I've even known Protestants who will pray it. It particularly gets a lot of currency around St. Patrick's day. As we got closer to St. Patrick's Day, I took note of various versions of the prayer being circulated in bulletins, on prayer cards, and on the popular sites on the Internet. The most recent version of the prayer, which I saw in a parish bulletin, looked like this:
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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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 every knowledge that corrupts man's 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, Christ to shield me today Against poison, against burning, Against drowning, against wounding, So that there may come to me an abundance of reward. 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.
St. Patrick was an extremely holy and powerful saint, and there is great power in the Breastplate; in fact, the "Breastplate of St. Patrick" is one of the most powerful, efficacious prayers in the entire Tradition. It is a prayer of warfare, a prayer which unambiguously names the true enemy and engages them in the name of Christ in a struggle to the end. Patrick's spirituality, and all Irish spirituality, has a lively sense of the reality of the spirit world and the snares that beset a Christian attempting to witness to his faith. It is this awareness which has faded today and which is so desperately needed. Therefore, let us pray the Breastplate this St. Patrick's day - in its entirety and the fullness of its power, as the holy Apostle of Ireland composed it.