Friday 16 March 2012

Hail glorious St Patrick!

Today is, of course, St Patrick's Day and as my Confirmation name is Patrick and as I have a teaspoon or two of Irish blood in me (albeit dating back to 1845 which is but a blink of an eye in Irish history), here is my tribute to the great saint, his own poem which I dedicate to all Irish Catholic bloggers.

Written by St. Patrick in 377 A.D.

I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through a belief in the Threeness,
Through confession of the Oneness
Of the Creator of creation.
I arise today
Through the strength of Christ's birth and His baptism,
Through the strength of His crucifixion and His burial,
Through the strength of His resurrection and 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 obedience of angels,
In service of archangels,
In the hope of resurrection to meet with reward,
In the prayers of patriarchs,
In preachings of the apostles,
In faiths of confessors,
In innocence of virgins,
In deeds of righteous men.
I arise today
Through the strength of heaven;
Light of the sun,
Splendor of fire,
Speed of lightning,
Swiftness of the wind,
Depth of the sea,
Stability of the earth,
Firmness of the 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 way to lie before me,
God's shield to protect me,
God's hosts to save me
From snares of the devil,
From temptations of vices,
From every one who desires me ill,
Afar and anear,
Alone or in a multitude.
I summon today all these powers between me and evil,
Against every cruel merciless power that opposes 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 women and smiths and wizards,
Against every knowledge that corrupts man's body and soul.
Christ shield me today
Against poison, against burning,
Against drowning, against wounding,
So that reward may come to me in abundance.
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 in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of every man who speaks of me,
Christ in the eye that sees me,
Christ in the ear that hears me.
I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through a belief in the Threeness,
Through a confession of the Oneness
Of the Creator of creation.

Is there dispensation today for the odd pint of Guinness or a couple of Paddy Whiskies?

4 comments:

  1. Happy St. Patrick's Day!

    Lent is temporarily suspended, as far I know. I'm going to go on a binge ;)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thank you! From an Irish Catholic - yes, there are still some of us yet who won't be driven out by the increasingly belligerent and oppressive regime.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Mack Hall

    The Snakes Respond to Saint Patrick

    Saint Patrick blessed the snakes, and so they all
    Slithered away, disgusted at the man’s
    Insensitivity to poor reptiles,
    Marginalized, misunderstood reptiles,
    Poor banished serpents of hissing Irnan

    But softly and subtly the snakes slipped back,
    Sneering the sacraments into disuse,
    Poisoning honest beer with tainted ink,
    Rendering life’s innocent merriments
    Into that without which there is something

    ReplyDelete
  4. Richard,
    A belated Happy St. Patrick's to You and ALL!

    God Bless,

    Michael.

    ReplyDelete