Getting ready for Patrick

The Lorica, or Deer's Cry

I have spent a long time preparing to tell the story of Patrick. I know a little bit more about him than i did six months ago. I read his Confession. I have asked people about his connection to Celtic Christianity. I have begun my discovery of the imposition of Roman Catholicism on the rest of the world. It has been such a journey, such a journey.

I have now decided to tell the Patrick story as i would tell a story about a young boy and his travels. But of course he is a saint, so his story will be accompanied by these wee quirks which saints always have. Their births, for instance are always amazing. It's like the birth of any child i suppose. Their childhoods are filled with miracles. And then there is Patrick's boyhood which is destroyed by his kidnapping. It then follows his mission followed by being a priest and then bishop. I have really come to love Patrick because he seems to have won the people over by demonstrating to them how much he cares. The brand of Celtic Christianity also is more in harmony with nature. I had no idea he was contemperaneous with Brigid - who i have no problems at all with. Brigid i can identify with Bride, the goddess of Spring and the flame easily. Patrick - perhaps Patrick fills the Oisin and Luagh role. He actually meets the Children of Lir, legend has it, when they finally turn back into humans at the end of their thousand year incarceration.

This whole driving the snakes out of Ireland thing is ridiculous. Patrick, in all the stories written about him, behaves exactly like a Druid. He has a real command over the elements. He is closely connected with animals. He can heal. He fights like a warrior. I have decided i am NOT going to tell the story about the snakes and the shamrock because the children will hear about them ad nauseum in the future. What i will tell them about is the magical childhood of Patrick, his kidnapping and subsequent escape, his return to Ireland and the magical feats he has there, and his care and indignation for the cruelty which people were subjected to. Then i will tell of how he died and how he was taken into the company of the angels. There will be no stories of snakes and shamrocks.

It is amazing that Patrick used to roam this very land i can see now. The shores of Belfast Lough and North and South Down would have been familiar to him. Patrick often spoke of how crap he was at writing. I find it really hard to write he says. I am just so bad at it. And it is made worse by having to constantly converse in a foreign tongue. I am stranded at the end of the world, he laments. This is very hard. If you had to give him a temprament it would be melancholic-choleric, in equal parts.

There is this letter he writes after he witnesses a massacre. He is fuming. He is really really pissed off. Patrick has a temper. It's great to see.

Well, i'm off now to prep the rest of the week. Today i cleaned the school hall and unearthed the puppet show stage. I am really excited. I also unearthed several stools for children to sit on. I am going to start trying to find these good homes. As i dusted these off, i thought, i love old things which are loved. They have this patina, this glow about them. And when they can be used no longer, and are finally laid to rest, i feel such a gratitude towards them and weirdly i can feel their gratitude as well. Things that are not wasted are cared for. I think that is what i love most about them - that they appear to be cared for.

Anyway, here is Patrick's Lorica. Or the breastplate of Patrick. After he sang it, he was turned into a deer and his followers into fawns and they escaped being killed.

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 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 obedience of Angels, in the service of the Archangels, in hope of resurrection to meet with reward, in prayers of Patriarchs, in predictions of Prophets, in preachings of Apostles, in faiths of Confessors, in innocence of Holy Virgins, in deeds of righteous men.

I arise today, through the strength of Heaven:
light of Sun, brilliance of Moon, splendor of Fire, speed of Lightning, swiftness of Wind, depth of Sea, stability of Earth, 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 way to lie before me, God's shield to protect me, God's host to secure me: against snares of devils, against temptations of vices, against inclinations of nature, against everyone who shall wish me ill, afar and anear, alone and in a multitude.

I summon today all these powers between me and these evils:
against every cruel and merciless power that may oppose my body and my soul, against incantations of false prophets, against black laws of heathenry, against false laws of heretics, against craft of idolatry, against spells of witches and smiths and wizards, against every knowledge that endangers man's body and soul.

Christ to shield me today:
against poisoning, against burning, against drowning, against wounding, so that there may come 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 where I lie, Christ where I sit, Christ where I arise, Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me, Christ in the mouth of every man who speaks of me, Christ in every eye that sees me, Christ in every ear that hears me.

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. Salvation is of the Lord. Salvation is of the Lord. Salvation is of Christ. May Thy Salvation, O Lord, be ever with us. Amen.