Prayer of St. Patrick

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 spiced tomb,
his riding up the heavenly way,
his coming at the day of doom:
I bind unto myself today.

I bind unto myself today the virtues of the starlit heaven,
the glorious sun's lifegiving 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 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,
of whom all nature hath creation,
eternal Father, Spirit, Word.
Praise to the Lord of my salvation:
salvation is of Christ the Lord.
Amen.

Attributed to St Patrick c 389 - 461

Of course, being the good Presbyterians we are, along with singing Be Thou My Vision the boys wore orange.

Posted by TulipGirl | 08:37 PM| TrackBack (0) | Words

Trackback Pings

TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.tulipgirl.com/mt/mt-tb.cgi/1457

Comments

Love, Luck and God's Blessings to one and all!

---klqtzzz

Posted by: poetryman69 at March 18, 2008 06:25 AM

Thank you for posting the prayer. It lifted my heart. Pardon my ignorance, what is the significance of wearing orange?
Posted by: Ana at March 18, 2008 10:54 AM

Great prayer. I try to remind myself daily to trust all things to Christ.

Go Vols!
Posted by: SouthernBell at March 19, 2008 08:50 AM

Ana, in Scotland orange is a color for presbyterians and green is a color for catholics. So, that comment was said lightheartedly, as we are presby. That said, the political and partisan strife that has gone on for centuries is NOT something we support at all.
Posted by: TG at March 29, 2008 07:56 PM

RSS RSS2 Atom

Creative Commons License

In My Garden