Imperial Valley Christian Center

brought news of a stronger power. The famous Lorica (or "Patrick's Breastplate"), a prayer of protection, may not have been written by Patrick (at least in its current form), but it expresses perfectly Patrick's confidence in God to protect him from "every fierce merciless force that may come upon my body and soul, against incantations of false prophets, against black laws of paganism, against false laws of heresy, against deceit of idolatry, against spells of women and smiths and druids…"

" One biographer from the late 600s, Muirchil, described Patrick challenging druids to contests at Tara, in which each party tried to outdo the other in working wonders before the audience:

"The custom was that whoever lit a fire before the king on that night of the year [Easter vigil] would be put to death. Patrick lit the paschal fire before the king on the hill of Slane. The people saw Patrick's fire throughout the plain, and the king ordered 27 chariots to go and seize Patrick.

"Seeing that the impious heathen were about to attack him, Patrick rose and said clearly and loudly, `May God come up to scatter his enemies, and may those who hate him flee from his face.' By this disaster, caused by Patrick's curse in the king's presence because of the king's order, seven times seven men fell. And the king, driven by fear, came and bent his knees before the holy man.

"[The next day], in a display of magic, a druid invoked demons and brought about a dark fog over the land. Patrick said to the druid, `Cause the fog to disperse.' But he was unable to do it. Patrick prayed and gave his blessing, and suddenly the fog cleared and the sun shone and through the prayers of Patrick the flames of fire consumed the druid.

"And the king was greatly enraged at Patrick because of the death of his druid. Patrick said to the king, `If you do not believe now, you will die on the spot for the wrath of God descends on your head.'

"The king summoned his council and said, `It is better for me to believe than to die.' And he believed as did many others that day…"

Which brings us back to "Patrick's Breastplate," the prayer Patrick is supposed to have prayed. The language has a sense of victory and power that is at odds with most traditional Christian prayers. (I can't post the whole thing because it is copyrighted. I imagine it's the translation which is copyrighted because I don't think you can copyright a 1500 year old prayer. Here's the link to the Christian History web site that has a few paragraphs but you have to subscribe to see the whole thing.) Here's a few parts that I liked with commentary:

St. Patrick's Breastplate
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I rise today
in the power of Christ's birth and baptism,
in the power of his crucifixion and burial,
in the power of his rising and ascending,
in the power of his descending and judging.

One thing that stands out is the failure to mention of Mary, but instead a reliance on the work of Christ. Also, the prayer treats the resurrection as having power just as the crucifixion, an idea quite different from that which has been in vogue since the middle ages, i.e. that the crucifixion is the important thing.  Patrick lived circa. 400s A.D., during the Roman era so this may indicate something about Christian beliefs at that time.

I rise today
in the power of the love of cherubim,
in the obedience of angels
and service of archangels,

Here he seems to refer to the angels as helpers, i.e. he sees the angels obedient to him and offering service to him not the other way around. Which brings to mind, Hebrews 1:14 Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation? 

in hope of rising to receive the reward,
in the prayers of patriarchs,
in the predictions of the prophets,
in the preaching of apostles,
in the faith of confessors,
in the innocence of holy
virgins,
in the deeds of the righteous.

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It's hard to know what to leave out it's all really good. I really do recommend getting the whole thing.

When reading the next part I imagine Patrick waking up, looking forward to another day of missionary work in Ireland. He's going to have to believe God for food, lodging, transportation and money. Besides all this people are trying to kill him, demons are trying to incite against him, and Druids are working supernaturally against him.

I rise today
with the power of God to pilot me,
God's strength to sustain me,
God's wisdom to guide me,
God's eye to look ahead for me,
God's ear to hear me,
God's word to speak for me,
God's hand to protect me,
God's way before me,
God's shield to defend me,
God's host to deliver me,
  from snares of devils,
  from evil temptations,
  from nature's failings,
  from all who wish to harm me,
  far or near,
  alone and in a crowd.
Around me I gather today all these powers
against every cruel and merciless force
to attack my body and soul,
against the charms of false prophets,
the black laws of paganism,
the false laws of heretics,
the deceptions of idolatry,
against spells cast by women, smiths, and druids,
and all unlawful knowledge that harms the body and soul.

Against spells cast by… smiths, you know, blacksmiths. That's kind of interesting.

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Here's my favorite part of this prayer:

Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me;
Christ within me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me;
Christ to the right of me, Christ to the left of me;
Christ in my lying, Christ in my sitting, Christ in my rising;

Patrick is continually reminding himself of where his focus should be, of what is most important, of what is real, of the true nature of the universe, of the overriding truth of all things, i.e. Christ is over all, he is the Great King.

Christ in the heart of all who think of me,
Christ on the tongue of all who speak to me,
Christ in the eye of all who see me,
Christ in the ear of all who hear me.

He prays that those he encounters would see and hear Christ in him.

Read the rest if you can.