“I bind unto myself today, the strong name of the Trinity.”  St. Patrick

“Clothe yourselves with the full armor of God.”  Ephesians 6

What do you fear? 

Perhaps more importantly, what do you do to protect yourself from those things that you fear?

Fear is a driving force in our lives.  From the time we are children we learn to fear, whether it be the imaginary monsters lurking in the closet, or the all-too-real  who may be masquerading as our parents, partners or other adult abusers.  As we grow so does that fear.  And we begin devising and developing ways to cope with it, which are all too often unhealthy.  We insulate ourselves from the world, carry weapons, or take up unhealthy addictions be they to food, alcohol, or drugs.  We build walls around ourselves which affect our relationships with others.  We build up a persona of false bravado or accumulate money or things for imaginary insurance.  So many ways to try and hide from fear.

St. Patrick was no stranger to danger.  Having been taken captive by pirates as a young boy and spirited off to a remote part of Ireland he had every reason to fear.  The deprivations and degradations he suffered are almost unimaginable to our modern minds so accustomed to comfort and safety.  His fears were real, but for Patrick he came to see that the God who was with him was even more real and more powerful than those fears.  Patrick faced his fears by placing himself in the Presence of the Almighty God, by prayerfully reminding himself that God was closer to him than he was to himself.   His most notable prayer is called The Lorica, which means shield. 

According to legend this prayer, which became a hymn, was first used by Patrick when an ambush was laid for him and his troupe of monks by Loegaire, who wanted to stop Patrick from continuing his evangelistic efforts.  As Patrick and the others passed by the would-be assassins, they appeared to be a herd of deer, and thus their lives were spared. This is why The Lorica is sometimes called The Deer’s Cry.

Patrick’s Prayer can be broken down into two primary parts.  The first concerns The One who is doing the protecting.  Patrick prays in the name of The Trinity, specifically petitioning for a binding.  We might understand this as an enveloping, enclosing, or embracing.  Patrick recognizes that the Holy Trinity is part and parcel of his very being.  This binding petition of The Trinity is followed by specifically beseeching Christ, his baptism, crucifixion, burial, resurrection, and ascension.  Then comes the binding of the angels and archangels and all the company of heaven.  All of this may not surprise us, but what comes next just might.  For Patrick then calls on the forces of nature including the sun, snow, fire, wind, sea, and even rocks.  Here we clearly see the close Celtic connection with the elements of nature not only created and maintained by God, but actually being dwelling places of God.  This is not pantheism, the belief that nature IS God, as some mistakenly believe, but rather panentheism, which is the recognition that God can be found in everything and everyone.

All these Divine and heavenly forces are arrayed against the dangers that assail Patrick.  This is the second part of the prayer.  These enemies include such things as poison, burning, drowning, and wounding.  But even more dangerous are the wiles and works of the devil which he calls the “hostile savage power.” He specifically mentions false prophets, black laws of heresy, and druids. It is powerful stuff!

I invite you to look this prayer up and contemplate it, and yes, even pray it. What’s more, I invite you to consider your fears and the manner by which you have chosen to deal with them.  And then, in the spirit of Patrick, consider utilizing prayer as the primary means of coping and protecting yourself from them.