On March 17th, the feast of St. Patrick, it seems the whole world is Irish. And that’s a good thing. Remembering that Patrick was a holy man who lived a saintly life, there’s much more to celebrate than our modern day parades and green rivers. Here’s a prayer attributed to him, worth praying today. God bless the Irish!
I BIND TO MYSELF TODAY
The strong virtue of the Invocation
of the Trinity:
I believe the Trinity in the Unity
The Creator of the Universe.
I bind to myself today
The virtue of the Incarnation of
Christ with His Baptism,
The virtue of His crucifixion with
His burial,
The virtue of His Resurrection with
His Ascension,
The virtue of His coming on the
Judgement Day.
I bind to myself today
The virtue of the love of seraphim,
In the obedience of angels,
In the hope of resurrection unto
reward,
In prayers of Patriarchs,
In predictions of Prophets,
In preaching of Apostles,
In faith of Confessors,
In purity of holy Virgins,
In deeds of righteous men.
I bind to myself today
The power of Heaven,
The light of the sun,
The brightness of the moon,
The splendor of fire,
The flashing of lightning,
The swiftness of wind,
The depth of sea,
The stability of earth,
The compactness of rocks.
I bind to myself today
God’s Power to guide me,
God’s Might to uphold me,
God’s Wisdom to teach me,
God’s Eye to watch over me,
God’s Ear to hear me,
God’s Word to give me speech,
God’s Hand to guide me,
God’s Way to lie before me,
God’s Shield to shelter me,
God’s Host to secure me,
Against the snares of demons,
Against the seductions of vices,
Against the lusts of nature,
Against everyone who meditates
injury to me,
Whether far or near,
Whether few or with many.
I invoke today all these virtues
Against every hostile merciless
power
Which may assail my body and my
soul,
Against the incantations of false
prophets,
Against the black laws of
heathenism,
Against the false laws of heresy,
Against the deceits of idolatry,
Against the spells of women, and
smiths, and druids,
Against every knowledge that binds
the soul of man.
Christ, protect me today
Against every poison, against
burning,
Against drowning, against
death-wound,
That I may receive abundant reward.
Christ with me, Christ before me,
Christ behind me, Christ within me,
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ at my right, Christ at my
left,
Christ in the fort,
Christ in the chariot seat,
Christ on the deck,
Christ in the heart of everyone who
thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who
speaks to me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.
I bind to myself today
The strong virtue of an invocation
of the Trinity,
I believe the Trinity in the Unity
The Creator of the Universe.
