Saint Patrick's Day
Saint Patrick’s Day is the day to wear green! Well, I mean you can wear green whenever you want but March 17th is the day you dress yourself in everything green and celebrate the Irish holiday. I have always found it funny to me that the country of Ireland would celebrate a public figure who was a saint who spread the gospel all throughout Ireland but they would celebrate by wearing green and drinking to the point of passing out.
It's a huge Irish holiday and St. Patrick is so much more than just wearing green and getting drunk; he has an amazing story. He was born in Britain but he was actually forced to Ireland as a slave. He was there for six years as a slave. But within those six years, he built a relationship with Christ. At that time, he felt compelled that on a certain day or a certain week, he thought to himself that Christ wanted him to escape. He did escape and he went back to Britain. He was reunited with his family and he became a priest in the priesthood. As he sought out Christ every day, God had been compelling him to go back to Ireland.
The place that tormented him, the place that put his meaning of life as worthless. Can you imagine being in his place at that time? Jesus wanted St. Patrick to go back there because he had something that they didn't have. And what is it? It's Christ. It's the love of God. St. Patrick, being honestly an amazing person, decided to go back. And you know what Ireland says about him? They say that he saved Ireland. But of course if you ask him, he would say, “I was just walking with Jesus among Ireland, showing people Christ. I was seeking after him.” They say that he drove the snakes out of Ireland, meaning that he drove whatever evil religion that was there, the one that was tormenting the people in Ireland. He presented the heart of Christ because he sought after the heart of Christ, even in slavery. He decided that he was going to act with Christ and he decided to transform a country to help bring the heart of Christ to them.
Why do I bring him up? Well as St. Patrick’s Day is going to be celebrated and his own actual life will be overlooked, he had written down these prayers, and I believe they're collections of different hymns. And I was reminded of it as I was thinking about this holiday and his actions and words are so impactful compared to how the world celebrates him. He was someone who cried out to God every day and asked God to be with him every day. This prayer that he had written, he had always spoken over his life. I want to encourage you to read this prayer and to allow it to move through you.
The prayer goes like this:
The Prayer of Saint Patrick
I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through a belief in the Threeness,
Through confession of the Oneness
Of the Creator of creation.
I arise today
Through the strength of Christ's birth and His baptism,
Through the strength of His crucifixion and His burial,
Through the strength of His resurrection and 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 service of archangels,
In the hope of resurrection to meet with reward,
In the prayers of patriarchs,
In preachings of the apostles,
In faiths of confessors,
In innocence of virgins,
In deeds of righteous men.
I arise today
Through the strength of heaven;
Light of the sun,
Splendor of fire,
Speed of lightning,
Swiftness of the wind,
Depth of the sea,
Stability of the earth,
Firmness of the 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 hosts to save me
From snares of the devil,
From temptations of vices,
From every one who desires me ill,
Afar and anear,
Alone or in a multitude.
I summon today all these powers between me and evil,
Against every cruel merciless power that opposes my body and soul,
Against incantations of false prophets,
Against black laws of pagandom,
Against false laws of heretics,
Against craft of idolatry,
Against spells of women and smiths and wizards,
Against every knowledge that corrupts man's body and soul.
Christ shield me today
Against poison, against burning,
Against drowning, against wounding,
So that reward may come to me in abundance.
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 when I lie down, Christ when I sit down,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of every man who speaks of me,
Christ in the eye that sees me,
Christ in the ear that hears me.
I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through a belief in the Threeness,
Through a confession of the Oneness
Of the Creator of creation.
Let the words of St. Patrick remind you that Christ wants to walk with you. Christ wants to be with you in the here and now. Let Christ guide you. Let the Holy Spirit be within you and know that God loves you and that he wants to carry you in this world. That yes, you're saved. But guess what? You don't have to live on this earth alone waiting for that time. Jesus is with you. Ask for him. Tell Him, “Jesus, come with me. Be with me.”
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