MIRACULOUS MIRACLES^™

Prayer — Prayers of the Saints

Lorica Sancti Patricii

St. Patrick's Breastplate

by Attributed to St. Patrick of Ireland (8th-century Old Irish text)

The 'Lorica' or 'Deer's Cry' — an 8th-century Old Irish prayer of binding Christ to oneself, attributed to St. Patrick of Ireland.

The Prayer

English (Alexander translation) · Original

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 the power
of the great love of cherubim;
the sweet 'Well done' in judgment hour;
the service of the seraphim;
confessors' faith, apostles' word,
the patriarchs' prayers, the prophets' scrolls;
all good deeds done unto the Lord,
and purity of virgin souls.

Christ be with me, Christ within me,
Christ behind 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.

When the Prayer is Said

On the Feast of St. Patrick (March 17); at ordinations and consecrations; in personal devotion as a 'lorica' (breastplate) prayer of protection.

History & Background

The prayer, called Faeth Fiada ('Deer's Cry') in Old Irish, is one of the great Celtic Christian compositions. Tradition holds that St. Patrick prayed it as he and his companions walked toward the High King Loegaire at Tara to evangelize Ireland; their pagan opponents, watching for them, saw not men but deer passing along the path — hence the title.

The earliest manuscript witness is from the 8th century (the Liber Hymnorum), some three hundred years after Patrick. Modern scholarship considers the prayer to be early Old Irish but its attribution to Patrick himself a pious tradition rather than verifiable fact. Its spirit and theology, however, are entirely consistent with Patrick's authentic Confessio.

Cecil Frances Alexander translated the prayer into English verse in 1889 as the hymn 'I Bind Unto Myself Today,' which is sung at every ordination and consecration in the Anglican and Catholic Churches of the British Isles.

All Prayers