Spiritual Reflection – I arise and The Lorica of St. Patrick (1)

This is the first in a series on “The Lorica of St. Patrick” (a “lorica” is aprotection prayer) , known as “The Deer’s Cry” or “St. Patrick’s Breastplate“.

It’s a prayer that could be used in the morning, as it begins simply:

I arise

More than that, the “arising” is

through a mighty strength

What is the strength that the prayer invokes?

It is the inspiration which an image I use quite regularly depicts…

Icon of the Holy Trinity, Rublev

The invocation of the Trinity

through belief in the Threeness

through confession of the Oneness

A sophisticated theological prayer!

Richard Rohr writes in The Divine Dance –

In the beginning was the relationship

Relationships are at the very heart of what it means to be human. And the concept of the Trinity indicates that God is a trinity of relationship – so the whole universe is built on the “mighty strength” of relationships!

The ending of this first section of this prayer names God as

The Creator of creation

This makes me think about another favourite image, of God creating human beings:

Michelangelo does not show the Trinity in his fresco but he does show God’s “mighty strength” giving life and power to humanity.

Here againis the first section of The Loricaof St. Patrick, a great way to start any day!

I arise today through a mighty strength

the invocation of the Trinity

through belief in the Threeness

through confession of the Oneness

of the Creator of creation.

• Spiritual Reflections